Hokies Play Rover Roulette

With Buzzketball's surge on the hardwood, it was easy to overlook the Hokies kicking off the Justin Fuente era on the field March 22 with the start of spring football. The urgency hit me when I read Bud Foster's extensive thoughts on Adonis Alexander's physical talent to be an elite corner.

"He's a dynamic athlete," Foster told the Roanoke Times. "Now, all of a sudden if you can put a stud, lockdown corner at least to one side of the field, that's always been one of our strengths is having that kind of guy. Whether it's been a DeAngelo Hall or Brandon Flowers or Jimmy Williams, the Fuller brothers. I think Adonis can be in that mix, but he's got a long way to go."

Perhaps more surprising was Foster's comment that Terrell Edmunds will move to rover.

"Chuck Clark will start at safety. Backing him up will be Mook Reynolds, but Mook will also be working at nickel," said Foster at Tech's spring practice press conference. "We've moved Terrell Edmunds to rover. He could play corner as well, but he's gonna play safety...Right now, our field corner is gonna be Greg Stroman...And then Adonis Alexander will be at our boundary corner...We're a little thin on the back end there particularly at corner, but that's OK. I think Greg and Adonis need as much work as they can get. Guys are extremely talented but really haven't played a lot of corner. It's gonna be a big spring for those guys."

Edmunds was incredibly dependable replacing Kendall Fuller as the boundary corner, especially late in the season. In the Independence Bowl, Edmunds played superior outside and inside leverage techniques and Tulsa stayed away from him after several beautiful pass breakups. He was physical in coverage and dependable enough that Foster put him on an island without safety help time and time again.

I have been outspoken that Adonis Alexander's greatest upside is at corner. Alexander made two highlight plays against Virginia despite technique flaws. He is raw, yet has the most NFL potential of any corner on the roster.

Alexander also presents a good problem to have, he has the range and tackling ability to make an impact at free safety too. All in all, Edmunds was probably the more consistent player at corner in 2015. However, Edmunds hesitancy in run support during spring practice was one of the reasons Alexander got an opportunity to play almost right away at rover. Physicality wasn't Edmunds issue, but timing and instinct were. It is surprising that Foster would revert back to the old formula.

Safeties in Foster's defense are critical because of their responsibility to relay coverage calls from sideline to sideline. There is no minimizing the importance of that communication, or covering up problems the Hokies have exhibited in zone coverages and alley fits when inexperienced players man the back-end. That said, nothing covers up flaws in safety play quite like having a couple of lockdown corners.

Despite the gaping hole that would open up at safety, Alexander and Edmunds both can have the greatest impact on the game at corner. The importance of having corners that can play on an island is heightened given Brandon Facyson's injury history, Mook Reynolds' typecasting as a safety/nickel, and Greg Stroman's difficulty handling physical outside receivers in coverage.

Moving players around does have some consequences. Foster has slowly been transitioning to secondary players where all five guys are essentially corners and can play man coverage. That transition has seen mixed results as far as coverage, and reduced quality of play in terms of secondary run support. Part of that may be attributed to a five corner philosophy; however the roulette in the secondary the last couple of springs seemed to catch up with the Hokies when injuries forced Foster to use inexperienced players.

Chuck Clark is a textbook example. Clark had a stellar 2014 campaign at the nickel/whip spot. Everyone expected he would transition to safety in 2015. Because of injuries, he ended up practicing exclusively at boundary corner during spring ball. Clark had a terrific spring and a great Ohio State game in which he kept the Hokie defense in the game while several of his teammates were dominated up front. When Foster moved Clark back to a traditional two-deep look starting against Furman, it sure seemed like he was not nearly as comfortable. Clark struggled with alley play and often looked hesitant early in the season. By the time the Hokies played Tulsa, Clark was caught out of position several times, one of which directly resulted in a Tulsa touchdown reception. More importantly, Clark didn't take a snap that I can recall at boundary corner all season. Spring ball ended up being a bit of a waste.

Ultimately, you want to see guys spending the spring getting as much experience as they can at the position they will most likely play. Edmunds was a great corner at the end of last season and should return to the boundary. Alexander showed tremendous ability to be a Jimmy Williams type of shutdown guy who has the range to also play to the field side. With Facyson's health in question, Alexander should be at corner, yet he can get some work at free safety because it is clear he can play that spot if the need is dire. Facyson is a great Hokie, and he is still the first guy to get me out of my seat at a scrimmage since I started writing about Hokies' football, but to count on him being healthy without a contingency plan seems misguided.

So what if the Hokies don't have an experienced player at safety in the spring? To me, it presents a tremendous opportunity to get experience for one of the true safeties and make them comfortable in case one is needed next year. I hope Chuck Clark will get another look at rover where he can play close to the line of scrimmage. Jahque Alleyne, who has enough natural talent and athleticism that he didn't get a redshirt despite a late enrollment could be thrown to the wolves at free safety to see if the range evident in his high school film can add value immediately to the secondary. Mook Reynolds played some safety against Tulsa due to injuries and didn't look out of place when pressed into duty. Perhaps there's an opportunity there if Foster considers him for a role outside of Tech's nickel, especially given that Stroman doesn't seem well suited to safety. Other kids like DuWayne Johnson and a returning Shawn Payne get an opportunity. Perhaps one of them will surprise the coaches and Hokie Nation alike this spring.