Virginia Tech-East Carolina Game Week Press Conference Notes & Quotes

Several Virginia Tech players and coaches met with the media Monday afternoon in advance of this Saturday's matchup with East Carolina. A multitude of topics were discussed, and they are broken down into more digestible sections below.

Beamerball Makes an Appearance in West Lafayette

In vintage Beamerball style, against Purdue on Saturday the Hokies scored in all three phases of the game.

And with more and more teams deploying three — and sometimes even four — headhunters on the outside of punting formations, Frank Beamer thinks more blocked punts could be on the horizon for the Hokies.

"What's happening in football, right now, as you're getting all of these formations, they're trying to get headhunters out there," said Beamer. "Three headhunters, four headhunters. It's just hard to get them blocked up in space. So you're better off trying to block kicks, because they've taken people from protection and got them out there as headhunters. I think in the end, we'll see how the whole year works out, but I think if people keep splitting out, I hope we become better at blocking kicks."

Junior defensive back Der'woun Greene nearly scored on a kickoff return, but was forced to settle for an 82-yard return after being caught from behind by a Purdue defender. While Greene made several contributions last year on special teams, two fellow defensive backs may have helped him earn a permanent spot on this year's return unit.

"Every time I walk through the locker room to get to where the coaches locker room is, I have to walk past where Donovan Riley and Kendall Fuller dress," said Shane Beamer, the coach responsible for kickoff returns. "I'd walk through there and they would always be in my ear about Der'woun Greene. 'Coach, he's your best kickoff returner, you need to get him back there, get him going.' I don't know if it's because they really felt that way or because he plays defensive back and they're trying to help him out, but they're right."

And while punt returner Greg Stroman struggled mightily against Purdue, Frank Beamer remains supremely confident in the sophomore's abilities returning punts.

"I believe this: you all are gonna see him return a lot of punts before he leaves here," said Beamer. "I think number one, it's the hardest thing to do in football. People barreling down on you, catching the ball, may get hit quickly. If not, you got to dodge somebody. So I think it's a tough thing to do. And a guy that wants to do it, that guy is a luxury."

Emergence of an Offense

Isaiah Ford has heard it repeatedly since arriving in Blacksburg.

The defense carries you.

So while Ford certainly appreciates playing alongside a top defense, he was ready to prove the doubters wrong in 2015.

"We took a lot of heat last year, especially from a lot of people knowing our defense held us in a lot of ballgames," said Ford. "The offense was inconsistent and we couldn't come through. We took that upon ourselves, especially this offseason and in the spring and the summer...we worked really hard and now it's starting to show."

It appeared as if those plans would be spoiled when Michael Brewer went down in the third quarter against Ohio State, but the offense has averaged 46.5 points per game under new starter Brenden Motley. Starting fullback Sam Rogers attributes the success to a variety of a factors, tops among them an improved offensive line that's playing with a mean streak.

"I think it's a lot of things. I think the mentality up front is completely different," said Rogers. "I think the offensive line is doing a great job just getting after people. I think we got plenty of backs that can do stuff which is awesome. Any time you have four, five guys that can run the ball and play confident, it's gonna be a special team."

The running back rotation picture remains cloudy with J.C. Coleman, Trey Edmunds, and Travon McMillian all receiving significant playing time, but Rogers doesn't see that as a bad thing.

"I think it's a little bit overblown," said Rogers. "Any running back you ask across the country, they want to get the ball 20, 30 times. They're all competitors and want to do that. But at the end of the day, if we're putting up 220 yards rushing, it doesn't matter how we get that done."

And even though things looked bleak after a miscommunication on the offensive line led to a fumble return for a Purdue touchdown, the offense bounced back quickly and put the game out of reach in the second half.

"The hit for a touchdown was a complete miscommunication," said offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler. "Shouldn't have been, but it was...That was a play that could have been a changing point in the game. It shouldn't have happened, but it did. And I think our guys responded quite well by not letting it affect them and obviously kept playing. Unfortunately we all want this game to be perfect. I want it to be perfect. Our staff wants it to be perfect. Our players want it to be perfect. But it's a human game, and we just made a mistake."

Pre-snap Penalties Plague the Hokies

Despite a 27-point win on the road, the Hokies were far from perfect on Saturday. Pre-snap penalties popped up throughout the afternoon, something that was clearly frustrating for Loeffler.

"Until Saturday, we haven't had pre-snap penalties and we had five (Saturday against Purdue)," said Loeffler. "That was a disappointment. It's been addressed. It's been addressed for over a year. We kind of fell back into our old cycle of life from last year. That's an area that was highly disappointing and will be better this Saturday."

But instead of making players do up-downs or run wind sprints, the Hokies hold a full team meeting after every game in which they review each penalty committed and discuss what went wrong.

"I think the worst pressure is the peer pressure," said the elder Beamer. "When you gotta say 'OK, what happened here, why did it happen, and what's the consequences of what happened?' I think that's the best teaching, myself...We've got smart guys. Smart guys, they see it on the video, I don't think you'll see it happen again. I'm banking on that one right there."

And at some point, the players must hold each other accountable for mental mistakes on the field, a fact that isn't lost on Sam Rogers.

"I think the biggest thing we gotta do is just keep each other accountable and let it be a player-to-player kind of deal," said Rogers. "Just hold each other to a certain level. I think that's the biggest thing we gotta do. At the end of the day, it can't come from the coaches as much as it's gotta come from us internally."

Looking Forward to ECU

While some of Hokie Nation has grown weary of the seemingly endless matchups with East Carolina, Frank Beamer talked at length today about why the Hokies enjoy taking on the Pirates.

"They're a quality program," said Beamer. "Their coach, I have great respect for him. I think we're close enough that they bring people here, we take people there. So that part of it's good. And scheduling, it's just not as easy as 'OK, let's go schedule so-and-so.' So-and-so's gotta want to play Virginia Tech. So I think when you find two teams that it's beneficial in some ways for us, beneficial in some ways for them, I think you try to get as many games as you can. I think that's what Jim Weaver did. To me, it's got a lot of pluses. The minus for us is they're just a tough team to beat. The way they've been able to do things, the way they can throw the ball. The way they did it last year, the way they can this year. It makes them a dangerous team."

And while East Carolina's offense no longer features long-time quarterback Shane Carden or record-setting receiver Justin Hardy, Beamer knows the Pirates will still pose a great challenge.

"They look a lot the same to me," said Beamer. "They got a couple receivers there that look like the ones last year...The thing I remember last year is looking out there and saying 'man, those guys are big and fast.' They still look the same from that standpoint...They got their whole offensive line back. They're a dangerous team. Anytime you got your offensive line back, so that part of it is solid...and you've got the ability to throw the ball...those guys, they're good enough. We better get ready to play."

Shane Beamer also heaped praise on the Pirates and twice called East Carolina's Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium an "awesome atmosphere."

"They're a pain to prepare for just based on what they do from a scheme standpoint," said the younger Beamer. "They throw a lot at you, front wise. They're talented up front. They're an older group of front. They jump in and out of 3-4 and 4-3 defense often. When you do that, it changes your communication up front, how we're blocking it in pass protection, how we're blocking the defense in the run game."

And with the Pirates just a few hours south of Blacksburg, Beamer often crosses paths with them on the recruiting trail.

"I see them, at least in the Richmond area and places that I've been, I see East Carolina as much as anybody, if not more up there. They do a great job of recruiting. You're right from a proximity standpoint. They're close to the beach. They're close to Richmond. They can get into Northern Virginia. And you look at their roster and there's a lot of guys from Virginia that they have."

One of East Carolina's Virginia products is Davon Grayson, a junior wide receiver who was a high school teammate of Chuck Clark. And while Clark and Grayson normally text on a daily basis, Clark says this week his phone will be a little quieter.

"That's my best friend. We text like every week, every day," said Clark. "But it's kind of the same, like this year heading into the game we haven't texted each other or anything at all. It was like that last year. We probably won't talk to each other until we see each other on the field after the game."

Additional Quotes

Sam Rogers

ON THE OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION:

"It shows we can run the ball, we can throw the ball. We can do whatever. Just as a team we played really well too, which I'm really excited about...Anytime you can put up, like you said, average 47 points the last two games, it's gonna be huge in just getting confidence back."

ON BRENDEN MOTLEY:

"He's just a gamer, that's what I like about him. That one play where (there was) miscommunication on the snap, he kind of bobbled it but then just took off and scored. You can't really teach that. Obviously that wasn't a designed quarterback run."

Chuck Clark

ON PLAYING AGAINST HIGH SCHOOL TEAMMATE DAVON GRAYSON LAST YEAR:

"We matched up a few times. We've seen each other about 3, 4 times out there on the field. It's just a great feeling, a guy that you worked all your whole high school career with, just to get to this point and you actually see him out there on the field. He's making strides and improving.

Isaiah Ford

ON IF THEY'RE CLOSER TO FINDING A 3RD RECEIVER:

"I think they're making strides in practice. They're showing that they're paying more attention to the details, so I think, yeah we are. Coach Burden preaches to them, preaches to all of us, they're one injury away from playing. We have to have as much confidence in them as they have in me and Cam. They took that upon themselves and they're making strides."

ON HEALTH OF HIP:

"It's a little sore. But I've been living in the training room, so I have a lot of confidence that I'll be close to 100% by Saturday."

ON IF HIS INJURY RESULTED FROM POTENTIALLY PLAYING TOO MANY SNAPS:

"I aggravated it when I fell coming down off my touchdown in the Furman game. So that was just an accidental play. It wasn't like anything that caused it, fatigue or anything like that. I think I'm in the best shape of my life, so if they need me to play 80 or 90 snaps a game, I think I can do it."

ON BRENDEN MOTLEY:

"I think if I learned anything is his ability to prolong plays, to create when there's nothing there or when he has people in his face. The ability to elude defenders and get around and stretch the plays. He's done a really, really great job of that."

Scot Loeffler

ON IF HE'S LEARNING NEW THINGS ABOUT BRENDEN MOTLEY:

"No. No. We know what Brenden is. We know his skillsets. We know what he does well. If I was only around Brenden for a year, I would say yes. But I've been around him for almost 3 years now, so we know exactly what he is, what he brings to the table. He's improved over the last two and a half years immensely."

ON CHRIS DURKIN WORKING AT TE/H-BACK:

"We got a role for him at the quarterback position. We see some things that he can do similar to whenever we found Bucky. There's a skillset to him that we like. He's a quarterback right now that's playing a little bit of the hybrid U position. Again, that's day-to-day, week-to-week."

Shane Beamer

ON THE RUNNING BACKS' PERFORMANCE AGAINST PURDUE:

"Really pleased with the way the running backs played on Saturday. We talked about improving from the Furman game to the Purdue game Saturday and (I) really feel like they did. I believe we had four running backs that averaged over 4 and a half yards per carry, which anytime you can do that, you're producing. We had 16 broken tackles and over 100 yards after contact, whether it be running the football or catching the football. So we're breaking tackles, playing physical."