Virginia Tech LB Lyndell Gibson trying to take advantage of second chance

BLACKSBURG - 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, a sophomore, 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 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 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 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 Carolina, Foster said. Junior tackle John Graves, of Meadowbrook High, still is battling a sprained right ankle. Sophomore inside linebacker Barquell Rivers still is a first-year starter.

Can Gibson provide the steadiness 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. I’m just trying to get everything that I can back.“

Last October, Gibson, who turned 19 in July, was arrested in his hometown of Virginia Beach for misdemeanor unlawful purchase or possession of alcohol. He received 12 months of unsupervised probation.

In March, he and three teammates fellow freshmen Xavier Boyce, Marcus Davis and Joe Jones, all from Virginia Beach were charged in connection with a December incident in which they allegedly stole two bicycles from two female Tech students.

They were charged with felony grand larceny for stealing one bike, valued at more than $200; misdemeanor petit larceny for stealing the other, valued at less than $200; and two counts of misdemeanor intentional property damage for breaking the bikes’ locks.

The prosecutor for Montgomery County’s General District Court in Blacksburg decided to not pursue the grand larceny charges. The petit larceny charges were reduced for all four to interfering with property rights, and all four were convicted. Gibson and Jones were fined $500. Boyce and Davis received community service. All four also got community service for the property-damage charges.

Tech’s coaches punished Gibson by sidelining him for all but the last three days of spring practice. “Kids will do stupid things,“ Foster said. “I’ve done stupid things in the past. I was given a second chance. You can relate that to the kids.“

Gibson said he came back “just trying to get everybody’s trust back, especially coach Foster.“ During the summer, Gibson tagged along with cornerback Rashad Carmichael for film-study sessions and early morning runs, earning that trust and, eventually, a starting spot.

“You could just feel he was more committed,“ Carmichael said. “He told me he sold himself to the program. He wanted to try to straighten up.“

Contact Darryl Slater at (804) 649-6026 or