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Hokies' Gibson is gaining playing time
Linebacker to start against ECU Thursday
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Published: November 4, 2009
BLACKSBURG, Va. - From the sideline, Virginia Tech linebacker Lyndell Gibson watched the first-team defense during practice, paying close attention to Jake Johnson, whom Gibson was backing up. If Johnson screwed up and drew the ire of defensive coordinator Bud Foster, Gibson remembered the mistake.
"Make sure you don't do that," he told himself.
Gibson, a redshirt freshman, improved enough, in part by learning from Johnson's mistakes, that Foster decided he will replace Johnson as one of the Hokies' two starting inside linebackers for Thursday night's game at East Carolina. Just as important, Gibson learned from his own mistakes, which landed him in legal trouble last school year and left him trying to maximize his second chance.
Gibson's promotion to starter after last Thursday's loss to North Carolina was not surprising, because he had played more lately. In the first three games, Johnson, a first-year starter, played 197 snaps, Gibson 10. In the next three, Johnson played 102, Gibson 73. Two games ago, at Georgia Tech, Johnson got 37, Gibson 33. Against North Carolina: Gibson 55, Johnson 16.
Foster, who also coaches inside linebackers, said that Johnson will rotate in, but added, "We just need to be more productive in that spot." Johnson "started out well and just kind of has leveled off here a little bit," Foster said. "Lyndell's continued to improve."
Foster believes that Johnson's inexperience is limiting him in an important area.
"He's got to do a better job of adjustments during the game," Foster said. "The other day (against North Carolina), he didn't make an adjustment, so I took him out."
Johnson shouldn't shoulder all the blame for the Hokies' inconsistent run defense. They are allowing 154.1 rushing yards per game, 79th in the country. In Foster's first 14 seasons as coordinator combined, they allowed 100 yards per game, held opponents to fewer than 100 a game in a season eight times and never had a season average higher than 136.
Foster wants all of Tech's up-the-middle players to perform better. Senior tackle Cordarrow Thompson struggled against North Carolina, Foster said.
Can Gibson provide the steadiness that Virginia Tech is missing? When he substituted in this season, he found himself needing a few plays to adjust to the game's pace -- the speed of the linemen and running backs.
"When the game slows down completely for me, I know I'll be able to dominate like I usually do," he said.
Foster trusts Gibson more now than he did last school year, which was marred with what Gibson called "life-problem issues, behavior stuff, dumb stuff." He declined to provide details. "It was stupid," he said. "I was young. But I ain't gonna use that as an excuse. I could have made better decisions than I did, but it's in the past."
Darryl Slater covers Virginia Tech for the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch
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