Beamer Overload!!

by Mark Trible on Feb 14, 2011 5:28 PM EST in Virginia Tech Football

Today it was announced that the prodigal son would be returning home. Okay, a bit hyperbole but you get the idea. Shane Beamer is going to replace Billy Hite as the Hokies' Running Backs coach. What does it mean? Well, that's tough to identify less than 12 hours after the announcement but here are some possible results of this move.

Youth infusion- It's no question that one of the best things about Frank Beamer's staff is the unbelievable amount of experience they have. The downside of that of course, is that players may not find the coaches all that close to them. No one wants to play Madden with Billy Hite after practice. It would just take too long to teach him. Shane Beamer is a young voice, the very type of voice that has helped Mike London recruit well. Speaking of the 'R' word ...
RECRUITING!!!!!- Tech had a down offseason recruiting-wise, and it's no secret. If you're curious how bad, ask the fans that follow the stuff in depth. That is, if you can find them at the bottom of the cliff they jumped off when the 2011 class was announced. Or when names trickled in. Or when such and such picked Clemson over Blacksburg. Either way, they'd tell you that the big name coaches at Tech aren't doing all that much on the recruiting path. That's where someone like little Beamer can come in and do a great job. He's served as a recruiting assistant under the Ol' Ball Coach, who has turned in some impressive classes lately. Can't hurt, right?
Bigger wealth of experience- I know, little Beamer doesn't have all that much experience. But, he's been South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech since leaving the 'Burg. So, not only does he have experience, he has it from big time programs. He wasn't coaching long snappers at Bridgewater College, he was learning on a big scale. On top of SB's experience, Hite is still on the staff. He has been given the title of 'Assistant to the Head Coach and Senior Advisor'. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I'm sure he'll still be involved in a big way. If anything, this was probably a move to get SB back to Blacksburg, and maybe ease Hite's workload a bit. Young and hungry coaches are never a bad thing to have.
Lastly, it's important for Tech to bring people to Blacksburg that won't get there and wonder where the heck they are. Shane Beamer played at Tech, and obviously he grew up around the program. I'm sure he has a special place in his heart for the program and that's important to Hokies everywhere.

Once again, it's close to impossible to figure out what the impact of little Beamer's impact will be at Tech. But there is some food for thought until f4h comes back and writes a manifesto.

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The only thing I wonder about is what this means for the coaching staff down the road. I’m definitely glad to have Beamer the Younger on the staff for his recruiting ability, but it makes me wonder if there are any preferences for him to move up. I don’t know nearly enough about Shane Beamer to say the upper limit on his coaching ability, just one of those things you wonder.

But back to the addition: hurray!

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by Casey Richey on Feb 14, 2011 6:22 PM EST reply actions

Yay!

Now what to do about Stiney…

Born and raised in the 804, VT '10. Hokies, Braves, NY Giants, and NY Rangers are my teams.

by wisec4g on Feb 14, 2011 6:35 PM EST reply actions

solution

Fire Newsome, Move stiney to co – RC with shane, stiney takes va and north shane va and south. Stiney goes back to coachin the OL something he is really good at. Lastly bring in Friedgen as OC.

by crw4vt on Feb 14, 2011 7:26 PM EST up reply actions

This is a very good hire by Tech, even if he doesnt succeed as a field coach

He can recruit, and you need them on staff. You can find a balance.

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by DrB on Feb 14, 2011 7:30 PM EST reply actions

RBs

well, define succeeding as a field coach. If our RBs start to look like crap… that’s just too important a position for a Frank Beamer team. Mind you, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Beamer-the-younger has been around enough, and I expect he’ll have enough help from the other guys on staff getting going, and David Wilson is ready to have a great year… But it does make me wonder exactly how it works when someone comes in to coach a position that they’ve never played or coached before. Is this the real reason that Hite stayed on in some capacity when it was rumored that he would retire? So that he could train SB in the positional nuances?

by hokiegrad on Feb 15, 2011 7:43 AM EST up reply actions

correction

Apparently he did coach RBs his last year at Miss. St. before going to SC. He also talks about looking forward to learning from Hite, which sounds about right.

by hokiegrad on Feb 15, 2011 7:55 AM EST up reply actions

Any Chance Clowney will come to VT with Shane?

Cause, that’d be nice. Hopefully, lil’ Beamer will continue to bring in the recruits in the upcoming years.

by Chazz Micheal Michealzz on Feb 15, 2011 1:37 AM EST reply actions

nope

already signed his NLI w/ SC.

by hokiegrad on Feb 15, 2011 7:32 AM EST up reply actions

Bud handed his walking papers (eventually)

I think Shane should be viewed as a legitimate threat to be the next head coach at Virginia Tech. As we’ve found out from programs not willing to commit to a 50-something Bud Foster as a head coach, youth is the name of the game. Players want the best of both worlds: A coach that has been successful and has that experience, and someone who they can relate to.

For the elder Beamer, if you’ve built this program from the ground up and your name is synonymous with it, don’t you think that now with the opportunity to pass on your legacy to your son and keep that name in-house is the thing you want more than anything!? I’m betting my bottom dollar that Foster will never take over as coach and Shane will instead be our next HC, at which point Bud is likely to leave because Shane will want to have his own staff and Bud, who won’t want to be under a 30-something, will be sadly given maybe ONE chance at an HC position. Trust me guys, the balance of power shifted today.

Oh, and p.s., Mark is right, we had our worst recruiting haul in modern history while Shane pulled in no lower than the #18 class (anywhere I’ve read) and the unanimous #1 prospect in the nation in Jadaveon Clowney as South Carolina’s Recruiting Coordinator. But until things pick up under the younger Beamer, yes, you can still find me at the bottom of the cliff I jumped off of.

by chicagomaroon on Feb 15, 2011 3:08 AM EST reply actions

Agree

I think Shane’s the next HC.

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by furrer4heisman on Feb 15, 2011 11:17 AM EST up reply actions

i can't be the only one...

i’m so glad that Hite is sticking around. but it has to be said, his title cracks me up as a fan of The Office. “Assistant to the Head Coach…” and “Assistant to the Regional Manager.” LOL! oh well, sorry Billy. :)

by VTWillardRep on Feb 15, 2011 7:35 AM EST reply actions