Two stalwarts for the Hokies, S Divine Deablo and TE James Mitchell, took time out of their camp schedule to speak with the media via a Zoom call on Wednesday afternoon. The questions asked were a good mix of on-field and off-field, including big picture inquiries for this most unusual of upcoming seasons.
Deablo started the afternoon's session. He addressed topics that are at the forefront of most players' and fans' minds – player safety and competing under unprecedented circumstances. He said he never really thought about opting out, knowing that there were going to be challenges associated with playing this season. He has the mindset of coming to campus to play and get better each day.
"I knew when I came back to Blacksburg that there were going to be risks taken because of COVID-19," Deablo said. "I just came to play football and get better while I can, and whatever happens, happens. I never even considered it (opting out). I've been too focused on trying to get better and stay healthy myself, so I never even considered it."
Deablo referenced a "players-only" team meeting where he and team leaders sent a message to the younger players that they if they were on campus to practice and play, it would be imperative that they followed all the rules and protocols. Every player would have to be 100 percent in.
"We actually had a player team meeting recently that was only players and we just talked about how serious we have to take the season, and if we want to play, we've got to be smart off the field, not just on the field. To be honest with you, I'm not even worried about the older guys. I just had to get the message to the younger guys, since it's their first year in college. They may want to have fun, but they got to know there's risk and we got to be smart.
"The upperclassmen tried to let the younger guys know that there will be some type of discipline if they don't follow the rules. It was players who made that rule; not even the coaches. If you want to be here, you have to be 100 percent in."
When the questions got around to on-field developments, Deablo was asked about the differences between new defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton and recently retired Bud Foster. He said there really wasn't any great differences. He remarked that "Coach Ham" was very detail-oriented, much like the legendary Foster.
"Different personality for sure, nobody is the same," Deablo continued. "Coach Hamilton, he's very big on details. Pretty much the same, same type of coaching, I love them both. [Hamilton's] my position coach so I'm a little bit closer to him, but they're both great.
"Like you all know, Coach Hamilton was a player himself here, so he knows a little bit more what we go through. Of course, he yells too, but he tries to yell in a way that we take in a positive manner."
On topics pertaining to actual practices in this age of COVID-19, Deablo said that he is getting used to the new full face shield that players are wearing this season. Humidity originally was causing some issues, but a few adjustments and things were getting much better. For more on the new face shields, read the "Notes" section below.
Game Changer!
Nobody does TECH like @Virginia_Tech 💪🏿
Major props to the team at @VTEngineering for developing & testing these face shields along with our crew at @VTSportMed#HardHatMentality 👷🏽 | #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/Ok40X2QiME
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) August 19, 2020
"I do have one of those actually. It started off with a full visor on the bottom half and the top. First couple days it was good, then it got a little humid, so it was harder to breathe and it got a little foggy. Recently, they cut part of the bottom half so it still covers the mouth but I have more air coming through so I can breathe and it's a lot better. I would advise my teammates and every other team to wear it."
He also said that the social distancing being adhered to in practice is becoming second nature. He says the players and coaches are getting used to the new protocols.
"We have a rule about arm's length apart. I try to police it myself whenever I see too many people close together, I yell and say 'spread out'. They usually listen to me, sometimes they're too tired to listen but I'm going to get them right.
"It was definitely hard at first, nobody was even giving it a thought. We were all lining up right behind each other, but it's definitely become second nature now. The coaches are policing themselves too, so it's definitely second-nature."
In closing, Deablo talked about the way football is important to him. And one final, safety first, thought.
"Football is always going to be an escape for me personally, I don't know about the rest of my teammates. But speaking for myself, ball is always going to be an escape. The only thing I have to remember is to have a mask on when I'm off the field, but besides that, just playing ball."
Next up was Mitchell. Much like Deablo, he fielded more big picture questions than those about the actual practices. He did begin with a question about the wealth of talent at the offensive skill positions.
He agreed that the players and coaches are starting to get used to all the new protocols for safety both during practice and during the off-field hours. He realizes that these are for the good of everyone and that the issues addressed are bigger than himself and his team. He says his mind set is to go out and control the things he is able to control.
"At first, people weren't used to it," Mitchell said. "We had drills that people wanted to be involved in and people would get in real close, so we had to police a little bit more. That was definitely different at first. Now, people are starting to get used to it and know that it is going to be a necessity for us to be successful this fall, on and off the field. I try to police when I can, when I see it."
When asked about newcomers on offense, both Deablo and Mitchell said there were too many to talk about, but a lot of talent in that group.
"We definitely have a lot more that maybe didn't see as much action last year. We've got Nick Gallo, Jaden Payoute, Kaleb Smith. We've also got a lot of guys in the backfield, a lot of young guys in the backfield, along with Marco (Lee), who's a JUCO transfer. I think we've got a lot of weapons of the offense. It's just getting back into the swing of things, where we missed spring ball, but we definitely have a lot of weapons."
Mitchell has been very impressed with fellow tight end Nick Gallo. He says Gallo is a team-first type of player and has made a lot of progress. He also spoke glowingly of quarterback Hendon Hooker, saying that Hooker is showing great leadership and knowledge of the offense.
"As far as teammate goes, he's (Gallo) a great teammate, one of the best teammates that I have been around. He's always encouraging the guys even when he's not in (the game) and that is something that you don't always see, especially from a guy that has only been here for a year. As far as him on the field, he's good. He's a good route runner, good in the pass game and he's coming along in the run game as well. He kind of reminds me of how I was coming along. If we would've had a spring, it would've developed him even more, but he's made a lot of progress so far in the fall, so I am excited to see what kind of season he has this year."
Of course, the tight end from Big Stone Gap, Virginia, was also quizzed about QB Hendon Hooker, who led Tech to six victories as a starter in 2019.
"I would say the way that he (Hooker) is leading right now is the thing that is standing out to me the most. He's really trying to help, not just the quarterbacks, he's really trying to make sure that everything else is right. He's the quarterback, he knows the whole offense, so he is making sure that everyone is doing their job on point and is doing the right thing."
Mitchell said that he believes the players will be positive influences on campus and in the community during this fall, also referencing the players-only meeting.
"It was definitely important, especially from the fact that it was just from the players. The fact that it was just the players that held the meeting and conducted the meeting, they took it really seriously and they knew that these older guys wanted to play. We know they want to play too, obviously it's under different circumstances, but just the fact that it was just a players' meeting, they are going to really take it seriously and are going to do the necessary things off campus and off the football field so that they get a chance to play as well."
Mitchell knows that home games at the usually raucous Lane Stadium will be different this season, but says the coaches have been stressing that the Hokies need to make their own excitement.
"It will definitely be different (entering a somewhat quiet Lane Stadium), but those are the times that we are living in right now and we have to adjust on the fly.
"Well, we have been hitting it hard because we know we may not be able to have fans and we have to bring our own juice. Coach Fuente has been big on preparing us, getting us ready, getting the offense ready when we are going against the defense in practice and making sure we are creating our own juice, just in case we are faced with that in the season. I think we'll be prepared for it, if that does happen."
Mitchell's final question was about the Virginia Tech – Virginia rivalry game coming in the second week of the season. In true team-first spirit, Mitchell said that all he and his teammates can do is prepare for NC State on Sept. 12 and only focus on the Wolfpack right now.
"Right now, we have to worry about NC State. When it (the Virginia game) gets there, we'll talk about it then, I guess, but right now, it doesn't matter if we don't take care of NC State."
NOTES ABOUT THE FACE SHIELD
Experts from Virginia Tech's Athletics department and the College of Engineering collaborated to develop and test a face shield to help protect football players against COVID-19.
·The project is led by Stefan Duma, the Harry Wyatt Professor of Engineering, in close collaboration with Mike Goforth, Associate Athletic Director, Dr. Mark Rogers, chief medical officer for Virginia Tech Athletics, and Matt Hull, a Virginia Tech research scientist and CEO of NanoSafe, a local company specializing in nanoscale exposures.
·Duma is the founding director of the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab, which is nationally recognized for their work evaluating protective equipment for football and other sports.
·The shield, which is designed to be integrated into players' helmets, has two parts. A commercially available visor makes up the upper half of the shield; a second visor, turned upside down and trimmed to fit the helmet, makes up the lower half.
·The researchers worked with Hull and NanoSafe to test the shield's ability to block small droplets.
·In spray tests, the two-part visor blocked more than 99.9% of droplets smaller than 300 nm. (N95 masks, commonly recommended for frontline workers during the pandemic, are required to block at least 95% of particles this size.)
·The shields are easy to assemble from commercially available components, which comepre-treated to prevent fogging.
·The research team has produced more than 40 of the shields for Virginia Tech's varsity football team, and is working with other organizations to make the design more widely available.
·The researchers are exploring treating the shields with a coating developed by a Virginia Tech chemistry professor found in lab tests to inactivate SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Quoting Stefan Duma
"In the Helmet Lab, our driving motivation has always been reducing risk to athletes. Historically we've done that by testing and evaluating helmets to protect players against head impacts, but some of the same principles helped us think about how to develop equipment to protect them against COVID-19."
"This research represents the dedication and hard work of experts across the university, who came together to develop and test new equipment on a tight timeline. Ongoing cross-disciplinary collaborations helped us mobilize quickly to develop a solution we're proud to offer
to our players."
"We need as many good ideas in the ecosystem as possible, so we wanted to make sure that whatever we designed would be easy for other schools or organizations to replicate. We used readily available materials that are easy to assemble and compatible with equipment players are already using."
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