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inside.hokiesports.com
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PREVIEW
R E C E I V E R S
5
Cam Phillips
(6-0, 202, Sr.)
8
Phil Patterson
(6-2, 193, r-Fr.)
9
Sean Savoy
(5-9, 188, Fr.)
12
Henri Murphy
(5-10, 190, Jr.)
13
Caleb Farley
(6-2, 192, Fr.)
14
James Clark
(5-10, 185, r-Sr.)
19
Hezekiah Grimsley
(6-0, 172, Fr.)
27
Justin Hairston
(6-0, 176, Fr.)
30
Jordan Jefferson
(5-8, 180, r-Fr.)
39
Sean Daniel
(5-9, 180, r-So.)
81
Samuel Denmark
(6-0, 187, r-Fr.)
83
Eric Kumah
(6-2, 220, So.)
86
C.J. Carroll
(5-8, 173, r-Jr.)
87
Bodhie Long
(6-3, 200, r-Fr.)
88
Kalil Pimpleton
(5-8, 170, Fr.)
89
Damon Hazleton
(6-2, 215, r-Fr.)
AUGUST
•
2017
(In numerical order)
VIRGINIA TECH
RECEIVERS
Returning starter:
Cam Phillips
(32 career starts)
Starters lost:
Isaiah Ford (37 career starts),
Bucky Hodges (37 career starts)
Projected new starters:
Eric Kumah,
Phil Patterson
Top reserves:
C.J. Carroll, Henri Murphy,
Kalil Pimpleton
Newcomers:
Patterson, Pimpleton,
Caleb Farley, James Clark (graduate transfer),
Sean Savoy, Hezekiah Grimsley
Breakout candidate:
Kumah
Notes:
Phillips needs just 46 catches and
905 yards to become the school’s all-time
leader in both categories … Phillips and
Carroll are the only two returning receivers
to have started a collegiate game … Phillips
has started 32 of the 40 games in which
he has played in his career … Phillips has
caught at least one pass in 27 straight games
… Phillips’ 115 receiving yards against
Arkansas in the Belk Bowl marked a career
high … Kumah played in 13 games as a true
freshman in 2016, mostly on special teams …
Clark transferred from Ohio State and played
28 games over the past two seasons.
QUICK FACTS
ON TECH’S WR’s
Cam Phillips stole the show at the 2017
ACC Football Kickoff with a sweet outfit that
included a double-breasted, velvet blazer and
a unique set of spectacles.
Now, he hopes to steal the show with his
play on the field this fall.
Phillips plays at arguably the position
most scrutinized by the Virginia Tech
coaching staff, as the coaches seek to find
replacements for both Bucky Hodges and
Isaiah Ford at the receiver spots. Ford, who
elected to forgo his final season at Tech and
make himself available for the NFL Draft
Phillips
to
LEAD
an inexperienced group of
receivers
by
Jimmy Robertson
after an outstanding career, holds virtually
every school receiving record, including
career receptions, yards and touchdowns.
Phillips, the lone senior of the group,
now serves as the leader at one of the skill
spots that head coach Justin Fuente has said
concerns him more than the quarterback
position.
“I see why he says that,” Phillips admitted.
“One receiver can’t win you a whole season.
You’re going to need plays from the younger
guys, guys that don’t have that much game
experience. They’re going to have to come
in and make a tough catch on third-and-5
to keep the chains moving, or make a key
block to spring a big play. They want to do
it. They’re showing the want-to and the
maturity and the progress.”
At least Fuente has Phillips, who enjoyed
a breakout campaign a year ago. He caught
76 passes for 983 yards and five touchdowns,
and he also ran the ball 30 times for 140
yards. He figures to be the Hokies’ go-to
receiver.
Tech does return two other receivers with
a modest amount of experience in C.J. Carroll
and Henri Murphy. Carroll finished fifth on
the team with 18 catches for 258 yards in
2016, while Murphy caught just three passes
in a limited role.
The Hokies’ success offensively probably
hinges on the development of their younger
receivers, specifically Eric Kumah, Phil
Patterson and Kalil Pimpleton, a freshman
who enrolled in January. Kumah played
mostly on special teams last season, while
Patterson took a redshirt season. At 6-foot-2,
both Kumah and Patterson bring the size that
a coach wants to see in a receiver.
CAM
PHILLIPS
Unfortunately, Caleb Farley will not be in
the mix. The 6-2, 192-pounder enrolled in
January and spent much of spring practice at
cornerback. Toward the end, though, Fuente
moved him to receiver—and he played so
well that Fuente proclaimed him a receiver
for the upcoming season. But Farley tore his
ACL in the first August practice, and now he’ll
spend his fall receiving daily tutorials from
Phillips—something all the other receivers
get to do as well.
“I like what I’ve been seeing,” Phillips said.
“It’s been more off the field than on the field,
which is what you want to see. Those guys are
making better decisions with study hall and
being at class on time and with workouts. You
see their minds changing more than physical
change, which I’d say is most important.
They’re working hard through the tough
workouts that we have and not showing too
many signs of fatigue.
“They’re working to that standard that
Coach Fuente is trying to set, and I’m trying
to set as well. Mentally, you can see those
guys trying to mature. They want to be
better. They want to be leaders. They want to
make every play, every catch, and that’s what
they’re showing.”
Phillips probably will see extra attention
from opposing defenses, at least during the
early part of the season. But he possesses the
ability to play multiple spots—flanker, split
end, or in the slot. That makes him harder to
defend.
Seeing a few of those younger receivers
develop into playmakers would free him up
even more. For that reason, he invests his
time and efforts into their development.
“When they do well and I do well, then
the team does well, and we win,” Phillips
said. “Everyone wants to win, and that’s the
ultimate goal.”