This series is formerly labeled, the Good, Bad, and Ugly but it seems too many folks are doing that, so we are changing that up a little and restructuring this last game review article into something with a bit of a different focus. Since the Hokies are really in a near emergency rebuild with 30 transfers and a major update in the coaching staff, let’s change the focus of the final review article of the last game to look at the things that work, the stuff that didn’t, and then the things that might
be irrevocably broken that need serious repair not just “coaching up”.
What Worked…
What Worked against South Carolina? Not enough on offense, but that wasn’t the whole story of the game. The Hokies ran on to the field in Atlanta with a team that is nearly 1/3rd transfers, three new main coaches; Montgomery (OC), Moore (OL), and Siefkes (DC). There was also a big shuffle at sub coaching positions, and a new conditioning coach. With the exception of Brent Pry and J.C. Price, the Hokies ran on with pretty much a new team past a few 1’s on the depth chart.
1. J.C. Price’s Defensive Line
No one could call J.C. Price quiet, but he’s not big on flash, flowing promises, or ‘coach talk’ to the media. Where J.C. has been producing is on the Defensive line. For the last three seasons and this game, Price has managed to stitch together a defensive line that performs at a level that continues to impress. The D-Line coming into the 2025 season was an open cypher. Now it is not. Whoever plays the Hokies this season is going to have to account for the fact that Price has put together a defensive line that hammered the run and drove a Heisman quality quarterback to the turf four times for 36 yards and a Safety.
2. John Love and the Scoring Side of Special Teams
A team rarely wins without a place kicker who can split the uprights for a salvaged -4 or a game winning 3… or even a routine PAT (that can end up not being routine). Now we’ve always said that the magic of the kicking game is three players: the Long Snapper, the Holder, and then the Kicker. That relay needs to be as near perfection as a Special Teams squad can get it. The relay from Christian Epling to Nick Veltsistas was smooth in a difficult setting; and John Love’s leg was perfection. Love was the only non-defensive scoring managed by the Hokies in the South Carolina game, and his 56-yard blast almost re-ignited a comeback for the Hokies.
3. Tech’s Linebackers… Finally Getting It…
Caleb Woodson will have to square up his legal issues and took a hit on the squad for the game, but until the final adjudication, he was still needed on the field. Woodson didn’t start, but he certainly finished. He was joined by Jaden Keller, Caleb Spencer, and Antwone Santiago through the entire game. There were some issues to start in losing that first drive by the Gamecocks, but between them and the defensive line, they finally managed to get the run stuffed up. Yes, there were some breaks into the 2nd level, and the long bomb game sealing TD was hardly the fault of any linebacker, but between the DL and LBs the Hokies stood out for this one.
What Didn’t Work…
It’s easy to say that the Offense just didn’t work. The numbers make that a completely self-evident reality. But there are some details that manage to rise to the “fixable” level, and that’s what this section is about. When you do an After-Action Review, acknowledging the screwup(s) is obviously a necessity, but the second part of that is recognizing what the fix was and getting it implemented for the future is paramount.
1. The Passing Game…
Now that wasn’t a complete disaster, but the problems in the passing game pretty much fumbled away the chance to win this one. Not all of the bloody fingers can be pointed at Kyron Drones (more on that next). This team’s receiving corps is too talented to drop passes, especially when delivered uncovered. What’s frustrating is that the drops mostly happened to wide open receivers. They were working hard and doing near miracle things with contested balls, but there seemed to be some mental and physical sloppiness when the world was open to them to make huge plays with their feet. Seemingly every WR had some sort of board handed issues in this one, so we won’t point fingers… but Fontel Mines needs to clean that up, especially the adrenaline charged running before catching problem.
2. Drones was just not playing well.
Kyron Drones was struggling. Why it was such a struggle for him might be dropped at the feet of one or another reason, but Drones just didn’t have it for game one. Some of the prior mentioned drops were poorly placed balls that might have been caught if delivered better. Philp Montgomery has to settle down what looked to be a jittery, unsure quarterback. We can chalk some of the issues up to the fact that last season, Drones missed too many games and was brutalized by the style of offense being run by Tyler Bowen. His injuries were all very painful and impacted his performance greatly. That can hammer a player’s confidence, and no matter what happens in practice, once that non-contact shirt comes off, all bets are also off. Drones is here and not in the final category because he’s smart and has talent enough to win games. Hopefully Montgomery can get him refocused and figure out a game plan to help him build back his confidence and skills.
3. In-game Coaching on Offense
Again, the Hokies were faced with clock management and play choice issues. The end of the 1st half the Hokies ran the ball up the middle in the waning minutes of the half, even after the obvious shift to the 4-minute style of offense. The last three seasons the Hokies have had no two-minute intermediate passing offense to drive the ball and score a touchdown in that time limit. There seemed to be a lack of urgency in the execution of the plays, and even the play calling itself. The “check with me” routine is a disaster in every sense when considering a “hurry up” situation. If the clock is stopped, then huddle up. If the clock is running call a play that has a fundamental key read shift from primary to secondary and get the snap off fast. Again, get the OC on the field with the gameplan play sheet. He needs to see into the eyes of the players and especially his quarterback.
Special Teams needs a mention, here, too. The fact that the Special Teams coach didn’t get Nick Veltsistas to punt the ball out of bounds on the re-punt is also a head scratch. Really, objectively, no punter should ever punt the ball anywhere near a returner. Ideally, 100% off them should go out of bounds with no return. It was obvious that Beamer was setting up something when he only rushed three. There were other issues with the formation, as well, including downfield coverage.
4. Miscues, Mistakes, and Critical Procedural Errors
Truthfully, the Hokies really didn’t do too badly on the penalty situation in regard to the number and the yardage. 4 penalties for 40 yards… but the problem was WHEN they committed the goofs/violations. Some of that is fixable, and some just isn’t the Personal Foul/Unnecessary Roughness was inexcusable and ruined a drive stop. The bad formation (the gunner wasn’t on the line) allowed for the re-punt and the worst one not for the 5 yards lost, but for the TD that followed on the return that should have never happened.
There were some obvious busts in the defensive coverage that allowed South Carolina to nearly get a first down on a 33-yard loss situation. That really negatively affected the defensive morale. There were also a few times where the defense lost contain on Sellers which allowed him to get out to the second level and turn a bad play into something.
There were just some really unfortunate misses and audible calls in the protection for Drones on the Offensive Line. Those things happen, but South Carolina has a dangerous defense and pass rush. The Hokies needed Drones to get a few passes off from the relative quiet of a stable pocket and that didn’t happen too often. Matt Moore has much more work to do, and Montgomery needs to speed things up for Drones to keep him on his feet and get the ball downfield with more consistency.
Dun Busted
Back in the day, Squires Student Center had an arcade room with pinball machines and the old-fashioned video games like Pong, Asteroids, Space Invaders, Galaga.. etc. Well, if anything was out of commission, they put a big yellow sign in bright red letters on the machine; “DUN BUSTED” warning you not to waste precious quarters in that one.
The Hokies have one big “Dun Busted” that they have just not managed to fix over the past few seasons, and it’s beginning to feel like that’s nearing impossible territory.
Red Zone Offense
The Hokies racked up some solid offensive numbers in this one. And scored exactly Zero points with three close-in in trips inside the Gamecock 20-yard line. The same problem plagued the last OC… When the field compresses and the zone begins to collapse the Read/Option offense and Shotgun formation begin to show their weaknesses. We see three very frustrating things going on that most of football just doesn’t seem to want to cure.
A) Running almost all plays into the boundary on the mistake assumption that there are more blockers wedged in there. That assumption is always wrong unless you have an absolutely massive, dominant offensive line. It also makes the opposing DC’s job so much easier when he knows that his opposing OC nearly always runs or passes into the boundary. So, he baits the throw by going zone on the field side, and single coverage on the boundary if he suspects a pass. He can also shade his linebackers into the boundary and adjust his rush lanes to stuff the run without worrying too much about the running back going around the other end and racing to the flag in an open field.
B) Refusing to work ball placement on the hash mark allowing the QB to have the field side to his dominant arm… with Drones being right-handed, that’s getting the ball on the left hash and making the field side his strength, not a footwork passing nightmare. Running a balance 50/50 distribution between boundary and field side plays would definitely help.
C) Running as a primary play in the Red Zone continues to be the biggest R/O error. What’s even worse is executing runs from inside the 10 from the shotgun, unless the play is primarily a pass that has broken down. Along with that is the good old “got our blood up slam our heads through a concrete wall” run up the middle problem. From the shotgun that’s a draw play and often fails. It can work, but only if not doped out by the defense thinking that you might pass the ball from the 3- to 5-yard line.
Those are the types of problems/issues/cultures that just don’t solve easily. The Offensive Line issues weren’t mentioned because that situation is under reconstruction with new coaches and new players across the line. They are a part of all of the offensive issues just like every other squad on the offense. We’ll be watching for changes and if they are slow to happen, we’ll see it and mention it.
This Hokie team, with this offense, coached by this staff might need to reflect and rethink their strategies when they are inside the 20, and settling for -4 point salvages might make thing feel better but if you needed 7 and only pulled off 3, that doesn’t win games.
That’s It for the South Carolina Loss
We start reviewing the situation with the Saturday evening kickoff against Vanderbilt. The point spread on that one has gone from a -3 for the Hokies to a -1 as listed on Yahoo Sports. The O/U is 47.5 so they aren’t anticipating a barn burner, but that small a homefield advantage means that the wise guys are calling this pretty much an even “pick ‘em” contest.
