Charley Wiles Dishes on Hip-Hop and His Defensive Line

Virginia Tech defensive line coach Charley Wiles has always been known to be of the gregarious type, but on Wednesday he gave the media a deeper glimpse inside his dynamic personality. The topic? Straight Outta Compton, the latest film to take Hollywood by storm.

"I'll tell you what, it was good, man. It was good," said Wiles. "Have ya'll seen it? I mean, you need to go check it out."

After coaching 18 to 22 year olds for nearly all of his adult life, Wiles has gained an appreciation for hip-hop and rap, and since watching Straight Outta Compton, the 51-year-old coach has even taken a liking to N.W.A., the group chronicled in the film.

"Coming out of there (Straight Outta Compton), I've started listening and going back and YouTube-ing and just listening to the lyrics, because it was really neat," said Wiles. "I mean, you say neat, but you got a dude living out in the country and he writes a song about shooting a squirrel or whatever. Going hunting, farming, catching catfish, drink some clear, whatever. This guy here, he's talking about slinging rock and you're seeing a guy get murdered. It's kind of a product of...It's real. It's very real."

But when Wiles isn't contemplating the complexities of NWA's body of work, he's working to whittle down the Hokies' deep defensive tackle rotation.

Given the depth at defensive tackle entering fall camp, it was clear that Wiles would have some tough choices to make regarding playing time. With kickoff against Ohio State now under two weeks away, it seems that Wiles has finally made those decisions.

As of now, Woody Baron will serve as the first option behind starting defensive tackles Luther Maddy and Corey Marshall, and Nigel Williams and Steve Sobczak have won the 4th and 5th spots in the interior.

"It's about making plays. It's about turning plays. It's a production-based business," said Wiles. "Woody's made a lot of plays for us."

Sobczak beating out Ricky Walker may come as a surprise to some, but Wiles was clearly impressed with the camp that the redshirt freshman has enjoyed. That leaves Walker as the odd man out, meaning he'll redshirt in 2015 barring any injuries above him.

"Unless something happens, we would probably try to redshirt Ricky (Walker) this year," said Wiles. "Ricky had a good spring and a good camp, really poured himself into it, and I talked to him about that coming out of spring and that it would be a possibility."

For his part, Walker seems to be taking the news in stride, confident that it's the best move for him as an individual and for the team as a whole.

"I'm definitely OK with that," said Walker. "They don't want to waste another year and all of the sudden I'm a junior. I'm OK with it."

Tim Settle, the 359 pound freshman defensive tackle who made waves in the first open scrimmage after an impressive, if not downright humorous, interception return. will also be redshirted this season barring any injuries.

"Right now, how do you get Tim (Settle) enough reps to get him ready to play?" said Wiles. "We're not in a position, right now, that we have to play him. If you had to pour every single day, every single rep into him, you could probably get him ready to play."

Wiles again became animated while discussing Settle, clearly excited about the future of the big-bodied freshman. During his year on the sideline, Wiles is hoping to get Settle a little bit lighter to make him an even more dynamic player.

"Tim's not going to be 300. We can get away from that. Those days are in his rear-view mirror," joked Wiles. "But let's get him down there to three-and-a-quarter. Let's get him in some kind of shape where he looks like a quick, athletic guy all the time. He does, at times. The kid has got some tools, but just can't get him enough reps right now to get him ready to play."

While Wiles is equally excited about his freshman defensive ends, it appears that Darius Fullwood and Houshun Gaines will also redshirt in 2015.

"Yeah, they ain't ready to play, man," said Wiles. "I'm not going to say they got worse as it went on, but they certainly got a little bit more overwhelmed. They were pretty good today...they showed flashes through camp, pretty good prospects. But as it went on, just not physical enough, and it just kind of wore on them mentally. Not mentally tough enough, but good prospects, though."

But at such a physically demanding position, injuries are bound to happen. Understanding that certainty, Wiles made it clear that no redshirt decision is permanent and that the Hokies are focusing on winning right now.

"The future is now, and I told Ricky that," said Wiles. "If the wrong guy got hurt, you're coming out here, you're going to move in there and start playing."

Player and Coaches Quotes

Charley Wiles

ON HEALTH OF COREY MARSHALL:

"He got fell on. Cole Pettit kind of slipped off a block and fell on Corey a little bit...just tweaked his ankle just a little bit. He didn't finish the scrimmage, but he didn't miss any practice because of it...Just a little basketball turn, not anything high."

ON HEALTH OF DADI NICOLAS:

"It's getting better every day, still a little apprehensive using it. But he's good on the edge, rushing the passer, just getting in there and playing square. It's just a little tender, still, but it's almost well. Should be full go here starting on Monday."

Nigel Williams

ON PLAYING ON SUCH A TALENTED DEFENSIVE LINE:

"It's good to learn from each other, definitely. Behind Luther and Corey, we all kind of push each other, learn from each other, watch film together. So it's just really competitive. We all compete off each other and just work to get better every day."

Woody Baron

ON HIS GROWTH AS A PLAYER:

"Big thing this summer, I got stronger. Just getting in the weight room over the summer, I felt like I got more strength. So that just translates on to the field. And more confidence. I'd say that's what I have the most of this summer is more confidence."

ON THE OHIO STATE GAME:

"It's definitely special. It's the only game on, Labor Day, primetime, but any game inside Lane is special."