Tech Tidbits: The Exquisitely Named Hezekiah Grimsley Gets Some Attention

I opened Tidbits on a serious note earlier this week, and tried to avoid doing so again; then the Urban Meyer news happened.

I won't bore you by preaching about Ohio State's handling of the situation, as there are people far more capable than me of pointing out all the various reasons that it boggles the mind that Meyer still has a job.

They can expound on the university's report that Meyer deliberately tried to delete old, incriminating texts, or the ridiculous explanation that Meyer didn't "deliberately lie" to reporters at Big Ten media day or that Meyer quite deliberately didn't really apologize to Courtney Smith at all during his thoroughly inadequate press conference after his suspension was announced.

Rather, here's what I will do: ask you to remember 2014.

Sure, it's worth chuckling over the memory of a Hokies team that turned out to be quite mediocre blasting the eventual national champions at home.

That was quite a year for Meyer, all things considered, given the way it rehabbed his image around the college football world following his messy departure from Florida. But even amidst that nearly perfect season, he managed to get out-coached by (a nearly retired) Frank Beamer, Bud Foster, and yes, Scot Loeffler.

All of that is to say this: Meyer may be quite the talented coach, but like anyone else, he can make mistakes. Maybe, just maybe, Ohio State could've found another, similarly talented head coach to take over for Meyer, one who'd be capable of losing to a lesser team and turning that loss into a title run.

Instead, Ohio State's leaders chose to stick by their man, even after all we've learned about him. I hope they can sleep well having made that decision.

The rest of us have much more trivial things to worry about.

Grimsley Finds His Place

Call me a Key Players Club shill if you will, but man, you're missing out if you missed my esteemed colleague French correctly predicting how Justin Fuente would use his wide receivers a couple weeks ago.

French's thesis was that Hezekiah Grimsley would get the bulk of the reps in the slot to start camp, even though Sean Savoy also played that role a good bit last year.

Sure enough, Fuente comes out and says this during Thursday's media session.

Fuente said Lafayette High grad Hezekiah Grimsley has taken advantage this preseason of being able to stay in one spot - working out of the slot. Said they moved Grimsley around last season out of necessity. #Hokies— Norm Wood (@normwood) August 23, 2018

Given this, it would sure seem likely that French is also correct and that Savoy will play primarily on the outside this year.

That means the main question the Hokies have left to sort out is who will join him as Josh Jackson's top target at wideout.

Eric Kumah came on a bit as the year went along, and Damon Hazelton has gotten plenty of hype for months now, ever since he transferred. Kumah definitely has size to be a possession receiver, now that he's up to 225 pounds.

But I really like Phil Patterson as well, another tall option at 6'2" who Fuente has had plenty of kind words for this year.

It is a bit worrying that the Hokies don't have an obvious big-play threat in the mold of Cam Phillips and Isaiah Ford. Yet it sure seems as if they have more options at the position than they have in a long while, and I fully expect at least one of these guys to step up and match Savoy as a playmaker before too long.

Subbing in for Stroman

Speaking of Grimsley, it seems he could factor into the punt return game too, as the Hokies look to manage the very big task of replacing Greg Stroman.

Shifty slot receiver types do tend to be good fits for the position, and he certainly has experience at the spot from his high school days.

Grimsley on being a pretty prolific return man in high school: "It was more me being scared to get tackled." Said he made good decisions to avoid defenders as a result. #Hokies— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) August 23, 2018

But, on Tuesday, Fuente said his current top two at the position were Hazelton and C.J. Carroll. Should those two not work out, only then would he look to CB Bryce Watts and Grimsley, per Mike Niziolek, newly of the Roanoke Times.

If we're to assume that Grimsley is indeed bound for full-time slot duties, perhaps it would make a bit more sense for Carroll to emerge as the main guy. He does have some experience at the post, though it mostly came in 2016, when he returned 11 punts for 98 yards. Last year, he fielded just two for four yards.

Plainly, it seems as if there's room for one of the younger guys to separate themselves. My memory of Carroll is that he was a steady, if unspectacular, option at returner.

If the aforementioned wide receiver depth makes it difficult for someone like Hazelton to see a ton of time on the field, perhaps this is where he could make an impact instead.

"I do think he has some size and strength that can be adventitious at that spot," Fuente said of Hazelton Tuesday. "But kind of the baseline level is who in our evaluation can field the ball, communicate and handle the stress that goes with being a punt returner before we even talk about making guys miss and doing some of the things Greg had done over the last several years."

The David Hale Depressing Stat Corner

ESPN's resident ACC expert has a way for finding stats that speak better than words ever could, and today's nugget on Tech's running game was no exception.

Since 2012, Virginia Tech avg 4.37 yards/rush (not counting sacks) - 6th worst in FBS just ahead of *gasps* Virginia (4.35).Take QBs out of the equation and it's worse (4.20) - ahead of only Wake, Ga State, UConn and FIU.Consistent run game might be biggest need in '18.— A David Hale joint (@DavidHaleESPN) August 23, 2018

Gasp indeed. Any Hokie fan keeping up with the team won't be surprised by this stat, necessarily, but it should be disturbing nonetheless that there's such hard and fast evidence of the team's ineptitude in the ground game since David Wilson left town.

Fuente hasn't been able to build much of a running game since he arrived in Blacksburg, with the exception of using Jerod Evans as a quite effective battering ram. This year, however, could be a real turning point, if the offensive line and Deshawn McClease live up to the hype.

As the angry people in my mentions today were sure to point out, Tech's problems in the running game had a ton to do with the offensive line, beyond just the backs themselves. And this year, that position group could be the strength of the whole team, which surely bodes well.

The mix of McClease, Jalen Holston and veteran Steven Peoples also represents a more talented (and, perhaps crucially, experienced) set of runners than the team's had in a while. As we've discussed ad nauseam this offseason, it could surely make all the difference between the offense taking a next step and remaining stuck in neutral.

I leave you tonight with a look at what the youths are up to.

Bradburn said DT Tim Settle was one of the biggest Fortnite players on the team last year. He was good too. "He never shut up about it," Bradburn said with a laugh. #Hokies— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) August 23, 2018

More Fortnite! Chung says he and QB Josh Jackson play each other all the time. Chung says probably 90% of guys on the team play Fortnite. He played from the start. Calls himself "The OG of Fortnite." #Hokies— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) August 23, 2018