Will O’Cain be able at Virginia Tech?

By Nate Crossman  |   Monday, March 20, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Virginia Tech Hokies
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Of the three new assistant coaches on the Virginia Tech Hokies staff this spring, Mike O'Cain has the toughest assignment. The new quarterbacks coach has to find a starting signalcaller from among a trio of underclassmen with little or no game experience.

If his resume is any indication, he will be able to do it. Plus, he has other qualities that make him invaluable to the Hokies.

But first let's take a look at the resume.

A standout quarterback and punter in the mid-1970s at Clemson, O'Cain rejoined the Tigers in 2001 to become their quarterbacks coach. Although he took over as offensive coordinator in 2004, he remained a position coach. His star pupil was Charlie Whitehurst, who blossomed into one of the best QBs in the ACC, breaking a number of school records.

Before Clemson, O'Cain was the head coach at North Carolina State for seven years. During his tenure with the Wolfpack, he led them to three bowl games and coached luminaries like wide receivers Torry Holt and Alvis Whitted.

Although the resume is more than adequate for a quarterbacks coach, it's three other qualities that make O'Cain a good hire for the Hokies.

First, he's friends with head coach Frank Beamer. From 1981-1984, O'Cain was an assistant on Beamer's Murray State staff. With three coaches having departed, Beamer appears to have made a concerted effort to find coaches who are not only talented at what they do, but who will allow the staff to become more cohesive.

Also, unlike coaches who come from another team and are unfamiliar with their new team's personnel, O'Cain is very familiar with the Hokies. After leaving Clemson after 2004, O'Cain took a year off from coaching and did color commentary for the "Hokie Playback" broadcasts of Hokies home games. So instead of having to cram for what he'll see from Sean Glennon, Corey Holt and Greg Boone (Ike Whitaker is still suspended from the team), he already has a good idea what he has to work with.

Finally, O'Cain will improve the Hokies' recruiting efforts in the Carolinas. As a South Carolina native who coached there and in North Carolina, O'Cain will give the Hokies inroads in places they have not been able to penetrate in the past. When Virginia Tech left the Big East for the ACC, they also all but abandoned their recruiting efforts in Florida to focus on the Carolinas.

If there's one area where the coaching shuffle improved the Hokies, it's in recruiting. Curt Newsome, who will be the offensive line coach, has strong ties to the Tidewater and Virginia Beach areas, where he was a high school coach. Those two are arguably the most important recruiting beds for the Hokies, and some of the most talent-rich in the entire country.
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