Bill Curry, College Football 20y

Hokies eager to redeem Beamer

While the attention of many is focused on a moment of frustration in the loss to West Virginia last week, there will be a far more important dynamic at work this week on the Virginia Tech football team.

In an embarrassing losing performance in Morgantown, Hokies coach Frank Beamer made the mistake of swatting wide receiver Ernest Wilford on the headgear during an angry sideline exchange between the two. The moment was of course captured on tape and Beamer is being pilloried for his sin on a daily basis.

Here is the crucial aspect of the experience, and take note regardless of your position on such actions because if you are reading this you are concerned about how it will affect performance in the next game: Beamer immediately apologized and Wilford immediately accepted his apology.

Does the mean the head slap was okay? Absolutely not. It means that aggressive people who care about each other can make mistakes in the heat of combat, look each other in the eye and make peace instantly. It occurs every day on the football field. It is one of the defining attributes of a demanding sport that regularly tests individuals and relationships in harsh ways most people will never understand.

In this era of intense scrutiny and public analysis every group will see what it desires to see. It is a scientific fact that human beings can rarely imagine experiences outside their specific paradigms.

But every honest coach and parent in America is thinking something like, "Wow, I sure am glad there were no cameras around when I made my mistakes."

And every current and former football player who played our crazy sport is chuckling about the furor, remembering his "learning experiences" with angry coaches.

Various political groups with legitimate concerns will be heard, and university officials will decide how to respond.

In the 1990 Sugar Bowl our Alabama team was playing Miami in a game that would decide the national championship. One of our players, Prince Wembley, was from Miami and had a delightful, flamboyant personality. There were no "celebration" rules in those days and I had warned our team that the Hurricanes would be dancing. I had also instructed the men that we intended to just play football. We would leave the fancy footwork to the other guys and spend our energy trying to win the game.

We got off to a slow start, doing very little on offense until Prince made a nice catch for a first down late in the first quarter. When tackled he leaped to his feet and posed, arms extended Muhammad Ali style, in all four directions as the crowd roared, booed and rocked the Superdome.

I pulled him and called him over. As we stood facing each other the last thing on my mind was a television camera. I said, "Prince, do not do that again. Do you understand?"

With that we made another big play, the crowd roared and Wembley instinctively turned his head to the field. Being obsessed with eye contact I carefully reached for his facemask and gently pulled his attention back to me. I repeated my question. "Pay attention, do you understand?"

"Yes sir, I understand," he responded. I sat him on the bench the rest of the series.

Needless to say the moment was captured by close-up cameras and it seemed that everyone in America was watching.

On the next drive he made a good move, caught a touchdown pass, tossed the ball to the official, hugged his teammates and jogged to the bench. After the game, which Miami won, I asked him if the two of us were all straight.

"Yes sir, we are straight, Coach," he said as he looked me in the eye.

I continue to get responses to that moment to this day, thirteen years after the fact. They vary from, "I was so glad you grabbed that guy and jerked him around!" to "Gee, could you get in trouble for that? I mean wasn't that an embarrassment for the student-athlete?" I did not jerk, and Prince was not embarrassed.

You see, the orientation of the beholder determines how the response mechanism works.

In Beamer's case this week the crucial audience is his team. The moment with Wilfork will galvanize the players because they honestly love the man. They are proud to be on his team, they admire him and they will fight to redeem him.

Ironically, a mistake by a fine man and great coach will have a positive effect on his team, and here is the reason: While the incentive to be national champs is a strong motivator, it is fleeting and impermanent. The lasting motivating factor for human performance is relationship. When all is said and done, conscientious team members do not want to let their teammates or coaches down.

That is the stuff of champions and Miami would do well to take heed.

As for Larry Coker and his non-dancing Hurricanes, who mostly go to class, graduate and play great football these days, life is pretty normal. They are undefeated, dominate most opponents, somehow win games when they play poorly and roll on toward another national championship game.

This year's team has its own special leaders to complement the coaching staff. Quarterback Brock Berlin has proven his mettle under extreme duress, linebacker Jonathan Vilma has shaken up the defense when necessary and strength coach Andreu Swasey continues to force people to grow up on time.

Swasey recently took the hands of much-ballyhooed tight end Kellen Winslow and held them up before the squad. He is alleged to have said that while these are billion dollar hands they were being wasted because of Kellen's childish antics. He indicated that opponents were laughing at Winslow. "The Chosen One" got the message, much like Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee before him.

Coach Swasey understands the Biblical principle, "To him whom much is given much will be required." He knows when to take a budding superstar and force him to respond to his special responsibility. Timing is everything with these gifted ones and Swasey understands that.

The game within the game this week will hinge on sheer talent. Given that Virginia Tech will likely play its best game yet, is there the sheer physical talent to beat Miami? Well, the Hokies are 0-19 versus teams ranked No. 8 or higher during Beamer's tenure.

This game must be the antithesis of the West Virginia fiasco for Tech. To break the string this team must transcend the talent gap by eliminating such foolish errors as missed center-quarterback exchanges, dumb penalties and turnovers. A near perfect performance will be required.

Hidden yardage will orbit around third-down performance. The most compelling statistic I have seen this year is Miami's third down defense number. Hurricane opponents convert third downs at the rate of 19 percent. That is less than one in five attempts that is successful.

That would be an unbeatable statistic were it not for the second-most impressive number of the season: The Hokies convert third downs at the rate of 50 percent. I cannot recall an offense with a number like that at this stage of the season.

The temptation when aware of such details is to head for the kitchen during first and second down, waiting for the one play that will really determine whether the drive continues. Don't do it. Stay right where you are

The key will be Virginia Tech's power running, option offense and play-action game. Those factors will determine whether third down yardage is short (one to three yards) or long (four to 15). Simply put, third and short is a lot easier to convert than third and long.


Game Plans

 

No. 2 Miami

No. 11 Virginia Tech
Offense Winslow will be bracketed. Beard and other young WRs, you must beat man coverage. Sean Taylor must be accounted for with a blocker, play-action or fake. He can destroy an offense!
  Brock Berlin, play an entire game. Take care of the football. Multiple turnovers will turn this one into an embarrassment.
  Quincy Wilson of WVU averaged 5.4 yards per carry. You can do the same. Perfect center-quarterback exchanges. No excuse for this problem!
Defense You lead the Big East in total defense. Achieve at least 60 percent three-and-outs. Against WVU you gave up more first-quarter points than in all other first quarters this year. Start fast!
  Jonathan Vilma, all your vocal leadership will be required. Return to run defense basics: block protection, pursuit and tackling.
  Sean Taylor, your big plays ignite the team. Play loose and aggressively. Intimidate the young receivers. Take them out of the mix.
Special Teams Jon Peattie, focus on timing and mechanics. They must be perfect! Roscoe Parrish is back on returns. Lane integrity.
  Kickoff return is a big advantage. Prepare for bloops and squibs. The 28-yard punt return last week sealed your fate.
  Focus on fake responsibility. You will see one. Hit on one fake.
Players Prepare the young players for the hostile atmosphere. Prepare for Sean Taylor. He can dominate.
  You understand better than most that WVU is the real deal. Do not be deceived. This can be a breakthrough game, Beamer's first win over a team ranked No. 8 or higher.
  Talk about a fast start. It will unnerve them. Thirteen penalties is absurd. Eliminate them!
Coaches Resolve Coach Shannon's status now. He is very important! Be aware that the players will be on edge, anxious to play for Coach Beamer.
  Coach Werner, Berlin should duplicate his zero-error performance against Temple. Deal with the frequently-noted reality of 0-19 versus highly-ranked opponents.
  Larry Coker, your calm is the key in these games. The WVU game shook your team's confidence. Rebuild it this week!

ESPN college football analyst Bill Curry coached for 17 years in the college ranks. His Game Plans for marquee matchups appear each week during the college football season.

^ Back to Top ^