Frank Beamer Clarifies "Exhibition" Comment, Shane Beamer Discusses RB Rotation, Loeffler Talks Pitt

Fresh off a disappointing loss at East Carolina, several Virginia Tech coaches and players met with the media today in advance of Saturday's ACC opener against Pittsburgh. Several of the day's hottest topics are broken down below.

Video of Frank and Shane Beamer's Opening Statements

Frank Beamer Discusses Saturday's "Exhibition" Comment

I asked Frank Beamer about his post-game comments on Saturday in which he compared non-conference games to exhibitions. While Beamer didn't backtrack on the controversial comparison, he did attempt to clarify his intent.

"Well, I think anyone that knows the business, knows that the conference games are what are important," said Beamer. "Like I said, I'll go right back. If you can win your non-conference games, you got a chance to win a national championship. If you don't, anytime that you win puts you in a better position for a bowl game. But when you start the conference, now if you win that, you're going to the Orange Bowl. And every win that you can win in conference puts you in a better position. I think anybody that understands the business understands exactly what I was saying. And that's not to say non-conference games are not important. Like I said, if you got ambition to win a national championship or go to a really good bowl game, every one of those games are certainly important too. And hopefully we've learned something from playing those games."

While this year's Orange Bowl happens to fall in the College Football Playoff rotation, Beamer's underlying point remains valid.

Running Back Rotation Remains Unclear

No tailback received more than 7 carries against East Carolina on Saturday, an alarming statistic that Shane Beamer attributed to playing from behind for much of the afternoon.

"A lot of that had to do with the game," said Beamer. "We had to throw down the stretch quite a bit. We were trying to come back. Sam and Travon are more of our receiving type running backs. There were some plays in there where we hit a play downfield and then we immediately went fast and tried to get back to the line of scrimmage as quickly as we could, and in those situations, we're not gonna sub anyone because we don't want to give the defense a chance to sub."

Travon McMillian was the most productive of the group, and Beamer was asked if he's looking to get the redshirt freshman additional carries. His long-winded answer did little to clear up the already muddied waters in the running back room.

"I think he (McMillian) can be an everything tailback. He's shown that," said Beamer. "I'd like to get Travon more carries, but I'd like to get JC more carries. And I'd like to get Trey more carries. I apologized to Trey and JC yesterday. JC's our starting tailback and played seven plays against East Carolina. Trey's a co-starter in our opinion and played 15 plays, or something along those lines...You guys saw JC Coleman at the end of last season go over 100 yards in three out of his last four games and be the MVP of the bowl game. Trey Edmunds in 2013 had a heck of a season and I said it in the preseason, 'I think he's got a chance to have a bigtime season,' talking about Trey. And I still do. Having said that, we'd like to get Travon more involved as well. He hit a couple jet sweeps against East Carolina where he broke some tackles and I know his yards per carry average up there is higher than those other guys, sure. And Travon brings a lot to the table. I told him as well that I'd like to continue to get him going. But we've gotta give JC and Trey an opportunity to get into the flow of the games and East Carolina really did a good job up front stopping our base run game with our running backs. We were able to run the quarterback and we were able to get on the perimeter with the jet sweeps, but as far as being able to go right at them and those type runs, we didn't have quite the success that we would like. That took those guys (JC and Trey) out of the game a little bit. We've gotta be able to run the football, run our base runs and get Trey and JC going as well."

Beamer did rule out the possibility of Shai McKenzie returning this year and said the Hokies will be applying for a medical hardship waiver.

"The thing with Shai is he's still a little rusty. Don't think he's 100%," said Beamer. He can certainly run the ball physical and run you over, you see that. His make you miss ability is still coming along. That guy's had, the fact that we're even sitting here having this conversation is a testament to him and our training staff. He's coming off 2 ACL injuries in two years and one that happened less than a year ago."

However, Beamer didn't rule out a potential return for Marshawn Williams, another Hokies tailback recovering from a torn ACL suffered in 2014.

"Marshawn's the one that would like to play this year," said Beamer. "Obviously he's the one, he tore his ACL later than Shai did last year. So the fact that we're having a conversation about his availability is a testament to Marshawn and our training staff."

But Beamer did admit that with an already full running back room, Williams' chances of returning to the field in 2015 remain largely dependent on the health of the other tailbacks.

"That's what I've told Marshawn. We've got some quality guys at the running back position," said Beamer. "We don't need to muddy the water and just play if you're gonna play a few plays a game. If you're gonna play this year it's either because of injury, which knock on wood we've been fortunate, or you come out and you show that you're clearly better than those other 3 guys that we have right now. And if that's the case, we'll get you out there."

Brenden Motley Tallies 19 Carries Against ECU

Harking back to the Logan Thomas era, Brenden Motley ran the ball 19 times for 85 yards and a touchdown in the Hokies' loss to ECU. While rainy conditions certainly played into Motley's increased rushing load, Scot Loeffler said the East Carolina scheme dictated a heavy dosage of quarterback runs.

"A lot of reasons. We want to run the tailback, as you well know. But we also, we're gonna play to our strengths," said Loeffler. "In that game, we felt the quarterback had the ability to help us obtain rushing yards. We're not going to...if we have the ability to run the quarterback, if it's called for, we're gonna do it. Do we want to hand the ball to the tailback? Absolutely. That's who we are. But in that game, it was what they were doing and where we were at, we had to play to our strengths and it gave us the best opportunity to rush the football on that day."

But Motley, far from the physical specimen that Logan Thomas was, said he's willing to carry a significant rushing load if that's what the team needs.

"If Coach needs me to run 20, 25 times or if he needs me to run twice during the game, I'll do whatever we need for the team, for the offense. It doesn't matter to me," said Motley. "Everybody's body is gonna be hurting the next day. So if needs me, like I said, to run the ball that many times a game, I'll do it."

Running Quarterbacks Continue to Stifle Hokies' Defense

In what has become an all too familiar sight for Hokies fans, East Carolina's James Summers decimated the Hokies' defense on the ground all afternoon.

"Of course, a lot of people will see the game and think it's the rain, but it just comes down to us. What we did, gap fits, all that stuff has to do with it," said linebacker Deon Clarke. "He (Summers) came in and got 169 rushing yards. Coach (Foster) never likes stuff like that. He came in, did a good job. We just gotta tackle better, that's all basically it was. Just gotta tackle better."

And in a Bud Foster run defense, every missed tackle is magnified.

"It's just bad, knowing that if we did made the tackle, the play would have been over and he wouldn't have got that many yards," said Clarke. "Missed tackles are a big thing Coach (Foster) always put us on...Missed tackles, you can't do that on Coach Foster's defense. Missed tackles will just pop a play wide open."

The Head Hokie was also clearly impressed with the dynamic Summers, and added that he was pleased with how his own quarterback ran the football.

"Well part of the other day is you need tackling," said Beamer. "Count the missed tackles we had against him, and he had something to do with that. He's a talented kid. But anytime I think a quarterback can run, our quarterback got some tremendous yardage the other day. Anytime your quarterback can run, that adds another element to the game. It's another guy that you gotta account for. I love playing with those quarterbacks that can run. That's just the way it is."

Kendall Fuller's Availability Remains Unclear

Kendall Fuller sat out against East Carolina with a knee injury and is due to be re-evaluated by the Virginia Tech medical staff today.

Even so, Frank Beamer said he considered Fuller's chances of playing against Pittsburgh "very doubtful."

Donovan Riley, a potential replacement for Fuller, sang a different tune.

"Kendall's going to be fine," said Riley. "Kendall's gonna be great. He's gonna do what he has to do to get himself back on the field."

More information on Fuller's condition should be revealed at tomorrow's media availability. It's worth noting that Terrell Edmunds is listed as the top RCB in this week's depth chart.

Penalties Remain a Problem

In what is becoming a disturbing trend, penalties wreaked havoc on the Hokies once again against East Carolina.

However, this time around the referees may have drawn more ire from Hokie Nation than the Hokies players and coaches themselves. So while Scot Loeffler may not have agreed with some of the more controversial calls, he was clear about what his offense needs to focus on.

"We have to worry about what we can control," said Loeffler. The three that we can control is we had a young center on the road for the (second) time that didn't snap the ball on time. Those are things that we can control. He just couldn't hear the cadence, plain and simple. And then the formation penalty on the touchdown, that's something we can control. The other penalties are judgemental penalties. I've watched every single one of them as I do every week. I have my opinions on them and I'm not gonna share my opinions with you."

One of the most frustrating — and to be honest, head-scratching — calls from Saturday's loss was the targeting penalty that resulted in Sean Huelskamp's ejection. Deon Clarke remains unsure of what exactly Huelskamp did wrong, but is confident the linebacking corps can move on.

"Oh yeah, as soon as the play, as soon as we seen the flag, the whole defense was mad," said Clarke. "I mean Sean did what he had to do. The quarterback was running to him and Sean, he just leaned in a little bit. He didn't even really hit him on the head. But it's just one of those calls that you really can't judge that much. Yeah, they threw him out. But he's gonna come back next half and do what he gotta do to stay in the game."

The Hokies hope Andrew Motuapuaka will be able to return from his injury this weekend, but if not, true freshman Carson Lydon will be in line for his first career start. While starting a true freshman at middle linebacker in your conference opener may be less than ideal, Frank Beamer remains confident in Lydon's abilities.

"Lydon did a good job (against East Carolina)," said Frank Beamer. "He got in there. He's been on some special teams and solid guy, solid player. Smart. We've got a lot of confidence in Lydon."

Looking Ahead to Pittsburgh

Just a field goal away from a 3-0 start, the Panthers will challenge the Hokies in all three phases of the game on Saturday. Led by first year head coach Pat Narduzzi, the Pittsburgh defense reminds Scot Loeffler of the vaunted Michigan State defenses that Narduzzi led in years past.

"They're the 17th rated defense in America," said Loeffler. "They stop the run. They're only giving up 92 yards a game rushing. They're giving up a little under 200 passing. They get off the field. They're 28.6 percentage on third down which is outstanding. I know Coach Narduzzi well. I had the opportunity to play against him a few times whenever I was in the Big Ten. He's an excellent coach. Their defense brings problems. They're tough. They fly around. They're super athletic. There's a reason they're the 17th rated defense in America right now."

And despite losing star running back James Connor for the season with a torn MCL, the Hokies defense still expects the Panthers to challenge them on the ground early and often.

"It's gonna be a physical game," said senior cornerback Donovan Riley. "They're gonna run the ball. They're gonna pass the ball when they need to. We're just gonna have to stop the run early."

Additional Quotes

Shane Beamer

ON SHAI MCKENZIE REDSHIRTING:

He's been practicing well. He was cleared, don't know if he's quite 100%. It's very similar to the conversation we had with Trey Edmunds last year going into the William & Mary game. Trey felt like he was probably 100%. We kind of didn't quite see it that way and he didn't play much in those opening games last year and then came along and kept getting better. I think Shai's thinking is 'let me have this year,' if we're able to apply for this hardship (waiver) and get this year back, have this year, and be ready to roll next year. We got kind of a crowded backfield right now and I think he'd like to be 100% and full speed ahead when he is full speed ahead."

MORE ON THE RUNNING BACK ROTATION:

"It's a constant evaluation and all those guys are good in protection. They all bring a lot to the table. It's not all of a sudden anoint Travon McMillian the starting tailback. There's a lot more to it than that. Travon's got the ability to be a starting tailback and he's done nothing to deter our thinking on that. It's JC Coleman and Trey Edmunds are older guys that to me have proven that they can be the starting running back here at Virginia Tech. JC showed that last season. Trey showed that in 2013 and did some great things for us in the North Carolina game last year. We've gotta give them a chance to get going. Whether Travon was in the backfield Saturday, or JC and Trey, we ran into some looks that it was going to be tough for those guys to be successful. And I know everyone sees 'Ok, we handed the ball to Travon and he got a couple things accomplished,' but there were a couple times Travon was in there at the tailback position and we ran conventional runs with him and East Carolina brought some pressure that we didn't do a great job of picking up and the play didn't look so hot. JC's a guy that we need to continue to get more involved with the jet sweeps and things like that. We like JC out in space on the perimeter. That's something that he brings to the table. And we've got to continue to look at that and those guys gotta continue to improve. And Sam Rogers is another one. You want to talk about yards per carry, Sam Rogers when he gets in there, he's a got a high yards per carry and does a lot of stuff as well. So I like where all those guys are. They'd all like to play more. They'd all like to carry the ball more. They're all competitors. But we also gotta (do) what gives us the best chance to be successful. And Saturday it was running the quarterback. I hope I'm not standing here, if I'm here next Monday, I hope I'm not standing up here talking about Brenden Motley carrying the ball twenty, twenty-five times or whatever he had to do on Saturday. We want to limit the pounding that he's taking, as well."

ON DER'WOUN GREENE NOT BEING ABLE TO PLAY AT EAST CAROLINA:

"I believe it was a foot, I believe. He didn't do much in practice last week and then we got him in pregame and was hoping he was gonna be able to go. I believe it was a foot injury that he hurt towards the end of the Purdue game. But hopefully we'll be able to get him back out there this week. Very optimistic that he'll return."

Scot Loeffler

ON TRAVON MCMILLIAN:

"We really like Travon. He's a young player that's getting better from week-to-week. You can line him up in the backfield. You can line him up on the perimeter and throw him the football and run jet sweeps. But we've got other guys in that room that have similar characteristics. Just like I've said from the beginning, we're gonna try to use all of the available talent that we can to help us win."

ON BRENDEN MOTLEY:

"I think he's doing a great job. Coming off the bench and being the backup quarterback and producing the way he has, has been very good for our team and for our offense. He's doing a great job. Win, lose or draw, you'll always hear me come in here and (say) it's impossible to play a perfect game. There's always 3, 4, 5, sometimes 6 things that a guy needs to change to enhance his game. When we win, they're not blown up. When we lose, they are blown up. That's part of our business. That's part of playing quarterback. But to answer your question, I think he's doing a really, really good job. He's a guy that's getting better from week to week. He's feeling more comfortable being the starter. I'm really proud of that guy. And we're also having, to follow up on that, I think there's some guys around him that (have) stepped up like we asked and they're really playing well around him. It's a team effort. Whenever we lost Michael Brewer, it was a very tough situation, but our team's embraced it. Brenden's embraced it. He's doing a good job."

ON PITTSBURGH DEFENSE:

"They're doing very similar things to what he did at Michigan State. And just like I said, schematically, they're different. They're tough. They bring problems to the table. They're a pressure oriented defense. In your face. Bump and run coverage on the outsides. They present problems. We're gonna have to, again, play our best football game to give ourselves a chance to win."

Donovan Riley

ON HELPING GREG STROMAN THROUGH STRUGGLES:

"As a senior, you just have to embrace the role of being more selfless than selfish. When those plays happened, you just have to encourage him and tell him to pick his head up because being a defensive back, you have to have a short memory. It's about moving on to the next play, not carrying the last play on.

Frank Beamer

ON GREG STROMAN'S PERFORMANCE AT EAST CAROLINA:
Stroman's got good talent, he just got in there and we got him lined up a couple times. He kinda got on a roll and couldn't get off of it there for a while. He's a good player. Part of being a defensive back is you gotta forget that last play. I think he's got the ability to do that. He needs to come out and have a good week at practice."

ON AJ HUGHES' ACROBATIC PUNT FOLLOWING HIGH SNAP:

"I think he just reacted. He did a heck of a job. AJ's really an athletic guy. I think a talented guy, but an athletic guy. I thought, in the end, it was a tremendous play. For a while there, I just wanted him to kick it out of the end zone. Then I was like 'oh my goodness, what's gonna happen?' But in the end, when he kicked it, I said 'Good play. Nice job.' Went through about five different deals on that one."