■ 18 August 2008 | 6:47 PM
It’s been an interesting day, to say the least. I planned on a leisurely afternoon sitting on the back patio, enjoying a beautiful Blacksburg day and writing a light story on kicker Dustin Keys.
So much for that. The team practiced today for the first time without suspended receiver Zach Luckett. Practice was closed, so I can’t tell you how the rest of the receivers looked. But I did make the rounds afterward with my trusty tape recorder.
Here’s what a few Hokies had to say about losing Luckett and what’s next for the receiving corps. I’m not gonna wax poetic here, because I’m not sure I can really add or analyze much. It is what it is: Four of Tech’s top five receivers this year will be true or redshirt freshmen.
Former QB Ike Whitaker, with three career catches, is now the most-experienced wideout on the roster. Enough said. Here’s what everybody’s thinking (or at least saying publicly) …
HEAD COACH FRANK BEAMER
ON WHETHER, WITH THE LOSS OF LUCKETT, TECH WILL MAKE ANY MOVES AT RECEIVER, SUCH AS IKE WHITAKER TO FLANKER: “No, no. Roberts and Boyce are doing a good job over there and we’ll let them battle it out and see. I think all three of those kids are going to end up playing: Boykin, Boyce, Roberts.”
ON WHETHER HE KNEW ABOUT LUCKETT’S FIRST DUI: “I put that thing out (press release, saying he wouldn't comment) today and that’s all I’m saying about it.”
ON THE SUSPENSION BEING INDEFINITE, WHETHER THERE’S A TIME-FRAME FOR DECIDING IF IT’S PERMANENT: “Uh-uh. Indefinite.”
ON HOW LUCKETT HAD BEEN EXPECTED TO FACTOR IN THE OFFENSE: “Well, he was doing well out here and had it going in a good direction.”
ON WHAT HE’S SEEN FROM FRESHMAN DYRELL ROBERTS, THE NEW NO. 1 AT FLANKER: “I think he’s got speed. I think he’s got natural hands. I think football makes sense to him. I think he’s ahead of the curve quite a bit.”
ON WHETHER THE LOSS OF LUCKETT INCREASES CORNER MACHO HARRIS’ ROLE ON OFFENSE: “No, I think we’re going to keep the same plan. But we’d already planned to get Macho in there a certain number of plays and it’s going to be the same deal.”
WR DYRELL ROBERTS
ON BEING THRUST INTO THE SPOTLIGHT WITH LUCKETT OUT: “Right now, I can’t really comment on what’s going on with Zach. Coach Beamer had to do what he had to do. No love lost for Zach. I love him to death, but really my focus right now is getting better for the season and stepping up and helping my team any way I can.”
ON WHETHER LUCKETT’S LOSS MAKES HIM MORE MOTIVATED: “Yeah. Now I know I’ve got to step my game up. I know I have to work twice as hard to prepare myself, to get ready in two weeks to face ECU. I’ve got to talk to coach and study film more and more and more just to be ready.”
ON WHETHER THE COACHES SAID ANYTHING TO HIM TODAY ABOUT HIS NEW ROLE: “Not really. We’re just all focused on getting better. The coaches’ attitudes toward me haven’t changed. They’re still telling me to work hard, know the playbook and be ready. Coach Sherman is really calm and collected about it. He’s not really talking about it. No one’s really discussing it. We’re all just getting ready for the season.”
ON THE BIGGEST THING HE NEEDS TO LEARN OR FIGURE OUT: “Things have stepped up, so I’ve got to learn the playbook in and out, know my assignments and get ready for that game speed. Coach preaches to us every day to work on blocking, drive your feet. I’ll be working on that, because blocking is a big part of the game plan.”
ON NEVER GUESSING HE’D START THE FIRST GAME OF HIS TRUE FRESHMAN YEAR: “I took it one day at a time. You hate to see things like this happen. I wasn’t worried about starting, but now that things are going on around me, I just have to focus on getting myself together, get physically and mentally ready to go. I came in thinking I’d have a chance, but I knew I’d have to work for it.”
ON WHETHER THERE WILL BE NERVES THE FIRST GAME: “Of course. Any game I’ve gone into, I always had butterflies until that first play, then I settled down. But right now, it’s a new level, so of course I’m going to have that little nervousness about me.”
ON THE AVERAGE CROWD AT HIS SMITHFIELD HIGH SCHOOL GAMES: “Our most-packed game, we had a couple thousand games. It wasn’t really, really big (like Tech).”
ON FACING TECH’S CORNERS, LIKE HARRIS, IN PRACTICE EVERY DAY: “Going against Macho every day in practice is definitely getting myself ready. I know we’ve got some of the best corners in the ACC. It’s really building my experience up. I should be ready to go. They come at me. They don’t take no plays off … let you know, ‘I’m here. We’re going to get you ready.’ It’s a plus. I really enjoy it.”
WR COACH KEVIN SHERMAN
ON REPLACING LUCKETT: “If we can find guys to step up and be consistent, those are the guys that we’re going to play with. My goal hasn’t changed and our goal hasn’t changed as an offense. We’re going to try to find six guys to get ready to play.”
ON HOW LUCKETT WAS PLAYING THIS CAMP BEFORE THE SUSPENSION: “Consistency was an issue. I think as with all of them. With the whole group.”
ON WHETHER HE’LL MAKE ANY MOVES TO COMPENSATE FOR LOSING LUCKETT: “No. The depth chart’s still the same. We’ve got to have guys step up.”
ON LOSING LUCKETT: “It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is. Coach has made a decision and we won’t comment on that. Our job is just to get the next guy ready to play.”
ON BEING THANKFUL TECH RECRUITED SO MANY WIDEOUTS LAST YEAR: “I’m glad we have some guys, but they still have to get better every day to make sure we can trust them to put them on the field and make plays.”
ON WHETHER HE’D FEEL COMFORTABLE STARTING ROBERTS IF TECH PLAYED A GAME TOMORROW: “Well, uh, well (laughing) … you got me there. But no, I think he’s athletic enough and gives us enough big-play capabilities, he’s physical enough to handle what we’re asking for. But we’re still working every day.”
CB VICTOR “MACHO” HARRIS
ON WHETHER HIS ROLE ON OFFENSE GOT BIGGER WITH THE LOSS OF LUCKETT: “I really don’t know. I’m just really focused on taking care of what I’ve got to do on the defensive side of the ball. I don’t want people to think that going over to wide receiver is my primary position or it’s going to be my primary position, because it’s not. My primary position is being a cornerback and being a returner. If they decide to put me at wide receiver, that’s just a plus. Whatever they need me at, I’m going to play for them.”
ON COVERING THE FRESHMEN RECEIVERS IN PRACTICE AND WHETHER THEY LOOK READY TO PLAY: “Um … yeah, yeah. I think physically, all the freshmen are ready. Mentally, you ain’t gonna get the mental part down pat until you get some game experience. So some of the guys we think they’re ready … when it comes game time, we’re not going to know yet. But the coaches have a great feel for who they want where. They do a great job, so I wouldn’t question anything the coaches do.”
ON LOSING LUCKETT BEING BIG: “Whenever you lose somebody in general … due to injury, discipline, whatever, yes, it is a blow. We don’t want to subtract guys off the team, but coach had to do what he had to do. It’s a blow, but we’ve still got to keep it moving.”
ON FRESHMAN DYRELL ROBERTS: “He’s definitely got the tools to get the job done. It’s just transitioning from high school to college, I think that’s going to be kind of rocky for him. But he’s got the physical tools. He’s fast, he’s physical. He’s kind of thin, but he plays physical. I like him a lot.”
ON WHETHER HE’S CROSSING HIS FINGERS WITH THE FRESHMEN: “It can be scary, but it was proven before that freshmen could come in and do the job. Eddie (Royal) came in as a freshman (in 2004) and did the job. You’ve got Percy Harvin at Florida that did the job. History shows it’s not impossible for a freshman to come in and do a great job. My fingers are not crossed. I have faith in (Dyrell) and I know he’s going to get the job done.”
ON BEING PREPARED TO HELP AS MUCH AS NECESSARY ON OFFENSE: “I’m going to be ready. Coach Beamer and I talked about this before, coming into my freshman year out of high school. We talked then about playing on the other side of the ball. Eventually I knew it was going to come, so I’m not worried.”
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Oh Bloggy, thanks sooooo
Oh Bloggy, thanks sooooo much for canceling your back-porch festivities to bring us the latest from your and our favorite team. You do so much for us -- and we appreciate it. Go Hokies!
Thanks Kyle, great stuff.
And thanks for asking about Ike. I thought they might move him over, but I guess not.