Hokies QB Grunkemeyer learned more from struggles at BC
Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer prepares to deliver a pass during the first half against Boston College on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
BLACKSBURG — Ethan Grunkemeyer jokingly said there were items in his bag that hadn’t dried out yet by the time the Virginia Tech football team arrived back on campus late Saturday night after playing in miserable conditions at Boston College.
One thing that was dry was the notebook he takes to each meeting. As the junior quarterback watched film of his performance against the Eagles, he likely lost track of the number of pages that were being filled with his handwriting. By the time he started flipping through what he had written down, he had scribbled more notes of what he needed to improve on than after any other game this season.
It wasn’t like he played poorly in the wind and the rain. But he wanted to make sure anything he saw that needed to be changed was documented, especially as the Hokies face a short week with Friday night’s home game against Pittsburgh.
“I was able to learn from a lot of this stuff and make some of the corrections coming into this week,” Grunkemeyer said after Tuesday’s practice. “Obviously, we were able to get the win, so it was really more of an opportunity for me to come in here this week and kind of have 1% goals each day to get better and home in on that stuff.”
Grunkemeyer had season lows for passing yards (147) and completion percentage (62.9%) in the miserable conditions in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The conditions did affect some of his throws, two of which were nearly intercepted and others that were dropped by receivers.
He added that playing in those conditions allowed him to analyze his mechanics. Not every game is going to be like the Hokies’ first three contests in impeccable conditions, which is why he took so many notes to improve heading into the Friday night contest.
“I think some of it was just my feet going into the throw. Me and Coach (Danny) O’Brien sat down and talked about it, and it popped up today on one thing, made the correction and fixed it to have a big, explosive play in practice today,” Grunkemeyer said. “So just kind of small stuff with my feet and seeing some of our different concepts, but I think that we were able to get a good bead on those and get them fixed.”
Those adjustments will be needed against a Pittsburgh defense that has allowed less than 250 passing yards to three of its four opponents.
"I think they disguise what they do really well. They’ve been in that system, running it for a long time, so just being able to kind of diagnose what they’re doing pre-snap — not only that, but post-snap," Grunkemeyer said. "They line up pretty similar on normal downs a good amount of the time, so they do a really good job of that. So being able to kind of decipher that and going through my reads and trusting my read keys and everything."
The protection
Grunkemeyer wasn’t sacked in the second half at Boston College despite featuring an offensive line with two different pieces in place. Logan Howland played extended snaps off the bench at left tackle for the second straight week, while Michael Troutman III made his first career start at right guard.
Troutman’s role could remain the same this week with Montavious Cunningham and Brody Meadows being listed as probable and questionable, respectively, on the initial availability report.
Hokies coach James Franklin revealed Troutman suffered an injury over the summer that put him behind and prevented him from competing for a starting job in training camp.
“The biggest thing is he’s smart, he’s consistent, he’s reliable and he’s got really good balance and body control for a 320-pound kid,” Franklin said.
Troutman played all 81 offensive snaps at Boston College. He finished with a grade of 73.5, according to Pro Football Focus, and that was the sixth-best on the team from that game.
QB’s best friend
Running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. has provided a needed home-run threat for the Tech offense.
He has scored on runs of 50 and 76 yards and added a 49-yard receiving touchdown through four weeks.
All three long touchdowns have come with Grunkemeyer at quarterback. The 50-yard touchdown run capped the first drive against VMI. The 49-yard receiving touchdown came on a wheel route at Maryland. And the 76-yard touchdown run was the go-ahead score at Boston College.
“It’s really comforting for me as a quarterback, but not only that, it opens up everything for our receivers, for our O-line,” Grunkemeyer said. “They’re not getting some of these different crazy looks up front sometimes, maybe just because they’re scared of a home-run threat like that in the running game. So I think it just opens up our offense really, really good.”
Pregame show slated for Friday
ESPN’s newest college football show, Bussin’ & Pate on Campus, will air live on ESPN from 2-3 p.m. on Friday from the Hokie Village head of the evening’s matchup between the Hokies and Panthers at Lane Stadium.
The show is hosted by former NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton and college football media personality Josh Pate.
Students are welcomed to attend the live taping of the show.
Damien Sordelett (540) 981-3124
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