David Cutcliffe on pressuring Ryan Willis: "Some guys are going to have to win some battles"

Coach doesn't want to rely on blitzing

David Cutcliffe talked about the challenge of stopping Virginia Tech’s offense, starting with reaching quarterback Ryan Willis.

“The toughest thing is they’re always really good in the offensive line,” he said. “To create a pass rush, you can pressure. You’ve got five-man rushes, you’ve got six-man rushes and, on rare occasions, seven-man. But to depend upon that is never what you hope. So some guys are going to have to win some battles. He’s a really good player, and any quarterback, the more time you give them, the more successful they’re going to be. Obviously, we’re very aware of that. We’ve worked hard. I think we’re better than we’ve been up front. We’re more mature now. We’ve just got to go play and compete.”

Defending the Hokies’ big wide receivers is also a challenge.

“We’ve got plenty of size in the secondary,” Cutcliffe said. “You’ve just got to be physical with those guys. That’s what the game has turned into. You don’t ever know for sure what is interference and what’s not interference, but you do know this: if you’re not competing for every ball, those type of receivers will get the job done.”

Cutcliffe also praised undersized end Chris Rumph II.

“I kid Chris all the time,” he said. “He may be about 230, 233 (pounds). I tell him, ‘You do a better job of turning 230 pounds into 180. He can get through a crack this big (holds his fingers a few inches apart). He’s got that knack.”