Hokies' New Running Backs, Offensive Line Face First Real Test in Columbus

When it comes to deciding who should get the bulk of the carries in the Hokies' new-look running game, Shane Beamer has plenty of voices in his ear.

Some may be helpful, like that of head Hokie Frank or the other members of the coaching staff, but others might come from less reputable sources.

"I had about 12 messages on Twitter and three emails (after the season opener) with people giving me their opinion on who our running backs should be," Beamer said.

It's a minor miracle that those numbers are so low given the focus on the running game from the fan base this offseason, and given how the team's 34-9 win over William and Mary played out.

True freshmen Shai McKenzie and Marshawn Williams combined for 147 yards on the ground against the Tribe while veteran J.C. Coleman faltered, feeding the cries for the newcomers to get the bulk of the carries on Saturday against Ohio State.

Tech's staff has always been willing to give veterans the benefit of the doubt on the depth chart, but Beamer made a big statement about his confidence in the freshmen when he listed them as co-starters.

"The physicalness they ran with, the broken tackles, the yards after contact was impressive," Beamer said. "There wasn't a look in their eyes like 'it's my first game, I'm playing in front of 65 thousand people,' they were very poised. Marshawn had a smile on his face the whole game, they were loose, the moment wasn't too big for them. It helps that you're having success and winning, and it will be critical for us to have that same mindset in Columbus."

Even against the Buckeyes' experienced, talented defense, Beamer says that the Hokies will lean on McKenzie and Williams, while still mixing in the other backs.

"On Saturday night we'll certainly have packages for different guys like we did last week, but I would say Marshawn and Shai will get the bulk of the carries," Beamer said. "You'll see other guys get carries, you'll see J.C. carry the ball, who knows who you may see carry the ball, but what I told the backs was Shai and Marshawn are our top two."

Williams, who seems to lack the filter that makes so many football players uninteresting, says that he found out that he'd playing such a large role before Beamer ever told him.

"I found out really on Twitter before anything, and it felt good," Williams said. "Shai and I were blessed to be given this chance in a game like this."

McKenzie seems similarly appreciative of the opportunity he's earned so quickly.

"It's been a surprise coming in, I thought I would be redshirted because of my knee, it was still giving me problems at the beginning," McKenzie said. "But I came in, got cleared and I felt real good, and just, I was just happy to be back out there."

The season opener was McKenzie's first chance to test out his repaired ACL in a game scenario and, outside of normal wear and tear, he says the injury hasn't been an issue.

"I took a helmet to the knee. It was a little swollen after, but that's normal," McKenzie said. "But overall after the game I was feeling good."

While McKenzie's injury seems to be a non-issue, the staff still seems a bit concerned about Trey Edmunds' recovery.

"We were going to put him in there Saturday and he covered about five punts and eight kickoffs, and we were going to put him in in the fourth quarter, but he was a little sore, so we didn't put him in," Beamer said.

With McKenzie and Williams ascending, Edmunds now has fewer reps to work with in practice, which could make his readjustment process more difficult.

"It's not preseason camp anymore, so he's not taking a lot of reps, we're just here and there giving him plays, getting him some work," Beamer said.

But Williams thinks that Edmunds has made the most of the reps he has gotten.

"I think Trey looks good," Williams said. "I thought he looked good last week as well, but Trey's getting better, every day he's getting better."

Accordingly, Beamer expects that Edmunds will get some playing time this weekend.

"I'd be a little bit more ready this Saturday to put him in then I was last Saturday," Beamer said. "He's a guy, that from a pass protection standpoint, on third down (could) take that off of Marshawn and Shai. Trey is a guy that you trust in that situation as much as anybody, so I would expect maybe to see him out there a little bit more Saturday, but we'll see."

As the Hokies prepare to expand their game plan from the limited one they used against the Tribe, Edmunds' experience could prove to be a big help for the freshmen.

"The game plan was small, we didn't have a lot in the game plan, we wanted our guys to get out there and play fast and not think so much, but we showed quite a bit," Beamer said. "But every week we're going to have something new that we didn't show."

Part of the new game plan will be aimed at neutralizing Ohio State's formidable front-four.
"This bunch we're about to play is really, really good up front," said offensive line coach Stacy Searels. "As good as any defensive front I've seen in a long time."

Coming from Searels, with his years in the SEC and the Big 12, that's no empty compliment. The Buckeyes return every one of their 2013 defensive line starters in Michael Bennett, Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington and Joey Bosa, a group that helped OSU finish third in the nation in sacks a season ago.

"When they're 6'5" or 6'4" and 300 pounds and can hold the point and are quick and athletic, that's a tough deal there," Searels said.

The line is so talented that it's giving players flashbacks to one top program Tech faced last year.

"Last year, Alabama's defensive line was very stout and we watched a little bit of film yesterday and a lot today, and they're a talented group up front," said center Caleb Farris.

But the Hokies do have some reason for optimism. The line performed well against a talented (for the CAA) Tribe defensive line, not allowing a single sack.

"That's really positive for our team, it means we're not making a lot of mistakes. No missed assignments, no guys free in the backfield," Searels said. "But this next week, it's going to be ramped up 10 times."

One area where the front-five will have to improve is the goal line. The Hokies could get away with settling for field goals in the red zone against the Tribe, but they won't have that luxury if they want to pull the upset in Columbus.

"A lot of those plays, it was one guy missing a block or not getting enough push inside," Farris said. "That was a learning experience, so we watched the film and we spent a lot of time on that portion of the film because that was very upsetting to the coaches and the players as well."

While watching the team's ineptitude on the goal line might've been demoralizing, the staff couldn't help but show off the blocking that contributed to McKenzie's 39-yard touchdown run in the opener.

"We played it over and over for the whole team," Searels said. "A receiver made a block, the offensive line made some blocks, Sam Rogers...I went and congratulated him on his block when he was getting ready for kickoff. There were a lot of kids that played hard on that play and Shai finished it off with a great run. That's what we want."

To top it all off, Beamer says that the run is also a boost on the recruiting trail too. McKenzie and the rest of the freshmen's success is an easy sell to high schoolers looking to make an early impact.

"It's great from a recruiting standpoint, that you can call up a recruit like we did all day yesterday and say 'our true freshman rushed for 106 yards,' 'our true freshman receiver caught the first touchdown,' 'our redshirt freshman TE caught a touchdown,'" Beamer said. "You can sell that to recruits and we do, we've got a lot of young talent on this team, we've been saying it all along. The future is exciting."