What They're Saying About the QBs

Here's what mainstreamers and bloggers alike are saying about Beamer's decision to play Tyrod this season:

Kyle Tucker, Virginian-Pilot: "My hunch is that Sean Glennon’s days of significant snaps are numbered. Why? Because just one week ago today Rodney Taylor, Tyrod’s dad, was telling me they chose to redshirt the kid because he had no interest in sharing time."

Darryl Slater, Richmond Times-Dispatch: "You’d think that if Beamer is going to pull Taylor’s redshirt, he’d plan to give him significant snaps. It seems unwise to use another year of Taylor’s eligibility by splitting time with Glennon, as he did last season."

Aaron McFarling, Roanoke Times: "Taking the redshirt off Tyrod Taylor doesn't just mean he's going to play; it means he's going to play a lot. Sean Glennon? Barring injury, he just went from "the guy" to "change-of-pace guy" in three days."

David Teel, Newport News Daily Press: "In retreating so quickly, Beamer and his staff appear indecisive, panicked and easily manipulated. But better to change course now than several weeks and who-knows-how-many defeats into the season."

Heather Dinich, ESPN: "On the surface, this decision shows a lack of faith in Glennon to get the job done on his own, it shows reason to be concerned about the development of the offensive line, and it says that Kenny Lewis' team-high 58 yards aren't gonna cut it."

Patrick Hite, ACC Nation: "So, let me get this straight, you go through the entire spring and summer, decide at nearly the last possible moment that the team will be fine with Glennon as the only quarterback and then after one game — a game that Tech would have won if not for a special-teams breakdown at the end — decide to undo a decision that was, presumably, in the making for five months or so?"

Matt Hinton, Yahoo!: "Taylor may not be a better passer, yet, but he has a better arm than Glennon, far more time to develop it, and in the meantime has the wheels to do some good otherwise. The smart money was always on the kid wresting the job for himself, and with the faint of heart still nervous over this "redshirt" nonsense, now you can double down."

Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com: "I’ll have to admit, I’m relieved that Taylor is playing for another reason. I have despised the rift in the Tech fanbase about Sean Glennon over the past couple of years. If you listed to the Hokie Hotline last night, it was pretty clear that Beamer isn’t happy about it either. He blasted the Tech fans who have been blasting Glennon. And as a board monitor of the biggest Virginia Tech message board on the internet, I have to say that I’m happy Taylor is playing."

College Game Balls: "The biggest negative I see is that Glennon will still be taking snaps. This should be Tyrod’s team and we should allow him to develop a cohesion with the new receivers and help the seniors have a winning and memorable season. All in all I am happy with the move. However, I wish we weren’t blinded by loyalty at the beginning of the season. Regardless of seniority if we want to win as many games as possible we need to take a USC like approach to the depth chart: the best players will play."

Thoughts on Glennon

It took all of one week for the experiment to end. Sean Glennon was given the offense all to himself and failed not only to equal last year's dreadful offense, but to even do enough to beat East Carolina, a team the Big Least won't touch.

You can't blame it all on Glennon for Saturday's debacle. He had a lot of help. He had an offensive line that stopped all pass and run-blocking in the fourth quarter and had an OC that repeatedly went against conventional wisdom of what do do in certain situations. He ran when he should have passed, passed when he should have ran and was always one play behind what East Carolina was doing.

But some of the blame is deserving. Glennon was rarely accurate with his passes, seemed uneasy in the pocket and threw two bonehead interceptions. Glennon is good at checking down to open receivers, but that's not what this offense needs. It needs a field general, not the ACC's answer to Craig Krenzel. The Hokies simply don't have the talent to have a guy at quarterback who is not only immobile, but afraid to take chances.

Add that to the fact that Glennon has struggled to start the season all three years he's been given the keys to the kingdom. He has simply failed to get better between seasons in both 2007 and 2008. The Hokies can't afford to have their starting quarterback start from scratch every year.

Glennon played well in the Hokies run to the Peach Bowl [sic] and last year's ACC title, but is simply not a good enough quarterback to compensate for Tech's dearth of talent on offense this year.

It's finally time for the Sean Glennon era at Virginia Tech to end and the Tyrod Taylor era to begin. You'll notice under the labels of this blog there's one titled "Defending Glennon." That's because until Saturday, I thought Sean Glennon was a good college quarterback. He isn't. Sure, he'll get better as the year goes on, help Tech win a couple games and maybe even lead the team to a conference title.

But he's not a good college quarterback. Nate Hybl won a Big 12 title without being a good college quarterback. He simply didn't screw it up for an excellent defense and talented offense. Glennon did that the last two years. This year, the defense is down and Eddie Royal et al are gone. And so are Glennon's chances of being successful.

Tyrod Taylor No Longer Redshirting

Head coach Frank Beamer announced at a press conference today sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor will play Saturday against Furman.

This is the second consecutive season Taylor was scheduled to redshirt for the Hokies and the second consecutive season the reshirt lasted one game. Senior quarterback Sean Glennon was inconsistent in last Saturday's loss to East Carolina, throwing two costly interceptions.

There is no word on which quarterback will start against the Paladins. However, I think it's in the Hokies best interests for Taylor to start, at least for now. Glennon needs to have his confidence rebuilt and has struggled early in the season for three years now.

Tyrod is the future of this team and it makes sense to give him a chance to gel with the young players on offense. He also makes the offense more dynamic if the offensive line isn't going to be able to protect the quarterback, just like last season.

Blogs on Glennon and Taylor

Here's what others are saying about yesterday's announcement:

EDSBS: What will Glennon do on 3rd and 31?

Dr. Saturday: (Link to post not working) Maybe Tyrod isn't progressing as quickly as expected.

Heather Dinich, ESPN: This makes Glennon and Tyrod better.

Kyle Tucker, V-P: Had a feeling this was coming.

Daryl Slater, RTD: Doesn't think Taylor playmaking would have made a huge difference for the offense.

Basically, the bloggers think this isn't a great move for the Hokies and the professional journalists think it benefits everyone. Only time will tell.

Everything Old is New Again

Sean Glennon is a redshirt senior who, barring injury and collapse, will have the starting quarterback job all to himself this season. The last time a redshirt senior had sole possession of the Hokies' starting QB job was 1998 when Al Clark led Tech to a 9-3 record and a win over Alabama in the Music City Bowl.

That team was talented and young. They started the season 5-0 with impressive road wins over Clemson, Miami and Boston College. But Clark was hurt before the Boston College game and missed the next three games, including an embarrassing 28-24 loss to Temple.

The Hokies were 5-0 and the Owls 0-6 going into that game. Clark was a capable but unimpressive quarterback who had the reigns for parts of 1997 and all of 1998. His last season included three of the most jaw-dropping, heart-breaking losses in Tech history.

The Temple game, a last-second loss at Syracuse and an incredible 22-point comeback win by Virginia in Blacksburg. All three hurt and all three taught the Hokies something different. The Hokies' most difficult games were all on the road in 1998. They passed most of the tests, but fell at the Hokie House of Horrors in Syracuse. They also dropped home games against teams they should have easily defeated.

1998 was also the year a highly-touted quarterback from the 757 took a redshirt season and sat on the bench. When Clark went down, there was thought of pulling the redshirt off the freshman, but Michael Vick would have to wait another year before being unleashed on college football (pun intended).

This year is a slightly different scenario. Glennon is a better quarterback than Clark was and Taylor has a year of experience. But there are a lot of similarities. The 2008 Hokies are young and talented, most of their tough games are on the road and there are upsets waiting at home.

The Coastal Division is very poor in the ACC this year and I still expect Glennon to lead the Hokies to the division title. Some fans may be shocked or angry that Tyrod isn't going to play this season, but we've been down this road before.

Glennon to Start, Taylor to Shirt

Head coach Frank Beamer announced at today's press conference that senior Sean Glennon will be the starting quarterback for 2008 and sophomore Tyrod Taylor will redshirt.

The possibility remains that Tyrod could play in 2008 if there's an injury to Glennon or the offense is a giant ball of fail.

Glennon followed this same path by redshirting his sophomore year in 2005 when Marcus Vick was the Hokies' starter. Glennon was going to be in competition with Vick for the starting job in 2006, but Vick was kicked off the team before they started camp.

What this means is Glennon no longer has to look over his shoulder and can relax and be the starting QB. This worked out for Bryan Randall when Marcus Vick was suspended for the 2004 season. Randall went on to lead the team to an ACC title.

What this means for Taylor is he has three years to be the starting quarterback and is eligible for the NFL after the 2009 season.

The coaches are obviously confident they don't need Tyrod to compensate for the youth at wide receiver and running back. I don't want to say it seems like they're giving up on the 2008 season, but this is move that is indicative of looking toward the future.

Tyrod will have three years as the starting quarterback with young players such as Dyrell Roberts and Ryan Williams. All three will be sophomores next season. But if you're going to do that, why not play all three this year and get them familiar with each other?

I never really saw this move coming. I always thought we would need Tyrod to win in 2008. Looks like I'm going to have to completely redo those stat projections.

CT Reports Tyrod Likely to Redshirt

The Collegiate Times, the Virginia Tech campus newspaper, reports Hokie sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor is likely to redshirt the 2008 season and senior Sean Glennon will be the team's fulltime starter.

The paper is citing a source "close to the football team." CT reports head coach Frank Beamer will make the formal announcement at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Honestly, I think the paper is jumping the gun by claiming Taylor will redshirt. It credits the source saying Glennon will start, but only says Taylor's redshirting is "likely" and doesn't credit it to the source. They may just be trying to pull in more readers. Hell, it go me to link to it.

If this is true, Taylor will follow the same route Glennon took during his Hokie career. Glennon was Virginia Tech's backup in 2004, redshirted in 2005 and was a starter the last two seasons.

It would also tell me the coaches have confidence in the wide receivers and running backs to be good enough playmakers that the quarterback won't have to compensate.

However, what happens if Glennon gets hurt? He's not mobile and was injured during the season last year. If he goes down, will the redshirt be pulled off Taylor a second consecutive season?

Also, the decision to redshirt him means Taylor would be eligible for the NFL after the 2009 season.

Taking everything into account, I think CT is full of it. Glennon will probably be named the starter tomorrow, but I seriously doubt Taylor redshirts.

ECU Depth Chart Notes

Greg Boone has been nothing short of spectacular this summer as a tight end, wide out, fullback and dump truck. So I wasn't surprised to see his name at the top of the tight end depth chart in this week's game notes.

What did surprise me was Sam Wheeler was nowhere to be seen. He's listed behind co-No. 2s Andre Smith and Chris Drager. Wheeler, who will wear No. 18 and not No. 83 this year, is listed on the travel roster and will make the trip to Charlotte.

I expected a lot from Wheeler this season. He was a reliable target for Glennon before tearing his ACL against Georgia Tech. My hope is Wheeler's still not 100 percent and will work his way back up the depth chart as the season progresses.

Having two viable tight end threats will allow Boone to be moved around and utilized effectively in the offense. He's tough to tackle as a fullback and poses a problem for undersized defensive backs when moved out wide.

I expect Boone to get the ball a lot (and do a lot with it) early in the season. However, I'd like to see Wheeler get back in the mix as well.

Yes, I realize that was waaaaaaaay too much to write about tight ends.

Other goings on in the depth chart:

- Glennon and Taylor are linked by a big "OR" at quarterback, although a starter is supposed to be named tomorrow. My guess is it will be Glennon with Tyrod getting 30-40 percent of the snaps on Saturday. They just aren't announcing it so ECU doesn't know what to prepare for.

- Kenny Lewis is the starting tailback with Darren Evans as the back-up. I just don't think Lewis is an every down back. This might not work out too well.

- Danny Coale, not Ike Whitaker, is listed as the No. 1 split end, meaning we will be started two freshman wide receivers on Saturday. This goes against everything we thought from reading the scrimmage reports and quotes. It looked all along like it would be Whitaker as the starter. I expect he'll still see a lot of playing time.

- Davon Morgan is the starting rover over Dorian Porch. I'm a big fan of Morgan's. Porch is consistent, but unspectacular and I think Morgan is the better player. He'll still get beat from time to time, but is the better playmaker.

2008 VT Stat Projection: Quarterbacks

In Monday's projection for the offense as a whole I said the Hokies will average 230 yards per game this year through the air. Multiply that by 12 regular season games and you get 2,760 passing yards that need to be accounted for by the two quarterbacks.

As I've said all along, I expect the dual-quarterback system to win out with Glennon as the starter getting most of the snaps. I expect he'll flourish in his senior year and collect about 65-70 percent of the Hokies' passing yards. Tyrod will obviously have a lot more yards on the ground because that's what the Hokies will need from him.

Last year, Glennon threw for 1,462 yards in the regular season while Tyrod threw for 888.

Regular season only

Sean Glennon 2008
145-225, 1,800 Yds, 11 TD, 4 INT
64.4 Comp%, 8.0 Ypa

Tyrod Taylor 2008
73-128, 960 yds, 6 TD, 3 INT
57.0 Comp%, 7.5 Ypa

Last season, Glennon completed 60.9 percent of his passes and averaged 7.5 yards per attempt. Tyrod completed 53.7 percent of his passes and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt.

Last year Glennon and Taylor combined to throw 305 passes in the 12 regular season games. This projection has them combining for 353 passes. That's an increase of four passes per game. I believe this is reasonable because Glennon will be be involved more than last year, where he didn't play in one game and barely saw action in four others. In 2006, he threw 276 passes in the 12 regular season games he started.

Also, the Hokies' running back situation will call for more passes. All five potential backs are unproven or have no previous game experience.

These numbers would give Glennon just over 65 percent of the passing yards and almost 64 percent of the passing attempts. Will that be enough to placate the redshirt senior and third year starter? If the team's winning, probably. If it's not, changes will be made, one way or another and feelings will be hurt. But, that's the risk with the two-quarterback system. When the team's winning, everyone's happy. When it's not, no one is.

ESPN's VT Preview

David Teel from the Newport News Daily Press previews the Hokies' season for ESPN. Teel discusses:

- The effect the events of April 16, 2007, still has on the team
- The loss of Branden Ore and the RB situation
- Why he feels Coach Beamer wants Tyrod to win the QB job
- Why Tech is expected to win the Division

ACC Nation Interviews Glennon and Martin

ACC Nation has a nearly 10 minute interview with Sean Glennon and Orion Martin from ACC media days in Greensboro, Ga. Among the topics discussed:

- The youth of the team
- Playing for Coaches Beamer and Foster
- The two-QB system
- Orion Martin's leadership role
- The Nebraska game

Take a listen

2008 VT Preview - Quarterbacks

During almost his entire Virginia Tech career, fate has conspired against senior Sean Glennon. Now, when it seems he's finally won the starting job. When he's finally convinced everyone he's a worthy starting quarterback and super-human, super-sophomore Tyrod Taylor should be used for a change of pace or only in certain situations, it appears fate has duped him once more.

With Virginia Tech's lack of playmakers and experience at running back and wide receiver, it appears Taylor will see more action in the fall because the Hokies need his ability to make defenders look stupid.



I won't argue that Taylor is the Hokies QB of the future. He'll likely be Tech's starter next season and he'll likely be an excellent one.

But Glennon has earned this season. He saved the Hokies last year and led them to a title. He improved game-by-game and is the Hokies' best option as the conductor of the offense.



He's had two bad bowl games, but Taylor wasn't exactly spectacular against Kansas, either. That's why until he proves that he's a better leader of the team than Glennon, he should be utilized only in situations where the Hokies need to throw a curveball to the opposing defense.

And Taylor will get his chances, as well. Glennon doesn't have much mobility and was injured against Florida State last year.

But this is Glennon's team. Give him a chance to have one last season and see what he can do with the reins.

My guess is Tyrod will get a lot of playing time early on while guys are establishing themselves at wide receiver and running back. I just hope this doesn't turn into a situation like some baseball teams go through where the "blow the team up" and play all the young guys.

Is it possible the coaches would play Tyrod, Ryan Williams and Dyrell Roberts to get them experience with an eye toward 2009? Sure. But I have more faith in the coaching staff than that. I expect Glennon will still get most of the snaps. He's the team leader. He's earned the right to play his senior season.

Comparing Glennon to Randall

I'll admit I've been harsh on Sean Glennon in the past. I was anything but a Glennon supporter going into the 2006 season and after that year's BC game, I gave up on him. I considered 2006 to be a lost season and Glennon to be the second-coming of Grant Noel.

But then Glennon and the Hokies rattled off six consecutive wins and led Georgia 21-3 at halftime of the Peach Bowl (We don't use corporate names here. It's still Peach and Citrus to me.). However, after a dismal second half against Georgia led to a 31-24 loss, Glennon was again in the dog house to Hokie fans.

The arrival of Tyrod Taylor to Blacksburg didn't help Glennon's cause either. Fans and media anointed Taylor the QB of the future and considered Glennon a caretaker of the position until the true freshman was ready. Glennon's every move was dissected and criticized.

But there's a problem. Glennon's a really good quarterback. He's won a lot of games for Virginia Tech and leads an effective offense. No, the offense isn't nearly as sexy as when Taylor's behind center, but Glennon is more efficient.

When I think back on it, my opinion of Glennon was the same of my opinion of Bryan Randall. I wasn't a big Randall fan until just before the 2004. Season. The Hokies had collapsed in the second half of the 2002 and 2003 seasons with him as the quarterback. I was ready to see Randall exit the scene and see Marcus Vick take over as the quarterback.

But then Vick got suspended for the 2004 season and I realized Tech would be better off for it. Randall no longer had to be looking over his shoulder to see if he was going to get pulled. He was a senior who had been through two difficult seasons. In 2002 and 2003, Randall and the Hokies were learning how to win games. And it paid off with a 2004 season that saw Tech win its final eight regular season games and win the ACC in its first year in the conference.

I think its going to be the same way with Glennon. He already has an ACC Championship that I give him a lot of the credit for. Now, I don't hope that Taylor redshirts, is suspended or injured. I hope Taylor plays a lot in 2008 and complements Glennon and the rest of the offense.

But it's my belief Glennon is going to have a great 2008 and gives the Hokies the best chance to do great things. To me, Randall and Glennon's career paths have been similar and I think Glennon will have just as good a senior year as Randall.

Glennon vs. Randall by the numbers:
(For records, I considered games in which the quarterback played the majority of plays).

Freshman Year
Randall: 12-34 (35.3%) 114 yards, 0 TD, 0-0 record
Glennon: 8-11 (72.7%) 137 yards, 1 TD, 0-0 record

Sophomore Year
Randall: 158-248 (63.7%), 2,134 yards, 12 TD, 10-4 record
Glennon: 170-302 (56.3%), 2,191 yards, 11 TD, 10-3 record

Junior Year
Randall: 150-245 (61.2%), 1,996 yards, 15 TD, 8-5 record
Glennon: 143-235 (60.9 %), 1,796 yards, 12 TD, 6-3 record

Senior Year
Randall: 170-306 (55.6%), 2,264 yards, 21 TD, 10-3 record
Glennon: ?

Sophomore and Junior Seasons
(Both started their sophomore and junior seasons)

Totals
Randall: 308-493 (62.5%), 4,130 yards, 27 TD, 18-9 record
Glennon: 312-537 (58.1%), 3,986 yards, 23 TD, 16-6 record

Vs. Conference Opponents
Randall: 158-265 (59.6%), 2,171 yards, 15 TD, 7-7 record
Glennon: 214-355 (60.3%), 2,767 yards, 16 TD, 11-3 record

Serenity Now

There's been some overreacting to Saturday's Spring Game by Hokie fans and some members of the media. Tyrod Taylor had a less than impressive performance for the maroon team in its 24-3 loss to the white team.

However, the impressive play of Sean Glennon should be the bigger story. Glennon threw a pair of touchdown passes and looked good for most of the game. While many Hokies are fretting over Taylor, how he's progressing and whether he should be redshirted (the answer is no), I feel comfortable knowing Glennon had a good day.

Here's what I've taken away from Spring Practice and the game on Saturday:
1. Sean Glennon is a good quarterback
2. Tyrod Taylor isn't as bad as he looked Saturday

That's about it, as far as the quarterbacks go. Really, quarterback isn't a position I worry about. Even if Taylor isn't as good as he was last season, I know Glennon will be improved. He's improved every year he's been with Tech and has become a great quarterback and leader. There's no quit in Glennon.

I wasn't upset with Glennon because he was unhappy to be demoted to the second team after the LSU game last year. That's the reaction I wanted to see out of him. And sure enough, he went on and led the Hokies to a conference championship.

The Hokies will need Glennon to win the ACC next year. They won't need Taylor.

However, that said, Taylor is a special player who is still developing. He adds dimensions to the Hokie offense Glennon can't add and should play next year. But Glennon should be THE guy. He's earned it. What Taylor can provide is athleticism and variables that most defenses have trouble stopping. He doesn't need to redshirt, but he doesn't need to start, either.

Two quarterback systems can work if each player's role is clearly defined before the season starts. That's what Florida was able to do with Leak and Tebow. The same can work with Glennon and Taylor, but the roles have to be clear. We can't have a situation like in the Orange Bowl where one of the quarterbacks is basically taken out of the gameplan.

Glennon should start. Both should play.

Pithy Spring Game observations by someone 1,100 miles from the contest:

1. Kam Chancellor is the new leader of the defense.
2. Tech doesn't need to replace four receivers to be a good football team. They just need to find one good one. Brandon Dillard is that one. Now, we need to find receivers who can fill roles.
3. We need to be a lot more worried about the kicking game than we are.
4. We're stacked at tight end with Boone and Wheeler. Hopefully we'll use them.

What you missed while tailgating at the Spring Game:

- Women's Outdoor T&F successfully defended its ACC title in Atlanta. The Hokies also claimed seven individual titles.
- The softball team took two of three from FSU. They are two games back of UNC in the loss column in the ACC standings and have a three-game series against the Tar Heels in Blacksburg this weekend.
- The men's lacrosse club team lost 17-16 to Georgia in the championship game of their conference tournament. Georgia scored the winning goal with 22.7 seconds left.
- Former Hokie soccer player Patrick Nyarko scored a goal in a Chicago Fire reserve game Sunday. Nyarko's was the only Fire goal in a 3-1 loss to Kansas City's reserve team. According to the game report, Nyarko deflected an attempted clear from KC's goalie into the net for his first goal as a member of the Fire's reserve team.