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Heart of the Hokies: talk is cheap, but it has to be said: Virginia Tech has the baddest defense in the land

Sporting News, The, Nov 11, 2005 by Matt Hayes

Now this was what summers are all about. The sun, the sweat, the sizzle. And there was Jimmy Williams. If ever there was a perfect match for this hedonism, it was Virginia Tech's loud, proud, I'm better than you and I know it cornerback. Walking down Sunset Boulevard, sucking in the sweet breeze of Beverly Hills, strolling through the Playboy Mansion, and son of a gun if he wasn't ...

"Starstruck," Williams says. "For the first time in my life, I didn't know what to say."

Which, as anyone who knows Jimmy Williams knows, is just about as close to impossible as it gets. Especially considering the circumstances: an invite-only pass last summer to the Mansion as part of the magazine's preseason All-American team.

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"Now," Williams quickly follows, "I recovered pretty quick and realized where I was."

Thank heaven for Jimmy Williams. Without the pomp of his outspoken style and outstanding play, lots of folks would know absolutely nothing about this Virginia Tech defense. And that, people, is the way the Hokies like it. Well with the exception of Williams--banned last season from speaking with reporters, yet allowed back on double-secret probation this time around.

"I'll talk for everyone," Williams says.

That's good because Lord knows no one else on this defense will. Over there is run-stuffing defensive tackle Jonathan Lewis--and not a peep out of him despite his All-American season. And there's linebacker Vince Hall. The guy returned an interception for a touchdown in last week's big win over Boston College, and all he can talk about is taking it game by game.

Over there is relentless end Darryl who hit BC quarterback Quinton Porter so hard Porter "everything stopped" for a moment. See that black, beat-up lunch pail under Tapp's chair? The guy who grades out best each game on defense gets to carry that pup around for a week. Yeah, that's what this defense is all about.

Go to work, shut your mouth, play your game.

"We'll let No. 5 get all the publicity," Lewis says.

It's always about a Vick at Virginia Tech, isn't it? First, there was Michael. Now, there's Marcus--No. 5 on your scorecard--doing what Michael did with a hint of even more to come. Which, of course, means the defense gets buried further on Saturday night highlight shows. Like that matters to these guys.

Defense is the foundation of Tech, the soul of a team and a program and coach Frank Beamer's 19-year odyssey of building something from nothing--even though Joe Sixpack thinks Vick (either one) whenever the Hokies are mentioned. Beamer was a star cornerback at Tech, a scrappy, tough nut who wasn't that fast and wasn't that athletic but, man, could he deliver a blow. Didn't talk, didn't strut, just played hard and years later, his jersey was retired.

So it should come as no surprise that VT is No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense and No. 2 in total defense. Since moving to the ACC from the Big East last season, the Hokies are 12-1 in league games and have given up an average of 12.0 points in those games.

The team the ACC didn't even want two years ago is now its best hope in the ever-convoluted national championship hunt--because no one in the nation shuts down opponents better.

"Very fast and very active," says Georgia Tech coach Chan Galley. "They have very few weaknesses."

Yet we might not get the chance to see this defense on the sport's biggest stage, duking it out with USC or Texas. We might not get to see Tech's front four force quick throws by putting the heat on Matt Leinart or Vince Young. We might not get to watch Williams in man coverage against Dwayne Jarrett or speedy linebacker Xavier Adibi shadow Reggie Bush or Jamaal Charles. Or watch Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster's innovative zone blitz schemes bring confusion to USC--what many are calling the best offense in the game's history.

The Hokies have given up eight touchdowns in eight games. Think about that. Hard to imagine in this day of pass-happy offenses and newfangled spread schemes. Wouldn't you just think somebody, somewhere would stumble into a second touchdown against the Hokies?

"Their speed overshadows a lot of flaws," says one ACC offensive coordinator. "That, and Bud knows what the hell he is doing."

Wasn't too long ago that you'd be hard-pressed to find many in Blacksburg who felt that way. Tech went through two tough seasons in 2002 and '03, when the defense fell apart and Foster--fair or not--shouldered the blame. The unit that had closed out games for years couldn't get teams off the field.

Suddenly, the genius defensive coordinator was a stooge. This was the guy who had turned down overtures from Virginia in 2001 to be its head coach because he and his family love Blacksburg. The guy who because of his loyalty to Beamer had told Steve Spurrier no in 1998 when Spurrier needed someone to replace Bob Stoops as his defensive whipping boy. And suddenly, Foster just wasn't good enough anymore.

Heart of the Hokies: talk is cheap, but it has to be said: Virginia Tech has the baddest defense in the land

Sporting News, The, Nov 11, 2005 by Matt Hayes

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