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Win makes it clear:Let Tyrod be Tyrod

September 20, 2009 2:52 am

BLACKSBURG

It's time for the kid gloves to come off.

This has to become Tyrod Taylor's offense. Even if it means exposing the star quarterback to punishing hits like the one Cornhuskers All-American Ndamukong Suh laid on him early in the third quarter.

It's clear that even with their usual stout defense, the Hokies won't beat good teams like Nebraska and Miami (next Saturday's guest) without heavy doses of Tyrod. (A lot of luck doesn't hurt, either.)

As a visibly relieved Frank Beamer put it: "We don't win that one without a quarterback who can throw the football and keep plays alive."

Even the threat of Taylor's fleet feet can have a major effect. What the Cornhuskers didn't really seem to know was that the Beamer and offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring have been trying to keep Taylor in mint condition. Through three games, they've called only a handful of runs for their quarterback.

Without a proven backup, they can't afford to lose their star to injury. So Stinespring's already conservative game plans have moved even further right than Glenn Beck. They include plenty of runs by Ryan Williams and safe short pass plays to the Hokies' crew of undistinguished receivers.

Until they have to gamble, that is. Facing 83 yards of real estate yesterday and only 1:44 to negotiate it (without a timeout), they let Tyrod be Tyrod.

Said Stinespring: "Tyrod has the ability to make plays in the pocket, outside the pocket, and in the parking lot."

No one will admit it, but Taylor is clearly under orders to run only as a last resort. Even on his game-winning touchdown pass to Dyrell Roberts--on which he scrambled for what seemed to be 30 seconds--he was thinking pass almost all the way.

"[Running] was my last thought," he said. "I had three receivers in the end zone. I was just trying to buy time and get them the ball."

That's also what he had done on an 80-yard bomb to Danny Coale that put the ball on Nebraska's 3. When a Cornhuskers defensive back--obviously warned by his coaches to be aware of Taylor's mythical scrambling ability--turned his head to look into the backfield, Coale sped past him and nearly scored.

Said Coale: "You have to respect Tyrod's ability to run."

But the Taylor who led yesterday's epic victory isn't the same Taylor who ran 15 times for 87 yards in a 35-30 win over Nebraska last year in Lincoln. He has become a rolling pocket passer who has a net 10 rushing yards through three games.

That's not going to be enough against Atlantic Coast Conference rivals Miami, Boston College, Georgia Tech and North Carolina, all of whom the Hokies play before Halloween--and all of whom will have scouted Tech better than the Cornhuskers did.

Taylor is proving to be a better passer than most observers thought. That, in turn, should open up a few more scrambling lanes if future opponents rush him harder than Nebraska did yesterday.

Said Stinespring: "He didn't get harassed much [in the pocket] because they wanted to keep an eye on him and not let him beat them with his legs."

Beamer joked that when Michael Vick was Tech's quarterback a decade ago, "we'd call routes and hope they were covered" so that Vick could take off and improvise. To win a third straight ACC championship, they'll need to do the same with Taylor. Failure to exploit his legs means denying the offense one of its most potent weapons.

Taylor's arm--and his corps of receivers--aren't championship-caliber. Toss in his scrambling ability (in moderation, of course), and the Hokies might be on to something.

Yes, there's considerable risk; an injury to Taylor would derail Tech's title hopes. But think of the potential reward. Yesterday offered a glimpse of that--but it emerged only when all else failed.

Looking ahead at Tech's upcoming schedule, Beamer said: "It's pretty obvious we're going to have to be a better football team."

Taylor's legs can help make them one.

Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443
Email: sdeshazo@freelancestar.com