Practice report: Caleb a full go, Marshawn all clear and Parker full of potential (2024)

By Andy Bitter | The Roanoke Times

Now here are some more notes and quotes from post-practice interviews Tuesday:

-- There are running backs aplenty right now, especially withJoel Calebback in a regular jersey earlier than expected from a lingering quad injury suffered late last season.

Here are the scholarship tailbacks getting reps, and keep in mind, this is a group that's withoutTrey Edmunds(knee) andShai McKenzie(ACL), at least in terms of full contact work:J.C. Coleman, Jerome Wright, Chris Mangus,Caleb and Marshawn Williams.

Does Tech need to narrow things down?

"I don’t know if you really need to in the springtime right now," running backs coach Shane Beamersaid. "We talked to our guys that we’re competing every day. ... Every day is a competition, there’s no doubt about that.

"But I don’t know if you have to narrow things down because you know you’ve got Trey and Shai coming in the fall and you need to give them another opportunity in August as well. But you can certainly, with the group that’s working right now, come out of spring and have a good idea about where guys are going to fit in, and we will."

-- Caleb's return was ahead of schedule. Beamer said he didn't think he'd have the redshirt sophom*ore until halfway through spring drills at the earliest. Instead, he was cleared Saturday for what is an important set of practices for the tailback, who got only eight carries for 41 yards and a touchdown last year after switching from receiver in August.

"He and I sat down right after the bowl game, as soon as he came back and talked about, ‘Look, it’s time for you to take another step,'" Beamer said. "And Joel is a guy that’s extremely talented. Probably growing up he was bigger than everybody, stronger than everybody, faster than everybody. And now he’s at a level where a lot of people are the same. And he’s got to find that extra gear.

"The thing that we’ve talked to Joel about is sometimes he always plays in fourth gear. We’ve got shift to fifth gear and find that extra something. And he’s done that. From January when we started in the weight room to now, I think he’s taken a step and has been more mature and more serious about his work."

-- Williams, an mid-year enrollee, had his early start put on hold while the NCAA Clearinghouse ironed out some details that he labeled a misunderstanding. He missed about a month's worth of time, which included meetings and a few of the early-morning workouts.

"It was pretty stressful just sitting out, but I was going to the weight room in McComas [Hall], of course, getting my work in," he said. "So I didn’t miss too much, but I just wasn’t able to be with the team."

Williams, whose power running has impressed teammates, said he's up around 230 pounds, heavier than he wants to be. He was 215 in high school and wants to play around 225 at Tech. The Clearinghouse didn't hold him back. It was trying to finish up all his classwork to graduate from high school early that prevented him from getting in all his workouts late last year.

He's caught on quickly, however.

"I’ve been blown away with how he’s picked up things from an intelligence standpoint and getting lined up," Beamer said. "He’s as far along as any backs that have been here. I’ve really been surprised from that standpoint."

-- I'll probably write more aboutBrenden Motleywhen I deal with the quarterback situation at some point this spring (possibly after the scrimmage Saturday), but I did ask him if he always thought he'd play quarterback at Virginia Tech, since it seems a lot of folks had him pegged as a candidate to move to safety at some point.

"There was a lot of misconceptions about where I was going to be, offense or defense," Motley said. "I knew inside that I was going to be a quarterback. I knew that I could play the position. I had no doubt in my mind that I could play the position. And coach reassured me as well that I could play the position. As long as I get my footwork right, as long as I get my urgency and take care of the football and get the team where it’s supposed to be, he told me I could definitely be a quarterback."

-- I'll have something longer on the offensive line andWyatt Tellerin particular in the late morning, but new o-line coachStacy Searelsseems to like what Teller,Augie ConteandAlston Smithbring to the table.

"Ithink those kids are going to play and are going to play a lot this year," Searels said.

-- I'll be writing about him and the tight ends for Thursday's paper, butBucky Hodgestalked a little bit about his offseason position switch from quarterback. My favorite quote from it:

"I’m a big dude that can move, so I always had an open mind," he said.

Hodges also talked about taking snaps as a Wildcat quarterback, something Tech did for the first time Tuesday.

"We worked on simple plays," Hodges said. "We didn’t work too much on it. But it’s there, though."

-- Consider receivers coachAaron Mooreheadexcited about sophom*oreCarlis Parker's potential. Parker made the switch from quarterback to receiver upon arriving at Tech last spring and spent most of the year getting used to a new position. He caught six passes for 40 yards all year and probably made his biggest impact in the Sun Bowl on a number of jet sweeps that were effective early against UCLA.

This spring, he's bigger (195 pounds, with Moorehead expecting him to get to 205 by the start of the season) and more confident in what he's doing.

"I’ll tell you what, if he can continue to develop, he’s going to be a really good football player for us," Moorehead said. "I’ve seen flashes of it every day of something he can do that we didn’t have that ability last year. And I think that if he can continue to learn the offense and just continue to work himself before and after practice, I think the sky’s the limit for him. And I don’t say that about a lot of people.

"There’s just something about him where I think he’s got a chance. But he’s got to keep working. It’s not going to happen because he steps out there. He’s got to work because he hasn’t played the position, and so far he’s doing a really good job of it."

-- Moorehead said ideally he's like to go six deep with his receivers. Right now,Josh Stanford,Willie Byrn, Demitri Knowlesand Parker are considered the top four, at least based on the depth chart.

Charley Meyeris another candidate, provided he can stay healthy. Redshirt freshmanDeon Newsomecould be one to watch, however.

"Deon is so explosive," Moorehead said. "He catches a bubble screen and he can break a tackle and go. He can catch a short pass and turn it into a longer gain. He can get behind people and make plays down the field. He’s got a knack to be a play-maker, and now it’s just trying to be consistent and just understanding everything that’s going on around him.

"And part of it is him and part of it is me teaching him some of those things about defenses and not just going out there blind. And I think that that’s probably his next step. But from a play-making standpoint, he’s got to be a guy that can do it first. Not only at the receiver position, but potentially in the return game too."

-- Tuesday was an offensive interview day, but Tech did update its depth chart, with some changes on defense.

Vinny Mihotawas officially slotted as a defensive tackle, behindLuther MaddyandWade Hansen.

WithBrandon Facyson out this spring with a stress reaction in his left leg,Der'Woun Greenemoved up to the first team at cornerback, followed byChuck Clark, who was listed at free safety earlier.

Greg Jonesis now listed as the backup free safety toDetrick Bonnerinstead of Clark.