Clemson started to rise after that game, and we started to fall. When Virginia Tech plays Duke on Friday night (7 ET, ESPN/ESPN App), Foster will coach his 282nd game as the Hokies' defensive coordinator. A London Fletcher or Brian Urlacher type linebacker would not be a good fit for the Hokies. Was a great move on moving the rover back in alignment based on the offenses being seen but thought the Rover always lined up on the strong side away from the Whip but your diagram indicates them lined on the same side. If those guys don't need much safety help, then the corners can take chances, bait QB's and mix in robber coverages to get turnovers. That is a lot for the players to process isnt it? More and more NFL coaches are blending the 4-3 and 3-4 concepts and scheme. It offers some terrific insight into the Hokie mindset at that time. Learn how to identity the Bear and understand how it accomplishes its goal. This "Field G" is mostly what Virginia Tech is in nowadays. Now, he will get a jump start at Ohio State, where he will always have a talent advantage over the best Big Ten schools. The Whip blitzes hard from the 7 gap to fly through the 5 gap space. When the TE switches sides, usually the Backer flips spots with MIKE to cover him. Next Up: All of those confusing pass coverages. Attack Defense Bud Foster Defensive Coordinator Virginia Polytechnic Institute Blacksburg, Va. Jim Cavanaugh Outside Linebackers Lou West Secondary Charlie Wiles Defensive Line Diagram 2 ]~ .O}_JG7mn0 1.Wvn;m,Fv i>TFis endstream endobj 11 0 obj 433 endobj 17 0 obj << /Length 18 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> stream The idea is the front 6 align based on front alignment rules. An 11 personnel group is one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers. Hell Charley Wiles even stated that one thing he was challenging Antoine Hopkins on last August was making plays out of his alignment, i.e. It is actually a base 4-4 front. Urban Meyer fell behind LSU and Alabama in recruiting, and magically his health is at risk and he gets out. Drawing on the scheme's nickel roots gives 4-2-5 teams the ability to run a divorced front concept. A terrific example (which of course I cannot find a good video of) is the 2010 interception of Stephen Morris by Jayron Hosley against Miami. The FS himself will play Robber over the very middle of the field and watches the eyes of the QB to take away intermediate routes, yet against the run hes a 9th man in the area to fill a gap. What I do see Tech doing is forcing opponents to keep the RB/TE in there to block by blitzing the WHIP often. Most college teams are not that good, but if the Hokies want to win a NC we will have to face that caliber of offense. Registering for an account is free and easy. If one DL gets blown out of the hole, it creates problems for every other defender. Exactly like Clemson this year. Most teams change alignments and will stunt occasionally, but nobody trys so much to funnel types of running plays to linebackers. I'd like to see those guys like McCray playing more than thatespecially down the stretch with Clemson, fsu, and Miamifresh legs all round are a gOod thing.. McCray played more against UVA and Michigan than I thought he did, and he had some good pass rush (but he was usually second in the race behind another defender.). The potential risk is that the movement can allow for gashing big running plays if the players can't control their gap responsibility. Hopefully Logan will have improved his accuracy to be able to make them pay for it. I would argue we had bad match-ups of speed vs. speed. Note that with no receivers split to the boundary, the Rover will rotate up to the line of scrimmage and align as a linebacker on the boundary side. In that case, both Rover and WHIP will show blitzes naturally. I don't know recall the plays that Taylor and JWG got hurt, so I am not really sure. At that point, the players on the field know the down/distance and the front, pressure, and coverage calls. While the 8 man front may be gone, the blitz pressures and coverages remain imbedded in today's Hokie D. The "Field Strong" basically is a 4 man defensive line, two middle linebackers, and the whip linebacker playing outside as a hybrid linebacker/safety almost exclusively to the boundary side of the field. The DEs aligned much like they do today with the Stud always to the wide side and the End always to the boundary. The Whip slides over in a defensive back alignment over the inside receiver. Suddenly the gap is open, and the back has a nice hole. BTW, I dont think I've ever seen a gif used as a legit educational tool and not just an lol. My thought is that the linebackers/DBs adjusted or started sitting back to provide passing support, this slowed pressure at the line, which allowed for easier running. I don't have the time to cover them all, but this is a pressure-based defense. Where and how they play, and personnel types preferred, are highly scheme dependent. 5yltM;6#D"A.+|F'g"##PBG Wi+5~ljx3!_YJ8a7p;[Bx$60FF8x\f@-. So obviously if it doesn't work the scheme breaks down because it also means not being able to pressure the offense and the QB into poor decisions. NIL and the future of the 'student athlete', Liz Kitley is back to back ACC Player Of The Year, 2023 ACC Wrestling Tournament Seedings announced, OT: TKP Winter/Spring 2023 Gamer's Lounge, OT: 700 miles from the Rock through Spain and Portugal, HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: VIRGINIA TECH (16-13, 6-12 ACC) AT LOUISVILLE (4-25, 2-16 ACC) 9PM ACCN, FSU AD floats uneven revenue share for acc & leaving acc, Your analysis above holding true, but with our refreshed/deep D-line being able to slow Clemon's run, Clemson's new D-coordinator implementing a less pro-oriented scheme. The dominant defenses in Tampa Bay of the late 90's early 2000's allowed Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice to get up field as the method for controlling their gaps. That's probably the reason we lost Korren Kirven. How will VT defend against teams like Stanford and other NFL caliber offenses? From there, Tech held Miami to 10, Kent State to 0, #14 Wake Forest to 6, and Virginia to 0 to finish 10-2. Whip: The Whip (Kyle Fuller) lines up wide, but well to the inside of the slot. In terms of positions, the Stud, Whip, Mike, Field Corner and Free Safety always align toward the wide side of the field. When the 8th man entered the box, the passing game opened up. Fosters defense is always going to be well-coached, and being well-coached puts players where they need to be, but you still need some talent to beat better OLs even if the defenders are where they need to be. All Hokie, All the Time. During a career that spanned over 3 decades Bud orchestrated some of the most physical and staunches defenses in the country. Normally, it will be one of the linebackers that will communicate any adjustments to the defensive front call or blitz call. I heard very little about McCray in the spring. But I don't think we put enough pressure on them either due to match ups on the front line and some weaknesses in coverage, both due to injuries. Williams and Harris pretty much flamed out. Meanwhile, Dwayne Allen would come BEHIND the line against the grain of the play and pop out the weak side. Behind the defense, the Hokies secondary plays a basic robber coverage on this play. And based on the history of Bud Fosters defenses, its likely that the play is stuffed. The "G" front is the base front, but here I have not adjusted to the formation. Darryl Tapp has been a career backup. And, you are also correct about Taylor. The legendary defensive coordinator stepped away after the 2019 season, but his . MAN. When fans get their first glimpse of the Hokies this spring, they will see a huge degree of Bud Foster influence in Brent Pry's defensive scheme. The attack from the DL is the next step, but they have to achieve their gap fit first. Hopkins was hurt slanting if I remember correctly. They do not run blitz as much with him in the lineup, however he is used just as much on mike dog pass blitzes (at points he was their most dangerous pass rusher as a blitzer last year.). The Whip was a weak side outside linebacker in the base 8-man front and he was a weak side safety in the 2-deep safety set (base used regularly in passing situations). 3) Finally, as stated in #2 above, this seems to be a heavy run control D and if we don't have super talented CB's who can cover their man without help we could get burned in the passing game real quick. An example are the Virginia Tech teams of Frank Beamer and Justin Fuente, with Bud Foster serving as defensive coordinator under both. I love that article. The Hokies switch between man and cover 3. BLACKSBURG, Va. Even in retirement, Bud Foster casts a long shadow over the Virginia Tech football program. The end result of this 1st quarter play against UVA features Tyrell Wilson preventing the back from getting to the edge, the nose and tackle slant and fill their gaps, and Jack Tyler flies in on the blitz to make the play. If our defense is designed to "funnel" the ball carrier to certain positions I could see some recruits not liking that. The coaches helped by putting him in positions where he could be successful. Virginia Techs defense is a unique one in major college football in that it is very much an older style of defense descended from the Gap 8 and Wide Tackle 6. The Corners cheat deeper in this coverage at 7-9 yds, so they can rarely show Press man pre-snap when 2-Robber is the call. Rover always goes to the side of the passing strength (not necessarily the TE side) or the Field side, and WHIP always aligns opposite the Rover. Finally, the ball is snapped and the play runs to completion, most likely in five seconds or less. Love the in-depth analysis. Ideally he can maintain leverage without being driven downfield. From what I've heard, a lot of the negative recruiting emphasizes that in Tech's defense a DE or OLB (Whip), for example, isn't a traditional NFL DE or OLB. -Bud Foster. The opinions of the author(s) on this site are independent and no way reflect the opinions of the Virginia Tech administrators, coaches, staff, or athletes. The wide variety of stunts are designed to make backs read holes that are not there, causing them to run right into the mike or backer who have moved across the formation to meet the back in the hole. If you can stop the run with six, the whip or backside safety doesn't have to commit so quickly. "#()%$%%! Bud Foster received national recognition for the way his Bear defense surprised and shut down Urban Meyer's vaunted spread rushing attack in 2014. In addition to these types of coverage adjustments, there may be front and pressure adjustments made by the defense as well. For this example, here is a pre-snap diagram of a likely defensive set against a 12 personnel group (one RB, two TEs, two WRs). Using a series of hand signals, Bud Foster communicates the defensive call (set, blitz call, passing strength, coverage, etc) to the players on the field. James Anderson is the only Hokie alumni who is a starter in the front 7 of an NFL team. The offense uses those techniques to get a better read on what the defense may be doing. From a fans perspective, it is easy to see that football is very challenging physically its arguably the most physical of any sport in the world. Think DeAndre McDaniel. Does the defensive scheme lend itself to this or did we have weaknesses in key positions? And then there was all the blitzing. Foster's defense is always going to be well-coached, and being well-coached puts players where they need to be, but you still need some talent to beat better OLs even if the defenders are where. The "G" front is a 4-man Even front that covers both OGs with DTs, and is heavy on stunting. Los Angeles is launching a guaranteed income pilot program, set to be the biggest in the US so far. Note: This is the second installment of a three part series about Virginia Techs nationally renowned defense. this is the best stuff and why i love TKP .. i know that teams use our schemes against us in recruiting but i love how the giants and their smaller, more athletic dline core, is being looked at by coach bud. Instead, the coverage responsibility for that motioning receiver will be handed off to a defender already aligned on the other side of the field. The reason why they can adapt to spread offenses reasonably well is because of the player they put at the hybrid position. The most common is a walked out position on weakside slots, but he can also align deeper at 3x5 or almost as deep as the FS. Ellington) to take advantage of because all of our LB's are trained to be in gap control and aren't prepared to be in coverage. Charley Wiles communicates the front call to the defensive line (stunt calls, etc). That gives up some of the flat zone coverage, so watch for more WR screens this week if they show us C4. but as mentioned, the type of dt's vt uses are small, quick guys so some guys that might be more nfl types wouldn't fit what bud is asking his guys to do. Backers and Mikes must be adept at timing blitzes and taking on blocks. So complimenting it with the Bear front gives you the choice of going Even or Odd with a stem (pre-snap shift). Join the community. Stanford presents the most unique formula. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/06/ask-another-teams-beat-writer-clemson. A student manager signals the personnel group (12 in this example) via the sign board. Hope that VT keeps getting playing making athletic DTs that can get off blocks and penetrate in interior gaps in order to take D to next level. So we have a basic definition for each of the eleven puzzle pieces. 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