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With 29 days left until the Virginia Tech Hokies face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, we turn our attention to #29 on the roster Mr. Scott Demler. After the Clemson loss last year, I actually wrote an article describing in detail how Beamerball had finally died out. I never posted the article, for whatever reason but that Clemson game was a low point for Virginia Tech’s special teams. Demler shanked punt after punt and the special team’s as a whole really struggled. Still, Demler will have a shot to put all of that behind him as he returns this fall and battles Michael Branthover for the starting job once more.
The Scoop
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 201 lbs
Position: Punter
Year: R-Senior
High School: The Hun School
How Did He Get Here?
Demler never earned a scholarship offer out of high school but he did receive heavy interest from the likes of West Virginia, Rutgers, Florida State, Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland, and Miami. However, the Hokies showed up with the best offer of the rest of the schools, promising a scholarship offer whenever he earned a starting job. Demler decided to make it official on January 29th 2008.
2011 Season Rewind
There’s really no sugarcoating it; Demler struggled last season. Looking back there were some warning signs that a lot of Virginia Tech fans missed. None of our punters looked particularly strong or consistent in the preseason. The only one that showed any sort of real promise was Branthover who ended up redshirting until the Miami game.
On the season, Demler punted 23 times with a 33.1 ypk average. That’s 10.2 yards per punt shorter than what Brian Saunders was able to do in 2010. Yea, that’s a big difference.
2012 Prediction
With Cody Journell reinstated, the Hokies will be able to move Branthover back to punter, which will likely secure him as the starting punter here in 2012. Demler will give him a run but you have to wonder how much confidence he has in himself after last year’s debacle. Demler has a strong leg he just has to learn how to translate what he does in practice to an actual game.
If Demler doesn’t win the starting job then he’ll likely spend his last year in orange and maroon as the backup punter. The good news is he’ll still be able to travel with the team but I don’t know if he’ll be able to grab any playing time or not.
Completely Made Up Fact
Scott Demler is who the band Lustra was talking about in there song "Scotty Doesn't Know"
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
When is Drew Harris going to re-commit I haven’t seen his name on our commit list yet, also I heard that Teller is torn between Tech and UVA which is good news hope Fuller and Fisher are getting in his ear about Tech.