2006 Virginia Tech Hokies football team explained
The 2006 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer. The team tallied a 10–3 record, going 10–2 during the regular season before losing 31–24 in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs.
Preseason
Virginia Tech began the season ranked #16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and #17 in the Associated Press Poll after going 11–2 (7–1 ACC) in 2005 and winning the Coastal division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
See also 2006 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Schedule
[1]
Game summaries
Northeastern
North Carolina
Duke
Cincinnati
Georgia Tech
Boston College
Southern Miss
Clemson
Miami
Kent State
Wake Forest
Virginia
Georgia
Rankings
See also: 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.
Personnel
Coaching staff
| Position | Name | First year at VT | First year in current position |
|---|
| Head coach | Frank Beamer | 1987 | 1987 |
| Associate head coach and running backs coach | Billy Hite | 1978 | 2001 |
| Offensive coordinator and tight ends | Bryan Stinespring | 1990 | 2006 (offensive coordinator since 2002) |
| Defensive coordinator and inside linebackers | Bud Foster | 1987 | 1995 |
| Offensive Line | Curt Newsome | 2006 | 2006 |
| Wide Receivers | Kevin Sherman | 2006 | 2006 |
| Strong Safety, Outside Linebackers, and Recruiting Coordinator | Jim Cavanaugh | 1996 | 2002 |
| Quarterbacks | Mike O'Cain | 2006 | 2006 |
| Defensive backs | Torrian Gray | 2006 | 2006 |
| Defensive Line | Charley Wiles | 1996 | 1996 |
|
Roster
Discipline issues
| Virginia Tech penalties by game |
|---|
| Opponent | Tech Penalties | Opponent penalties |
|---|
| Northeastern | 7 (56 yards) | 10 (78 yards) |
| @ North Carolina | 7 (55 yards) | 1 (10 yards) |
| Duke | 9 (85 yards) | 7 (43 yards) |
| Cincinnati | 7 (52 yards) | 9 (75 yards) |
| Georgia Tech | 5 (28 yards) | 8 (83 yards) |
| Boston College | 9 (88 yards) | 9 (60 yards) |
| Southern Miss | 5 (41 yards) | 7 (45 yards) |
| Clemson | 3 (22 yards) | 1 (5 yards) |
| Miami | 3 (15 yards) | 8 (62 yards) |
| Kent State | 5 (50 yards) | 9 (71 yards) |
| Wake Forest | 6 (65 yards) | 3 (27 yards) |
| Virginia | 3 (29 yards) | 6 (45 yards) | |
The first half of Virginia Tech's season was characterized by a lack of discipline for the Hokies, both on and off the field.
- Safety Aaron Rouse was penalized twice against Duke for roughing the passer. His second hit on Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis was a helmet-to-sternum hit that whiplashed his head with such force that it gave him a concussion. Duke's backup quarterback said of Tech, "They are a fast team. I'm lucky to come out in one piece. ... The roughing of the passer, the late hits, they were coming for us."[8]
- DE Chris Ellis and WR Josh Morgan were arrested late Saturday night after the Hokies' victory over Cincinnati and charged with resisting arrest and obstructing justice. Morgan was also charged with disorderly conduct. Both players were suspended for the following game, a home loss to Georgia Tech and were later sentenced to one year of probation and 100 hours of community service.[9]
- WR Josh Hyman was suspended for the Boston College game after an arrest for driving under the influence.[10]
- During the ESPN broadcast of the Boston College game, announcer Kirk Herbstreit became angry when cameras showed Tech players Vince Hall and Aaron Rouse arguing on the sidelines and showed linebacker Brendan Hill dancing on the sidelines with Tech trailing late in the game. The video of Herbstreit's rant was shown to the Tech team in Sunday meetings following the game.[11]
Tech's discipline troubles came to a head when the Hokies were blown out in consecutive weeks by Georgia Tech and Boston College. Beamer responded by cracking down on trash-talking, personal fouls, and other negative behaviors. The team responded and committed no personal fouls and only two defensive penalties total in the three games following the BC loss.[12]
Defense
Virginia Tech finished the regular season leading the nation in total defense, scoring defense, and pass defense.[13] This was the second year in a row that defensive coordinator Bud Foster's unit had led the nation in total defense.
Notes and References
- Web site: Virginia Tech Football 2006 Game Results. Virginia Tech Athletics. August 26, 2012.
- Brandon Gore started the last four games, replacing the injured Ryan Shuman
- Hall was dismissed from the team during the season https://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=2639066. He later returned for spring practice in 2007, but was not on the fall 2007 roster.
- Subsequent to the 2006 season, Jason Adjepong changed his name to Jason Adjepong Worilds – see http://www.hokiesports.com/football/players/2007/worilds.html
- Web site: Hokies continue to misbehave on, off field. Associated Press. 2006-10-17. 2007-07-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930115639/http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?p=1266022. 2007-09-30. dead.
- Web site: Hokies lose Ore to injury in 1st quarter . King . Randy . 2006-11-19 . The Roanoke Times . 2006-07-11 . dead . https://archive.today/20120909194846/http://www.roanoke.com/sports/vtfootball/wb/92304 . 2012-09-09 .
- Web site: Remember Kent Hicks?. Barr. Josh. The Washington Post. 2007-01-24. 2007-07-11.
- Web site: Blue devils sacked. 2006-11-30. 2006-09-17. Chavez. Luciana . The News & Observer (Raleigh).
- Web site: Hokies' Ellis, Morgan get community service, probation. 2006-11-30. 2006-11-30. Wood. Norm. Daily Press.
- Web site: Beamer Faces Questions About Behavior. 2006-11-30. 2006-10-18. Lindsey. Sue. AP. https://web.archive.org/web/20070928040852/http://www.wsls.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSLS%2FMGArticle%2FSLS_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191233457&path=!sports. 2007-09-28. dead.
- Web site: Herbstreit defends rant. https://archive.today/20061202194606/http://www.roanoke.com/sports/vtfootball/wb/87562. dead. 2006-12-02. 2006-11-30. 2006-10-18. King. Randy . The Roanoke Times.
- Web site: Discipline Suits Hokies' Defense. 2006-11-30. 2006-11-08. Kilgore. Adam. Washington Post.
- Web site: Virginia Tech (10 – 2 – 0) Thru: 11/25/06. 2006-11-30. 2006-11-25. NCAA.
