I've been just as loud as anyone declaring my girlie crush on the uber
athletic backup QB Ike Whitacker. Glennon can pass the ball but he
can't move. That is a bad bad combination for anyone playing behind
our young offensive line. We have to run the ball to be successful and
with just 1 running back having a mobile QB would help make our running
game a reality. The coaching staff appears to agree with my assesment of the impact on the running game. Here is an exert from
today's annoucement from Frank Beamer:
The way Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer
sees it, if one quarterback can pass and the other can mix in some
running, he might as well use them both.
Beamer said Tuesday that he doesn't intend to replace starter
Sean Glennon, but backup Ike Whitaker also will see some time when
No. 10 Clemson comes to Lane Stadium on Thursday night.
Glennon, a sophomore who beat out Whitaker and Cory Holt for the
starting job in the preseason, is a drop-back passer who has thrown
for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns. He also has six interceptions and
several fumbles, having been victimized often by an inexperienced
offensive line.
That's where Whitaker's mobility might help. In limited action
in the Hokies' 36-6 victory against Southern Mississippi on
Saturday night, the freshman had 14 yards passing and 26 yards
rushing.
"When he pulls the ball down, he's a threat as a runner,"
Beamer said.
How do I feel about splitting up the Quarterback job? Well, let's hop into our friend the
way back machine. It's December 26, 2003 and the Hokies finish up a season where junior Bryan Randle and freshman Marcus Vick share time at QB. How did it all work out? In a
52-49 loss to Cal at the Insight Bowl. We haven't tried splitting time behind center since and the results have put us in the Sugar and Gator bowls instead. Staying with Glennon isn't the answer, but niether is the QB carosel the team has decided to take a ride on. I know we have 20 years of egos involved, but sometimes you need to own up to making a bad decision and move on. We tried to take the high road and start model student athlete/consistent passer Glennon. We failed. Let's own up to it and make a real change. Thursday's game against Clemson will be our toughest of the year--and it's certainly not the right time for a grand experiment like this.
I hope I'm wrong--but something tells me Thursday might be a very long night for Hokie fans.