Defensive Tackles Ready to Rally in Maddy's Absence

To the untrained eye, it wouldn't seem like the Hokies won't really miss DT Luther Maddy as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

A quick glance at his stats shows he has just nine tackles on the season, and zero sacks so far. Someone who doesn't follow Tech football closely could be forgiven for not understanding his impact.

Yet the leadership Maddy brings to the locker room and the pivotal role he plays in Bud Foster's defense can't possibly be overstated.

After all, it's not as if Maddy tore his meniscus during last weekend against game against Georgia Tech and then came out. Instead, he hurt it two weeks ago against ECU and still played 48 snaps for the Hokies on Saturday.

"We miss him. We miss him in the room, on the field," said defensive line coach Charley Wiles on Tuesday. "From a leadership standpoint and in the room, there was something missing in there today."

As a senior and one of Tech's more talkative players, it's no surprise that Maddy's absence has been felt immediately by his teammates.

"He definitely has that senior leadership aspect to him, he's a big guy in our locker room," said defensive tackle Corey Marshall. "And I really hope everything pans out for him because he deserves better for his senior year."

But it's not just Maddy's leadership that the Hokies will have to learn to do without. Wiles has deployed Maddy much the way he did Derrick Hopkins a season ago, taking advantage of his quickness to occupy multiple blockers and free up the rest of the front-seven to make plays.

"That element of his explosiveness inside, that you can't replicate," Marshall said. "You know he's one of the best defensive linemen in the country. Our motto is that we plug guys in, we reload, but there's something to be said for what he does on that side of the ball."

Between Marshall, new starter Nigel Williams, Woody Baron and Ricky Walker, the Hokies don't lack for options to replace Maddy's production. However, it's not entirely clear where it will come from just yet.

"Somebody's got to step up," Wiles said. "Corey's got to step up, Dadi (Nicolas) has got to step up, Nigel and Woody might play bigger roles."

Marshall has no problem taking on the burden of becoming the focal point of attention for opposing offensive lines.

"I embrace that challenge. If anything, it will take pressure off guys around me like Woody and Ricky, make it easier for them to be on one on one and create havoc," Marshall said. "I live for that. So if there's double teams, there's double teams. We'll handle it."

But Marshall won't be taking on this challenge at full health. He's dealing with an ankle injury that nearly kept him out of the Georgia Tech game.

"I would not say it's perfect," Marshall admitted, with a bit of sigh.

Yet he downplays its effect on his performance thus far.

"I think we all get nicks and nacks throughout the season," Marshall said. "I'm just dealing with something right now, and I'm working to get it right."

Considering how explosive Marshall has looked since returning to the team, with or without the injury, there's little doubt he'll be up to the task of filling Maddy's role.

The real question becomes how Williams will handle the increase in playing time.

"He can run well, but I wish he was more explosive overall. I wish he was more twitchy, quick," Wiles said. "I think he's got a better understanding, got a better technique fundamentally (than last year). I trust him that he can make a play, he's turned a few plays for us. But we'll see when he's playing 40 plays."

But after spending two years getting comfortable with Foster's defense, Williams thinks he's ready to show what he can do.

"I didn't come here to be a second string player, I came here to be productive in this defense, and I feel like I can do that after what I've learned from Luther and Skip the past couple years, and even Corey," Williams said. "He's pushing me to be faster, more aggressive off the ball, so I think it's a good opportunity to prove myself."

He's trying to improve on that explosiveness by learning from one player that seems to have gotten that area of his game down to a science.

"I look at Luther every day, I watch his film as well as my film, see what I can do to get better," Williams said. "We all do. We all look at Luther's film and see how explosive he is and that quick twitch he has. It's a good thing to learn from, a good thing to mold yourself after."

But if Wiles doesn't see the improvement he's looking for, he won't hesitate to rotate in the other tackles.

"We need to be productive and if we're not getting the production then we'll play Woody over there with Nigel and Ricky as a guy if something blows up," Wiles said.

Marshall has confidence that whichever backup takes the field will be ready to deliver.

"They've had multiple years in this defense. For them, it's just getting the reps," Marshall said. "They'll be able to produce, we're pretty confident in them. And we trust Ricky as well to do what he needs to do when his number's called."

Walker may just be a freshman, but he's already earning rave reviews from the veterans.

"Ricky learns really fast, he's doing really well," Williams said. "He's grasping more of the game every day, getting a feel for the speed. His technique is better every day with reps and just watching the other guys."

While Walker has matured a bit ahead of schedule, Wiles says he'll likely be the only first year player to see the field at all at the DT spot.

"We're still hoping to redshirt Vinny (Mihota), I can't see him helping us," Wiles said. "If somebody else got hurt, we may have to travel him and not play him in case something happened."

No matter who ends up getting extra snaps in Maddy's absence, Williams says the line's goal is clear over the next few weeks.

"We all want to push and rally for Luther during surgery and his recovery," Williams said.