Thoughts after Watching Virginia Tech's Open Scrimmage Saturday

Virginia Tech offered fans and media a chance to watch some free football and I jumped at the opportunity. With less than a month to go until the start of the season, I wanted to see how Tech's playmakers performed and familiarize myself with the younger players on the roster. It was a productive scrimmage, and I walked away knowing more about the team than when I had arrived.

Defensive Players

Desmond Frye played with the first string defense at rover and he had a solid day. He wasn't burned in coverage even when playing single coverage and he looked very comfortable in the box providing run support. He might not have the natural playmaking ability that C.J. Reavis did, but Frye isn't going to be a liability if he continues to hold onto his number one spot. Adonis Alexander also got plenty of reps at rover although he was mostly running with the twos. Adonis didn't look like a freshman when flying forward to attack the ball carrier. He might not win the starting job this year but I will be surprised if he redshirts, he already looks ready to contribute on the field.

In fact, the entire secondary looks ready to go. Torrian Gray has amassed an embarrassment of riches and I seriously doubt any secondary in the country will outplay his this year. Chuck Clark looks right at home at the free safety position. He is one of the best tacklers in the secondary and his new position will free him up to attack rushing plays more aggressively than when he was playing corner or nickel. Clark looked great in both man and zone coverage as well. Kendall Fuller and Brandon Facyson looked like the best corner duo in the country. Facyson is 100% back and looked explosive breaking on the ball.

Greg Stroman got first string reps as the nickel back. He is not as polished as Fuller or Facyson in coverage, but he is a capable defender who has all the athletic tools to be really good. Brewer completed a couple of balls against his coverage (one being an impressive catch and run by Ford) but overall he had a good day. Donovan Riley seems to be the next guy in the secondary right now as he worked with the twos, but he had a pretty good afternoon himself. Riley showed off some quick hands by snagging a deflected pass for an interception and then showed off some playmaking ability by reeling of a big return. Riley might not get the starting nod depending on how the positional battles shake out but he is going to be an important member of that unit moving forward.

On the defensive line, I kept a close eye on true freshman Tim Settle whenever he was in the game. Settle didn't give ground to an offensive lineman on any of the snaps I watched, although I was disappointed in his overall lack of penetration. In a couple of obvious passing situations he seemed to have some good explosiveness, but if Settle is going to get on the field for Foster he needs to find a way to shoot the gap in between the linemen and start disrupting rushing plays in the backfield.

Offensive Players

When I wasn't keeping an eye on defensive players from snap to whistle, I was scouting some of Tech's offensive weapons. One in particular stood out. Isaiah Ford looks like a potential All-ACC wide receiver right now. He ran crisp routes against man coverage and knew what to do once he got the ball. It is critical for the Hokies to have more big plays in 2015 than they had last year, and Ford looks poised to be the guy who takes the next step. If Cam Phillips (who didn't play saturday) is developing at a similar pace, the Hokies will have a very good one-two punch at wide receiver. Depth is an issue though as no other receiver looked like a threat. C.J. Carroll ran some nice routes and has nice hands, although his lack of size and explosiveness makes him a liability in the screen game that Loeffler relies on. Demetri Knowles took over for Cam with the first squad, but failed to make an impact. Someone needs to step up quickly.

Kalvin Cline looks healthy again. He ran a couple of nice vertical routes, including a double move against Ronny Vandyke that would have gone for a touchdown if Brewer had had the time to get the throw off. I've been a big Cline fan ever since he committed, and think he is a bigger matchup problem for defenses than any slot receiver on the current roster.

Sam Rogers looked as solid as ever in pass protection and as a receiver, catching a couple of balls for first downs. Steven Peoples once again impressed me, and he is going to force his way onto the field. If I were Loeffler I would focus more on getting my tight ends and fullbacks involved in the game plan than I would a third receiver. Loeffler has said he wants to find ways to get his starting WR's more rest, but he doesn't need to bring in another WR to do that. For example, he could easily line Bucky wide and keep Malleck and Cline on the line of scrimmage and Rogers in the backfield with a tailback. That is a power formation (three tight ends and a fullback) with a lot of pass catching ability. If the interior of the offensive line can create a push in the run game, this tight end/fullback group is going to be a nightmare to defend.

The Quarterbacks

There is no quarterback controversy in Blacksburg. Brewer looks to be in complete command of the offense, he and the rest of the first team offense seemed to be on the same page once they got to the line of scrimmage. The first string offense went hurry up a couple of times and there weren't many procedural penalties with that group. I was disappointed with the lack of deep completions from the first unit (Brewer missed a wide open Ford for a sure touchdown with a bad overthrow and then got hit before he could find Cline with another one) but considering the small sample size I'm not overly concerned, yet. If Tech wants to beat Ohio State again, similar opportunities have to be seized and not wasted.

Chris Durkin looks dangerous as a mobile quarterback. He is very decisive once he decides to run with it and he has good agility and speed to go with whatever power he can't show off while wearing a yellow jersey. He also has a good enough arm to be a throwing threat, although he did miss an open receiver down the sideline on Saturday for a deep pass and missed another receiver on a screen play. In my opinion, Durkin should be the "Wild Turkey" quarterback so that Tech doesn't have to risk Motley getting injured, and so Tech can get an idea of what he is capable of accomplishing.

Saturday was my first chance to see Dwayne Lawson in person, and I left impressed. His arm strength was obvious right away (he does have some footwork issues to clean up) and his height allowed him to stay in the pocket and see downfield despite pressure. Lawson also looked dangerous on the ground. There were several times when only the fingertips of a defender and Lawson's yellow jersey prevented long gains on the ground. He isn't ready to start as a true freshman, but if redshirts this year and spends it in the gym and in his playbook there is no reason that he couldn't compete for the starting job in the spring. Lawson has the best physical tools of any QB prospect since Logan Thomas, easily.

Overall Impressions

I was fairly happy with how the team looked on Saturday. I don't think this offense is ready yet to beat Ohio State (I have concerns about the lack of an interior run game or a vertical pass game), but they can certainly get there by the end of summer practices. If the offensive line can open up some holes, this will be the best group of running backs in Blacksburg since David Wilson left town. Regardless of what happens on offense, Foster's defense is going to be special. His secondary is going to blanket any receiving group that they face and his defensive line got lots of pressure and penetration even without Dadi or Corey Marshall. There might still be some questions about the linebacker group, but any shortcomings they may have can be hidden by stacking the box and allowing Fuller and Facyson to do their thing in single coverage.