August 10, 2013
Considering Virginia Tech came out of Chestnut Hill, Mass., last November with a 30-23 overtime win, James Gayle doesn’t consider film of the Boston College game to be cringe-worthy, but there are certain aspects of it that don’t make it must-see TV.
He spent more time in BC’s backfield than any other member of Tech’s defense, but he remembers watching at least three plays on film where BC quarterback Chase Rettig side-stepped or squirmed his way out of Gayle’s grasp. It was a theme that repeated itself too many times last season.
“I had (Rettig) wrapped up two or three times,” said Gayle, a Bethel High graduate entering his senior season at Tech.
“I can think of five sacks last year where I had the quarterback in my hands and he got away. You have to finish the play. Just because you get there doesn’t mean it’s finished. I’m just working on finishing the play.”
To call Gayle’s junior season anything close to a disappointment would be inaccurate and unfair. He earned second team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in his second full season as a starter, finishing with 43 tackles, including 11 for loss and five sacks.
No player on Tech’s defense pressured quarterbacks more than Gayle. Yet, for a guy who opened the season with a goal to log 10 sacks, five wasn’t good enough.
Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster and defensive line coach Charley Wiles understand Gayle’s problem with finishing plays. He’s gotten into a bad habit when he gets within arm’s length of quarterbacks, and it ended up creating frustrating results last season.
“James has a knack when he’s getting ready to make a hit, he kind of ducks his head a little bit, which might make him maybe lose sight of the quarterback or put you at a bad angle,” Foster said. “That’s one thing Charley has addressed with him.
“It’s kind of a fine line. Quarterbacks — a good one isn’t going to take a sack. He’s going to get rid of it, if he’s coached well. Being in a position where we can maybe strip the ball or get a hand up to disrupt besides getting a sack, everybody wants a sack, but there’s a lot of other factors that go into putting pressure on a quarterback one way or another.”
While the BC game film is particularly exasperating for Gayle, Wiles has another memory from last season where Gayle’s habit of dropping his helmet around quarterbacks bit him at an awful time.
On Cincinnati’s game-winning 39-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining in its 27-24 victory against Tech, Gayle worked his way around right tackle Parker Ehinger and had quarterback Munchie Legaux in his sights. By dropping his helmet before making contact with Legaux, Gayle missed a chance to strip the ball out of Legaux’s right hand.
“I swear (Legaux) drops the ball down, and James’ head is (inches) from the ball,” Wiles said.
“He’s got to get out of that habit. We’ve been working and working and working on it. Just don’t drop your head before contact. Sometimes the quarterback just came free and the guy makes a move on him and it hasn’t necessarily been (Gayle) dropping his helmet, but dropping the hat — he could’ve made some big plays.”
Gayle comes into his final season with 30 career tackles for loss, including 16 sacks. He’s never had more than seven sacks in a single season. He says he’s out of the personal goal-setting business when it comes to sacks, but his desire to keep honing his technique was one of the reasons he decided to return to Tech for his senior year.
With all four starters returning, along with promising defensive end Dadi Nicolas vying for a starting role and experienced backups in defensive tackle Corey Marshall and Hampton High graduate defensive end Tyrel Wilson, Gayle has heightened expectations for his unit this season.
“I sat down and thought about whether I was satisfied about leaving last season as my legacy, and I’m not,” Gayle said. “I can do a lot better.
“Even though I played hard, and I was second team All-ACC, I feel like I can bring myself further along and put myself in a better position. At the same time, I know we’re going to be better this year, and I didn’t want to leave on a 7-6 note. I put too much work into this program.”
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James Gayle was born on February 15th, 1991 (time of birth unknown) in Los Angeles, California according to http://www.hokiesports.com/football/players/gayle_james.html
February 15th, 1991
2 + 15 +1+9+9+1 = 37 = his life lesson = Playing his heart out. Pouring his heart into it.
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February 15th, 1991
February 15th
2 + 15 +2+0+1+3 = 23 = his personal year (from February 15th, 2013 to February 14th, 2014) = Athlete. Sports. Leadership.
23 year + 9 (September) = 32 = his personal month (from September 15th, 2013 to October 14th, 2013) = Football. In it to win it.
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using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
James Gayle
11451 71735 35
his path of destiny = 35 = Defensive end.
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predictions for the year 2013 are at:
http://predictionsyear2013.com/
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discover some of your own numerology for FREE at:
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learn numerology from numerologist to the world, Ed Peterson:
https://www.createspace.com/4317439
sports astrology and numerology 