Hokies Whip William and Mary 34-9 on Backs of Freshmen

Last year, the Hokies set a record under Frank Beamer by playing 11 true freshmen for the season, and the inexperience showed in an uneven year.

Now, it just might be a promising sign of things to come.

The Hokies played nine true freshmen in their season opener, and they werent shy about making use of them early and often.

"I told you guys, I feel really good about where this thing is going," said head coach Frank Beamer after the game. "It's only one ball game, but generally speaking, (it's) a lot of young people contributing."

Whether it was new starting receiver Isaiah Ford, tight end Bucky Hodges, running backs Shai McKenzie and Marshawn Williams, or even newly anointed starting kicker Joey Slye, the young guns helped carry the Hokies to an easy 34-9 win over William and Mary.

McKenzie and Williams looked particularly impressive once the coaching staff started to lean on them in the third quarter. They ran for 106 and 41 yards respectively on the day, with McKenzie picking up a 39-yard score.

"They're really good backs and they're very straight ahead," Beamer said. "You get tired of tackling those guys all day long."

J.C. Coleman got the start in Trey Edmunds absence, and did little with the opportunity. He looked timid on his 10 carries, finishing with 20 yards and a fumble, but also the teams lone short-yardage rushing touchdown of the day.

Yet, as it became clear that the junior wasnt getting anywhere, the staff gradually leaned more and more on the freshmen, and it paid off.

On one fourth quarter drive alone, McKenzie ran for 11 yards, 14 yards and six yards on consecutive plays, showing a fluidity and vision not exhibited by any other Hokies back on the day. Thats made all the more remarkable by the fact that McKenzie is still rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered in high school.

"I'm feeling a lot better. When I'm out there playing I dont feel it," McKenzie said. "I'm still rehabbing, but when I'm out there playing, I'm in the zone."

By contrast, Williams lived up to his reputation as a bruising, energetic catalyst for the offense. He bullied Tribe defenders all day, particularly on the teams opening drive after halftime.

Williams ran over several members of the William and Mary defense to convert a second down and one, then ran for 14 yards on the next two carries to set up Tech in the red zone. The drive stalled on the 10-yard line, leading to a field goal from Slye, but Williams impact on the offense was clear.

He got a chance to show his abilities as a goal line back in the second quarter, but he came up a little short, yet he seems confident that will come with time.

"It was just execution problems, and it was my first time on the goal line, so things were moving way faster in the game, so after that first one, it won't happen any more," Williams said.

The player that was able to bail the offense out on that frustrating Hokies drive that started on the two-yard line after a forced fumble shouldn't come as a surprise. Freshman tight end Bucky Hodges battled his way over a comically smaller Tribe defender for his first score.

"I don't know what the defense can do," Hodges said. "I don't say that to brag, but I definitely create a lot of mismatches, and that helps our offense."

Hodges led the team in receiving with six catches for a total of 38 yards. Ryan Malleck chipped in with three catches and 40 yards of his own, making it perfectly clear that this is what offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler has been dreaming about this offseason from his tight ends.

"It's everything I've ever wanted," Loeffler said.

Michael Brewer may not be a freshman, but considering his lack of experience at Texas Tech, this game felt like a career debut for him as well. The good news for the Hokies is that he looked as poised as a seasoned veteran despite getting meaningful action for the first time since 2012.

"I was impressed with Michael Brewer. He was making good decisions, and you talk about the stage not being too big, I thought he was very much in control and handled himself great," Beamer said. "He picked up some valuable yards when things broke down, never panicked. We took a big step there."

He led an impressive, 14 play, 84-yard drive in his first time under center for Tech. Not one of his throws was longer than 10 yards on the sequence, but his decisiveness stood out the field, as did his quick feet on a 16-yard scramble on for a key third down conversion.

"We were able to put some things together on that first drive and all it took was a couple plays and I felt like my old self," Brewer said. "I felt like we had some rhythm and were able to move the football."

Tech's offense is still plodding by the Red Raiders old standards, but Brewer ensured that the offense had a quick pace with a barrage of screens and quick throws.

"(The Tribe) had a good game plan, made us throw a lot of underneath stuff, and its a credit to our receivers that they got in there and made plays," Brewer said.

The only area that looked concerning for Brewer are the problems that could arise with his height while trying to get balls over the defensive line. His lone interception only happened because a lineman tipped the ball, and he had several other low-flying passes that came close to getting hands on them.

"You just have to do that Drew Brees deal, finding the passing lanes because it is a fact that him and Drew are about the same height," Beamer said. "You've just got to find those lanes."

Luckily for Brewer and his small frame, the offense never had much pressure on it because of the defense's dominance. The Tribe did better than expected on the ground, with 125 yards before sacks were subtracted, but the Hokies put relentless pressure on quarterback Steve Cluley.

Tech totaled four sacks on the day, and Chase Williams, Dadi Nicolas and Corey Marshall put several big hits on Cluley on a variety of other plays.

"We had it in the game plan all week to get to the quarterback," Williams said.

And that certainly came to fruition. The biggest play came when Williams got a clean shot on Cluley, forcing a fumble that whip linebacker Derek DiNardo was able to take down to the two-yard line that set up Hodges' score.

"It was bittersweet," DiNardo said. "It was nice to get a big play like that, but it would've been nice not to get the offense back out there too."

DiNardo's no stranger to the end zone despite spending most of his time on special teams, last scoring on a blocked punt against Marshall last year, but it was still a surprise for some to even see him out with the starting defense.

But Ronny Vandyke doesn't seem to be all the way recovered from the injury that kept him out of the teams last scrimmage, and when Josh Trimble suffered a last minute injury, that sealed DiNardo's spot.

"I've been getting reps with the first team for most of camp, so with Ronny hurt and Josh tweaked his hamstring late, so I kind of had the feeling I'd start a while back," DiNardo said.

The defense certainly looked like it did in 2013 at times on the day, allowing just nine completions, but the unit still gave up a few long runs. It can't afford that kind of sloppiness against the Hokies next opponent.

"Ohio State is an extremely talented football team. We've been doing this in the winning business for about 20 years but they've been doing it for about a hundred years," said defensive coordinator Bud Foster. "We're going to have to go up there and play really well."

With the Buckeyes pulling off a 34-17 win over Navy in their first game of the year, it's clear that Foster's group will have their work cut out for them, no matter how impressive they looked this week.