N.C. State Week, Volume 2 (Kam's Career edition) ...

I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before: I really appreciate secondary coach Torrian Gray’s candor. He’s very good at breaking down his players and he’s very honest about their strengths and weaknesses.

He manages to both praise and criticize his guys with care. And when you walk away from Gray, you feel like you have the real story.

That’s one reason my ears perked up prior to last season when he told me he thought free safety Kam Chancellor would leave Virginia Tech as the greatest safety ever to play for the Hokies.

And that’s why I went back to Gray this week, as Chancellor prepares to play his final home game in a Tech uniform, to revisit those thoughts and to reflect on Chancellor’s career.

Before and after we got into that topic, though, I took the opportunity to get some scoop on Gray’s cornerbacks – now and in the future – and who he sees replacing Chancellor at free safety.

True to form, Gray addressed each topic fairly and honestly, and it was yet another refreshing interview with a bright young coach who likely has big, big things in his future. He still looks like he can play alongside his guys, and I’d guess that his youthful personality is part of the reason kids love to play for him. I’m sure they appreciate his honesty in assessing them, too.

As for Chancellor – who played corner as a true freshman (and had an interception), then started at strong safety as a sophomore (a pick and seven break-ups), and has been a free safety since then – he will finish his career with some pretty solid stats.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior – whose size and speed and athleticism make NFL scouts drool – has 195 career tackles, five career interceptions, 18 pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

Chancellor might not have lived up to Gray’s prediction, and he has been frequently (and sometimes unfairly) criticized by fans, but he has been a key part of Tech’s defense throughout his career. And along with a handful of not-so-hot games where he missed a big tackle or was beaten deep by a receiver, Chancellor has had some huge, huge games for the Hokies.

Perhaps his greatest game was last season’s Orange Bowl. He played a major role in Tech’s victory over Cincinnati with two pass break-ups, one diving interception and a second spectacular pick that was waived off because he landed out of bounds.

For me, it’s hard to believe Chancellor’s career is almost up. I can still remember his first week of practice in Blacksburg. At the end of one session, coach Frank Beamer called Chancellor and fellow freshman Zach Luckett (who had an almost identical body) over to the side and lined them up against each other.

Chancellor and Luckett took turns at receiver and defensive back, going head-to-head, as Sean Glennon (I think) threw passes their way. From that day on, Luckett was a receiver (until recently) and Chancellor was a defensive back. It’s also easy to forget that Chancellor’s first three days of practice in Blacksburg were spent at quarterback – where he starred for Maury High in Norfolk – and that he caught the coaches’ attention there, too.

If not for (at the time) major depth at the position, he might’ve stuck under center.

Truth be told, Chancellor could probably play every position on the field except offensive line or defensive tackle. He is a truly remarkable athlete. (And person, by the way, in case anyone also forgot that he grew up in the mean streets and had to be the man of his house starting in grade school.) The fact that he didn’t have an utterly dominant college career doesn’t diminish that. It doesn’t likely decrease his pro potential, either.

I’ll let Gray address that. But first, I’ll ask you what I asked him: How will you remember Kam Chancellor’s career?

Take it away, Gray ...

SECONDARY COACH TORRIAN GRAY

ON WHETHER THIS TIME NEXT YEAR JAYRON HOSLEY, THE TRUE FRESHMAN PUNT-RETURN STANDOUT, WILL BE A STARTING CORNER: “Well, politically, I have to say he’s got to win the job. Athletically, the way he is progressing, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the starter.”

ON WHETHER HE HAS BEEN SURPRISED BY THE ROOKIE: “I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged to see how he played in the Maryland game. As far as the progression, it was actually a little slower than I thought it would be, as far as picking up the college game. But then I’ve got to realize he’s a true freshman, just coming from high school. His big thing is, ‘Am I getting lined up right? Am I at the right depth?’ And I want him to have that down so he can understand formations and down and distance. But that’s not the case (early). Now, it’s starting to slow down for him. It was great we had an opportunity to get him in the last game. You got to see him make some plays and now, even in the meeting today, he seemed more eager. It’s like it’s starting to slow down and he’s starting to figure it out.”

ON HOW BIG THAT MARYLAND GAME WAS FOR HOSLEY, WHO BROKE UP TWO PASSES: “It did tons for his confidence. I could just see in the smile on his face. I told him, ‘Great play on the two-point conversion on the end zone.’ He was like, ‘Thanks coach,’ kind of like, ‘Yeah, OK, I get it.’ He broke the pass up in the corner (of the end zone) and that’s not an easy play for anybody. And the first snap he got in, he had a pass break-up on the sideline, ending up catching the ball, but he was out of bounds. Those things really got him along.”

ON WHETHER HOSLEY’S PROGRESS AND NATURAL ABILITY – ALONG WITH RASHAD CARMICHAEL’S SOLID PLAY THIS YEAR – GIVES HIM HOPE FOR THE CORNERS NEXT YEAR WHEN STEPHAN VIRGIL IS GONE: “Definitely. I feel good. I feel good with the way Rock’s play. I feel good with what I’ll have in Jayron. With another year, at some point, it’s going to click for Cris Hill. I feel good about having him back. We have some redshirt freshmen and somebody will end up taking a step forward. The problem is we’ve got to find a free safety who can make the calls and get us lined up, but Eddie Whitley will do good at that. And Antone Exum is a young guy who will come along.”

ON WHITLEY LACKING THE SIZE AND ATHLETICISM OF A KAM CHANCELLOR BUT HAVING AN ABUNDANCE OF SMARTS: “That’s his strength. One thing we do with our defense is that guy has to be able to see stuff, call stuff, get lined up, process this and play. That’s not an easy thing. When we moved Eddie to safety, he picked it up pretty quickly. As he got into it, it can be a little overwhelming, but I know after this season and spring ball, he’ll be able to do that part of it for us. He reminds me of D.J. Parker – a guy that’s not the biggest in stature but mentally can get us lined up and play well.”

ON WHITELY BEING A GUY WHO’LL SUCCEED MORE BY PUTTING HIMSELF IN THE RIGHT PLACE THAN USING HIS SPEED TO GET HIMSELF IN THE RIGHT PLACE AFTER THE FACT: “Right. He will understand the game, will play a step or two faster because he’ll know what’s going on.”

ON KAM CHANCELLOR’S DAY AGAINST MARYLAND BEING ONE OF HIS BEST: “I thought his North Carolina game was probably one of his better games. He had some great plays, some great tackles in the open field against Maryland. He did a great job ranging out of the half field. It was a good game for him, but I wouldn’t say it was his best game. Just from the standpoint of some of the adjustments we made (against UNC), he had like 10 or 11 tackles, a great fourth-down play. He just was solid in all aspects (against the Heels).”

ON WHERE HE WOULD RATE CHANCELLOR’S SEASON: “You had a couple games in there that you’d like to take out. Other than that, he’s been solid. The Alabama game, the East Carolina game wasn’t a great game for him. Other than those games, he has been pretty consistent, pretty steady.”

ON WHETHER CHANCELLOR IS AN NFL FREE SAFETY: “I see him as a strong safety, a guy who when he’s to the ball, that will accentuate his strengths. And they won’t ask him to cover wide receivers like we do. All he’ll have to do is cover tight ends and running backs and he still can play the ball. He still can play the half field in the post, which we don’t do a lot of because we’re such a robber, inverted-half team, so it doesn’t accentuate the things he does best. Last game, we played a lot of high safety, so you got to see him range the field more and those are things he’ll do a lot more on the next level.”

ON CHANCELLOR, THEN, BEING A GUY WHO HAPPENED TO BE THE BEST GUY TECH HAD FOR FREE SAFETY, EVEN THOUGH HE’S BEST-SUITED FOR STRONG SAFETY: “He’s the best athlete we’ve got back there. He’s just our best athlete as far as our safeties and what we want them to do – cover No. 2 down the seam, to play man coverage on No. 2. He’s just our best guy, who just happens to be in a 6-4, 220-pound package. Free safety is probably not his strength for the next level. He’s not going to be asked to cover a wide receiver man-to-man, some of the things we ask him to do. But that’s what he’s able to do for us, sometimes better than others.”

ON WHETHER HE EVER SAYS TO CHANCELLOR WHEN HE STRUGGLES, ‘HEY, DON’T SWEAT IT. THIS ISN’T YOUR NATURAL POSITION.’: “No, I’ll have that conversation when the season’s over, just for him to understand that. I don’t want him to dwell on those things. I want him to see what he has done on film, work on technique, practice it and get better.”

ON CHANCELLOR BEING A PROTOTYPE STRONG SAFETY: “I think he’ll play 10-plus years easy, just because of his mindset, his physical ability. God willing, if he’s healthy, he’ll play 10-plus years. It will be easier for him to play strong safety on that level because of the things he’ll be able to do and the things he won’t have to do, like cover a wideout.”

ON HIM ONCE SAYING CHANCELLOR WOULD BE THE GREATEST SAFETY TO EVER PLAY AT TECH AND HOW, NOW, HE SEES CHANCELLOR’S CAREER AS IT’S WINDING DOWN: “I would say good. I wouldn’t say he was the best safety that every played here. He has the body, the potential to be. He has more tools at 6-4, 225 than I had at 6-foot, 200 pounds. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that part of his career where you’d say, ‘Wow, yeah, he’s the best.’ But as far as being a great athlete and being able to play at the next level, all those things are still in front of him. I’ll remember a kid who was just a humble kid, a great athlete, a guy who came out in meetings and practice and was just a professional. That’s kind of his legacy, how he led, the person he was. He wasn’t high-maintenance. That’s what I loved about him.”

ON CHANCELLOR, IN SOME WAYS, TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM BY NOT ASKING TO BE MOVED BACK TO HIS NATURAL SPOT: “I don’t even think he’d see it that way. He wanted to do the free safety thing and he was our best guy we had – and still is our best guy – and if we had it to do over again, I’d want him to do the same thing and just hope the results were super as opposed to pretty good.”

ON HOW CORNER STEPHAN VIRGIL’S KNEE HAS HEELED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS: “I think it’s pretty much back to normal. Sometimes the field corner can be hot and cold. When he came back for Miami, he couldn’t finish the game. The next week, he finished the game but couldn’t practice. Now he’s practicing every day. So the knee has come back. I can see him explode. Coach used him for the first time on special teams last week, so you know he’s able to do everything. The knee is back pretty healthy. Now it’s just that Carmichael has been so solid (at boundary corner) that you don’t want to disturb the chemistry there.”

ON HOW VIRGIL HAS PLAYED: “Technique-wise, wasn’t as sound as I’d like him to be the last game, but he has played well the last couple games.”

ON WHETHER CARMICHAEL IS NOW AN ELITE-TYPE CORNER: “I wouldn’t say that just yet. There were a couple plays last game – and he has made some helluva plays – that he could’ve made. All I can go on is what Brandon (Flowers) and Macho (Harris) did. I think those were some plays that those guys make. Rock is making some of those plays, but not all of them. For him to be an elite guy, he needs to take it up another level.”

ON FLOWERS AND HARRIS’ STANDARD: “That’s the standard our guys have to live up to. Rock is playing well. He’s playing great. But to be an elite guy, that’s the standard he has to come up to.”

ON CARMICHAEL STILL HAVING ANOTHER YEAR TO REACH THAT LEVEL: “Oh, yeah, he can obtain that status. It’s just too early to give it to him. It’s done over time, with consistency over time.”

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