Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 25, 1994 TAG: 9412290033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-9 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Frank Beamer offers only one guarantee about the offensive plays he will call against Tennessee in the Gator Bowl.
``The plays that are called will be good plays,'' Virginia Tech's head coach said, grinning. ``They may not work, but rest assured they will be good plays.''
When Tech lost its offensive coordinator, Gary Tranquill, to Michigan State on Dec.6, Beamer decided the offensive cards would be his to shuffle in the bowl game. It's a deck Beamer hasn't handled since he was head coach at Murray State from 1981-86.
``I've done it before and I understand what's going on,'' Beamer said.
``Offensively, we've talked quite a bit and we have a good understanding of what we want to try. You don't make lot of changes now. You do what you practice and have gotten good at. We're going to take from those things, and I think we're very together on what we need to do in this bowl game.''
Beamer said the lengthy preparation time involved for a bowl game makes it easier to take on a task he wouldn't dare touch during the regular season.
``During the season it gets tough, because you're involved in so many other things,'' he said. ``But what you have here is time. You have time to sit down and make a great preparation, which we're going to do and be ready to go.
``I wouldn't want to do it on a weekly basis myself, because I think where it affects you is on kicking-game decisions or decisions that you have time to think about if you're not calling the plays. But when you're calling plays, now it's fourth-and-one and you've got to make that decision. It helps sometimes if you've thought about some things before then.''
What kind of cards will Beamer lay on the table? Will the Hokies pass more? Run more?
``We're going to be loose,'' Beamer said. ``We want to send Maurice [DeShazo, Tech's senior quarterback,] out on a high note. We want to use all the field and get the ball into the hands of the best people.''
This season, under Tranquill, Tech ran the ball on 474 of 791 offensive plays (60 percent). In its recording-breaking offensive year in 1993 under coordinator Ricky Bustle, Tech ran more often - 586 of 834 offensive plays (70 percent).
``I would think things will change a little bit because there's a different person calling the plays,'' said Bill Conaty, the Hokies' sophomore center. ``It's still the same plays we're running; it's just which ones we will run at different times.
``I would think we might run the ball more now. This year we passed a lot more than in the past. It seemed like we never ran like two or three straight runs. We were always throwing the ball. I think we kind of like running the ball more.''
Like most flankers, junior Bryan Still is counting on Beamer going up top.
``I've heard Coach Beamer likes to throw, too, so, hopefully, he'll take some big shots.''
Beamer maintained his game plan will include input from all his offensive coaches, including Billy Hite, the Hokies' assistant head coach-running backs coach.
When asked if he was afraid to let Hite do the play-calling because he'd order all running plays, Beamer couldn't help but chuckle.
``You've heard about Coach Hite and `Hey diddle diddle, we're coming up the middle,''' said Beamer, poking fun at Hite, who was tutored to run, run and run some more under former Tech coach Bill Dooley.
``I didn't want any of that. Well, now that I think about it, we might have a couple diddle diddles, we're coming up the middle.''
And what happens if Tech doesn't do diddly against Tennessee? Beamer undoubtedly will hear it from the Hokies' 17,000 or so armchair quarterbacks at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
``That's why I'm going to be wearing a headset,'' Beamer said. ``That way I won't be able to hear 'em.''
by CNB