Frank Beamer: Inexperience of QB Logan Thomas Factored Into Playcalling Change

Darryl Slater from the Richmond Times-Dispatch has an extensive write-up on the changes with the offensive coaching staff. In it, he quotes Beamer's reasoning for the changes, posted on Beamerball.com. There, he talks about how the change will make things easier on the Hokies' new quarterback, Logan Thomas:

"They spend so much time together in the film room, practice field, study sessions, that [O'Cain] just knows what they're thinking, knows what they like, knows what they can do, knows their body language, knows when to attack," Beamer said. "And it just makes sense, with Logan breaking in, to try and keep things as smooth as possible. We want to get that quarterback in a rhythm, get him in a groove and we think that as close as Mike is with Logan, it could be a smart move."

The changes will make things simpler for Thomas, who will now have only one coach in his ear in practice and during games. I wonder what this will mean for the positioning of the coaches. Last year, O'Cain and Stinespring were both in the press box.

If the goal is to keep things easy for Thomas, that might mean O'Cain moving to the field to call plays and for better communication with Thomas while Stinespring stays in the booth to be a second pair of eyes in the sky. I've never been a fan of the playcaller being on the field, but who knows, maybe that would help his transition into the starting job as well.

So why wasn't this "smart move" done sooner? Well, this is the first time since 2006 that the Hokies go into the offseason knowing that they're going to have a new, inexperienced starting quarterback. That year, Sean Glennon led the Hokies to a 10-3 record as a sophomore. That was also Mike O'Cain's first year as Virginia Tech's quarterbacks coach.

Like I said earlier, if this kind of move was going to be made, this was the time to do it.