Virginia Tech safeties coach Anthony Midget spoke to the media after practice on Thursday, Aug. 13, roughly three weeks out from the Hokies' season opener vs. VMI on Saturday, Sept. 5. Here's the entirety of what Midget had to say:
"It's been good. The guys getting out here, competing every day, doing what we asked them to do. Today was a good day. You know, the offense made some plays, defense have made some plays, so it's back and forth. So, it's been good so far."
"Yeah, but the intensity because we want those guys to keep it the same no matter what we do. We step on the grass, but obviously from a physicality standpoint, that shows up where the guys, the temperament changes from a physical standpoint. And that's what we want to be. We want to be a physical unit overall. So, that's been showing up."
Q: How's your room look so far in camp?
"It's been good. The guys have been competing. We're creating some depth there at all the positions. The guys are competing at corner, nickel and safety. So, it's been good and we're encouraged where we are so far at this point."
"[I like him] just being able to be healthy, be out there on the field, competing every day and learning. He's still learning because he missed so much time in the spring, but now we got him out here every day. So, it's good just to get around him to be able to coach him and see what his strengths and weaknesses are and things we got to work on. But I've been pleased with him."
Q: How did you approach coaching him because he wasn't full strength obviously in the spring and wasn't able to do full complement of stuff? Do you tailor your your coach in a different way in terms of learning stuff when he's out there?
"No, he was coached the same. It's just like some of the live and contact periods he couldn't do, but he was able to do some of the skelly stuff and all the other stuff we asked him to do. So, he was able to get that work. It was just some of the live-contact stuff he wasn't able to get, but he's getting that now. So, that's good for him getting it caught up."
Q: From like a length and and speed standpoint, is he about what you want?
"Absolutely. Athletic former corner in high school. So, a guy that has some traits to be able to cover man-to-man and do some things. So, he's absolutely what we're looking for."
"It's great. Even a guy in Tyson, both of those guys can play both sides. So we don't have to play them field and boundary. We'll just scheme things up to what we feel best to put them in the best position. But we're good with those guys' versatility. They're able to play multiple spots for us."
"Just the run game stuff, just being physical, showing up that aspect of it because he missed so much of it in the spring. So that's what we want to see. Obviously, from a pass game standpoint, he has all the skills and the tangibles you want in that area. Just getting caught up on the run game stuff that we missed out on in the spring."
"He ended the spring really well and he picked up really good in the summer and had a good summer camp. Now, he's come in the fall and he's doing a good job and just continues to get better each and every day, and he's done a good job for us."
"Just consistency every single day. We're asking him to do a lot too as well. We're not just putting guys in one position. We ask him to do different things, and he's been able to handle that. And you talk about size, length, strength, speed; he has all that you want. So, it's just continuing to just develop confidence day in and day out, stacking good days together, and that's what he's been doing."
"He's a versatile guy that can do a lot of different things for us. He's been doing corner, played safety. He's played nickel, he could play any position in the back end, and that's because it's a testament to him. He's smart, he has good football intelligence. So, you know, we're excited about what we can do and how we can utilize him this fall."
"Just consistency. Like the first four practices, he had, like, three turnovers out of the first four days and get making plays and taking chances to get opportunities. He's just doing the little things right every single day and taking advantage of the opportunities he's been getting. So, we've been really pleased with what he's done. He's had a great camp so far starting out."
Q: Where does he still need to grow?
"Just consistency of just doing it every single day and he's been doing that and putting days together. He's just been coming out with a positive attitude. Working, doing great in the run game, pass game is something that we have to focus on and he's been improving in that area."
"If you can get four deep. But if it's more than that, we'll just be smart about it in what we're doing because we got to be good there for the flow of the game. But you want to develop depth because you're going to need guys and like Coach [James] Franklin says, We would like, overall, to have a three deep at each position. That would be great. But if you got four to five guys that you feel comfortable at playing, that would be really good."
""I think we're working toward it. I think we're at that point. We feel good about a lot of the guys we have. If we had to line up and play ready today, we'll play those guys. We're going to be able, they're going to learn by getting on the field and getting them out there and see what they can do. But it has to be earned through practice right now. And those guys have been doing that."
"It's similar to Kenny, a guy that can play multiple spots, can play nickel, can play safety and handle it well. He's done a good job in the pass game and a guy that willing to show up in the run game. So he's another guy that we can utilize in the fall and do some different things with to bring versatility to the back end."
"It's good because those guys get a lot of reps together. So, they're getting the chance I'm giving them, things to do from a disguise standpoint. Now they're starting to do things on their own because they're comfortable playing with each other. So that's the thing that we're looking for. The more we can get them reps together and they continue to just build that trust with each other and just those cues, where you know they're communicating with each other and doing different things, that's been good. So, that's been a positive and that's been good this fall camp with having Q back for the entire practice. And all these days him and Tyson developed that chemistry."
"He's been just working and getting better every day. He does a good job in a meeting room. He competes out here. He's been doing a good job trying to make turnovers. Hunting the ball, the things that we emphasize and he's been intentional about it. So, it's been good and you've just got to continue to grow. He's obviously going to be a guy that should be a contributor on special teams. The more he can continue developing, eventually making um impact on defense."
Q: When do you know that someone coming in as a freshman, maybe they're not going to break into the two-deep immediately but can be a contributor on special teams, what do you look for?
"Guys come out here. Coach [Doug] Shearer does a good job. We do it. We emphasize special teams every single day. So, we just watch it. All the coaches coach special teams. So, we're involved in it. We watch it and we see it. And those guys show up and they put in just as much work in special teams as they do on defense. And they take that serious and they show up. They do well on special teams. Now, we figure out, How can we get them a bigger role, possibly getting them some chance to play on defense, too? So, the special teams role, you take advantage of that, [and it] can lead to more opportunities on the defensive side of the ball."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/virginiatech as Everything From Virginia Tech Safeties Coach Anthony Midget After Aug. 13's Fall Camp Practice .
