BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -It took all of two series against Florida State for Virginia Tech and coach Frank Beamer to see the potential of using both Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, sometimes switching them out in the middle of a series.
The Seminoles loaded the box on Taylor’s second play behind center last Saturday, intent on stopping him from running. The freshman, though, noticed that wideout Justin Harper had one-on-one coverage, and hit him on a skinny post for an easy touchdown.
It helped that the defensive back fell down, but the lesson was still clear.
“It told Florida State that they can’t do that,” Glennon said of trying to anticipate a running play. “As soon as I saw the defense line up and they had eight guys in the box and every linebacker was coming, I said there’s a good chance that someone’s going to free up right here. … That was a pretty easy pitch and catch.”
It’s little wonder, then, that the No. 10 Hokies plan to stick with the strategy on Saturday when longtime rival Miami visits. The key is not becoming predictable.
“We don’t want to have it so when Sean’s in the game, they’re going to throw the ball and when Tyrod’s in the game, they’re going to run the read options and quarterback draws,” Glennon said this week. “Then it gets predictable.”
The shuffle worked well for the brief time the Hokies were able to use it before Glennon, the drop-back passer in the tandem, suffered a concussion on a scramble. Taylor then finished up looking nothing like a freshman, but Beamer said after having each as his starter at times during the year, he’s now sold on using them both.
“We have two quarterbacks who do different things, but they both can win,” Beamer explained this week. “We’ll try to get the best out of both of them.”
A week ago, Beamer said the idea of using two quarterbacks is difficult, and he saw that when he tried it with Bryan Randall and Marcus Vick a few seasons ago. But those two had very similar styles, he noted, and splitting their time by quarters was counterproductive, depriving either one of ever really getting into a rhythm.
Now, the switching will be made based on the play being called, and both quarterbacks have been told that they don’t need to be looking over their shoulder, fearing that a mistake will cost them their half of the job-share.
“We talked with the quarterbacks and made it very clear that if you go in and have a bad play, that’s not going to be the last play you run that day,” Beamer said. “I don’t want either of them thinking ‘Hey, I have to make a great play’ or ‘If I make a bad play, I’m out of here,’ so we wanted to make that very clear.”
Beamer said he and his coaches had bandied the idea of using both for a while, and that offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring even called to talk to the staff at Florida, which used Tim Tebow and Chris Leak last season and won the national title.
“Defenses gameplan certain defenses for this quarterback and this defense for the other quarterback,” Beamer said. “That’ll happen. I don’t think the significance of that part is as great as what we hope to gain from taking the best from each of them.”
Saturday’s game is largely meaningless, a rarity in this series that often determined the Big East champion when both were in that league. But the Hokies hope to win and stay sharp heading into their game at Virginia the following Saturday.
That one will determine the ACC’s Coastal Division champion and representative in the ACC Championship game, a trip to a Bowl Championship Series bowl on the line.
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