Tyler Dressler always dreamt of one day playing for the Virginia Tech Hokies and coming out of the home tunnel at Lane Stadium.
But with Covington High School being a smaller school in the Alleghany Highlands, the recruiting process was tougher to come by, “Being from a small town, it’s pretty easier to overlook (being recruited). It wasn’t anything personal, I understood that and I’m happy I ended up at Richmond and I really wouldn’t change a single thing.”
Dressler’s father, three uncles, and his grandfather all attended Virginia Tech.
His father played defense for the Hokies.
Growing up, Dressler went to the Hokies football games in Blacksburg, as well as traveling to a few bowl games.
Tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 p.m., Dressler, the Covington High School alum, gets an opportunity to play on the same field of the team he attended many games at as a fan when the Richmond Spiders take on the Virginia Tech Hokies.
Dressler though, almost did not go to Richmond. He originally committed to VMI (Virginia Military Institute) before a late scholarship offer from the Spiders came in. “My father and I would go to football camps just about every single weekend to just try and display my talents in some form of fashion. I was fortunate enough to go to a VMI camp there and got a scholarship offer from them. Then the linebackers coach at VMI went to Richmond. I was already getting recruited by Richmond so with him going there, they ended up offering me (a scholarship) very late in the process, so I flipped my commitment from VMI to them (Richmond).”
Dressler added, “Throughout my high school career, I would go to Richmond football camps pretty frequently. I wanted to go there because I felt there, I could get a scholarship at in terms of football. From the academic prospective, Richmond is a prestigious school. I know if you get a diploma from there, I have heard the alumni is pretty tight and you can do pretty much anything you want with it (diploma from Richmond). I have graduated with my undergrad already and really happy about that. Ever since I was young, I knew the about how great the academics were at Richmond and the level of football was elite.”
While he may not be playing for the Hokies, when the schedule came out for this season, Dressler had is eyes on this game, “I was extremely excited (seeing Virginia Tech on the schedule). It was my childhood dream to play at Lane Stadium. I didn’t really anticipate jumping out from the other side of the tunnel (visiting side), but that’s just the way it works out sometimes. But it means a lot to myself and to my family and it’s an opportunity for the community to come out and support one of their own.”
The Hokies a FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) school are in the powerhouse conference of the ACC, while the Richmond Spiders a FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) school are in the CAA conference.
Over the past few years, its become a recurring theme with FCS schools upsetting a FBS school. This season alone there have been 11 FCS upset victories over FBS schools.
While it’s not uncommon for a FCS school to beat a FBS school, it is for school with the stature of a Virginia Tech that is rare to come by. Jacksonville State though, was one of the 11 FCS schools to upset a FBS school this season when they knocked off Florida State, also in the ACC.
“We’re going to treat Virginia Tech just like any other opponent. It doesn’t matter to us if we’re playing a Division III school, if we’re playing Alabama, the preparation it’s all the same. In terms of the opportunity, myself and the team we realize we do not get the opportunity to play an ACC team very often and we’re going to take advantage of the opportunity and we’re looking forward to being tested”, said Dressler about the preparation for the game against the Hokies.
The last time the Hokies lost to an FCS school, was on September 11, 2010, when James Madison University (JMU) went into Lane Stadium and knocked of the then ranked 13th overall Virginia Tech Hokies 21-16. Dressler was in attendance for the game, “I remember being in shock, I didn’t even know who JMU was at that point.”
The last time the Spiders and Hokies played each other was back in 1986 in Richmond where the Hokies won 17-10. However, the last time they played one another at Lane Stadium, the Spiders defeated the Hokies 24-14 in 1985.
“Our entire teams mindset is we’re going to Blacksburg to win a football game. We don’t really care who they are, the resources they have, or how many fans they have. We’re going to Blacksburg to try and win a football game” said Dressler about the team going to the Hokies home stadium and trying to pull off an upset.
Dressler added, “If you look at the FCS versus FBS so far this year, there’s quite a few upsets, why can’t Richmond do it to Virginia Tech, why not us. I think that’s our mentality going into Saturday.”
A win for the Spiders on Saturday would be the teams first over a FBS school since September 3, 2016 when the team upset the Virginia Cavaliers (UVA) 37-20 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville. “It would be huge and one for the history books”, said Dressler if the Spiders knock off the Hokies.
As each school prepares for this game, Dressler and the Spiders defense have caught the attention of the Hokies head coach, Justin Fuentes who said Dressler and a few others would fit the mold of his team. “It was honestly a true honor, I wish he would of noticed a long time ago. My defensive coach which is my linebacker coach, said while it’s a true honor to be recognized by that high of a level, whatever accolades he said about (the defense), he (Coach Fuentes) has his team over there he is trying to fire up and there not thinking this game will be a walk through, and their not looking past us.”
Both schools are looking for rebounds as they are each coming off losses last weekend. The Hokies lost on the road to the West Virginia Mountaineers 27-21 and the Spiders lost on the road to the Villanova Wildcats, a game in which the Spiders led by 14 points with just over five minutes left in the game.
Dressler on the locker room atmosphere this week after the loss to the Wildcats last weekend, “Myself and most of the other guys are still pretty upset because we know we should of won that football game and it hurts because you can’t get it back and you’ll lose sleep just wishing if there was one or two plays you could change to get back. But with that being said, we’re not going to dwell on it, we have a new opponent this week and it’s an opportunity to bounce back.”
As he prepares for this game, Dressler is feeling the excitement, “The family tradition and everything within it along with my childhood memories, this is definitely my most anticipated game of my career.”
Dressler was named preseason All-CAA Football. He is one of the teams captains and thus far this season in three games has 25 tackles (seven solo, 18 assisted), one sack, one forced fumble, and one interception. The scouts will certainly be on hand for the big game against the Hokies.
However, there are some dates Dressler is not thinking too much about and that is April 28-30, 2022. Those are the dates of the 2022 NFL Draft.
“I’ve been asked and I have had a quite a few NFL agents reach out to me and I have pretty much told them all the same thing, I’ll worry about the next level once this season finishes up. I think it would be pretty selfish on my part to look ahead that far and focus on myself rather than focus on my teammates”, said Dressler about the NFL Draft next year.
Needless to say, right now it’s all about tomorrow’s game. If you cannot make it to the game, you can watch it on the ACC Network.
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