VMI's Brandt changing mindsets

LEXINGTON -- Defense versus offense. Animal instinct versus calculated aggression. The pursuit of one singular goal (taking the quarterback’s head off) versus the need to meet several standards (blocking two defenders while running downfield and opening running lanes).

VMI’s Ben Brandt had a choice between the two, and he went through the options in his head. In the end, the answer was bigger than him. Team first, as is often the case at VMI.

Brandt was a starting nose tackle for the Keydets in 2007 and he would have been a starter at the position this year as well, had new VMI coach Sparky Woods not decided that Brandt’s skills would best help the team on offense. So midway through spring ball, Woods told Brandt, a former Jefferson Forest standout he would move to left tackle.

Brandt, of course, was hesitant. He had always been a defensive player, from his days playing end at JF to his first two seasons at the Institute.

“I was a bit skeptical, to say the least, at first,” he said. “After meeting with the coaches and learning the plays, I realized it was probably the best position for me this year.”

Brandt is 6-foot-2 and 260 pounds, an ideal size for an interior defensive lineman. He had 39 tackles and 2½ sacks last season and his production was expected to increase in 2008, when he’d be the anchor in VMI’s newly installed 3-4 defense. So Woods wasn’t moving a scrub in hopes of getting him more playing time.

Instead, the first-year head coach like Brandt’s demeanor so much that he figured Brandt would be a natural fit on the left side of the offensive line.

“He has a nasty attitude about playing football, which I appreciate,” Woods said.

Brandt has quickly learned how to downplay that disposition when necessary. Defensive linemen are often more aggressive and instinct-driven than their offensive counterparts, who must run through multiple blocking assignments on each play. Offensive linemen are still feisty, yes, but it’s usually tempered aggression.

Brandt infused his fellow offensive linemen with a new sense of purpose and attitude immediately upon making the change.

“He comes off the ball with great intensity,” VMI guard George Handler said. “We all build off the energy he gives.”

Brandt is a bit undersized compared to most left tackles, but most left tackles aren’t asked to block 30 yards downfield in a modified option offense. In a traditional offense, the left tackle’s most important role is to keep the quarterback’s jersey clean and to impede the blind-side pass rush (at least with a right-handed QB).

Eighty-two percent of VMI’s plays last year were runs, and even when the Keydets passed the football, VMI quarterbacks tended to roll out of the pocket. So the Keydets needed a quicker, more athletic presence at left tackle.

“We got to the end of a practice, and we were running our toss play, and Ben was blocking a safety, 35 yards downfield,” VMI offensive line coach Bob Bodine said. “So, no, not your typical offensive lineman.”

Woods and Bodine were confident Brandt’s transition would be seamless. Brandt has never shied away from extra work, whether it’s perusing a playbook or staying after practice for extra instruction.

Or breaking into the weight room in high school to hoist a few more bench-press reps.

That’s about the worst thing anyone will say about Brandt, that while at JF, he had access to a key to allowed him to sneak into the weight room after everyone else had left the school.

“I understand they’re not supposed to be in the weight room, and that they might be breaking in,” Cavaliers coach Don Rice said. “But from my standpoint, they were breaking into the weight room to lift. That pretty much fires me up.”

Because Brandt is at VMI, he still gets to play with a little bit of the fire he had on defense. He can’t wait for the moment he can plow into a linebacker 15 yards from the line of scrimmage, opening a hole for quick slotbacks Tim Maypray and Howard Abegesah. Brandt still has room to grow. He’s still learning the plays and building chemistry with his fellow linemen. But Bodine and Woods both said Brandt has the ability and potential to be an all-conference player on the offensive line.

“He can still create havoc and cause damage on the offensive line like he did defensively,” Rice said. “He’s built for what they want to do.”