Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 1 | August 2018

inside.hokiesports.com 21 Outside of the French Quarter, the state of Louisiana offers little in the way of tourist attractions, but Josh Jackson certainly made the most of his trip to the Pelican State in late June. Jackson, the starting quarterback for the Hokies last season, spent four days in Thibodaux after accepting an invitation to participate in the Manning Passing Academy, a camp run by Peyton and Eli Manning, with assistance from their father, Archie—all three with NFL credentials. Using help from college players, they use the camp to teach young kids the fundamentals of football. “It was really cool to coach those kids that want to be where you’re at, I guess you could say,” Jackson said. “They all look up to you. They asked me hundreds of questions about what everything is like, what did you do to get there, things like that. It was a lot of fun, too, just being able to coach them. I had never coached a camp before. I was just making up some drills and hoping it would help them out a little bit. It was a great time.” Jackson also used the time in Louisiana to work on his craft, something of more importance to the VirginiaTech coaches. The college players—roughly 30 Division I, II and III quarterbacks—worked out the kids during the day and then worked on their games during the evening. Jacksoncertainly establishedhimself as a solidDivision I quarterback last season when he threw for nearly 3,000 yards, with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. But there was room for improvement, and certainly the Mannings helped him, as he embarked on getting better. “They coach you up, and you do drills,” he said. “We threw to receivers. There were some guys from Nicholls State, which was the college where we were at, and then we threw to guys from Ole Miss, and I think there were some LSU guys there. All the receivers from around the area came, and we threw to them and worked out. It was a good time.” So what were some things Jackson worked on both at the Manning camp and throughout the offseason? Well, for starters, he wanted to get the ball out quicker, and he wanted to throw more accurately on the QUICK FACTS ON TECH’S QB’S Returning starter: Josh Jackson (13 career starts) Starter lost: none Projected new starter: none Top reserves: Ryan Willis, Hendon Hooker Newcomers: Quincy Patterson II, DeJuan Ellis Breakout candidate: Jackson Notes: Jackson led all Power Five freshman quarterbacks with 2,991 yards passing and 236 completions in 2017 … Jackson set Tech freshman records in touchdown passes (20), passing yards, and 200-plus yard pass games (nine) last fall … Jackson had one of just two 100-yard rushing games by Tech last season (vs. WVU) … Willis, a transfer from Kansas, set a Kansas freshman record with 1,719 yards and nine touchdown three years ago … Patterson accounted for more than 2,500 yards of offense and 35 touchdowns as a senior in high school. QUARTERBACKS August, 2018 (in numerical order) 2 Hendon Hooker (6-4, 225, r-Fr.) 4 Quincy Patterson II (6-4, 236, Fr.) 5 Ryan Willis (6-4, 223, r-Jr.) 17 Josh Jackson (6-1, 215, r-So.) 19 DeJuan Ellis (5-11, 171, Fr.) run. He also worked on deep passes—a point of emphasis from a Tech staff that wants to see more big plays this season. Tech’s offense registered just five pass plays of more than 40 yards a year ago—and only two of those went to receivers. The coaches want to see the offense make more big plays, especially to help a defense breaking in seven new starters. “A few of those are on me,” Jackson admitted of missed opportunities last fall. “I’ve missed some guys, not giving a guy a chance to catch the ball. Some of them were drops. Things like that happen. We’ve just got to eliminate those mistakes on chunk plays when we need to have them.” Though Jackson started every game last season as a redshirt freshman, he still needs to earn the starting position for this season. Every position on the team is up for grabs, and both Ryan Willis, Hendon Hooker and true freshmen Quincy Patterson and DeJuan Ellis want a shot. Willis played well in the spring game, throwing two touchdown passes, while Hooker possesses a lot of raw potential. Simply put, the coaches will play the best of the group, whoever emerges between now and the opener on Sept. 3. “It wasn’t like we won the national championship, and even the national champions, they don’t know who their quarterback is going to be,” Jackson said. “Things can change. You never know what can happen in that regard. I’m just going to try to be the best I can be and hopefully start again.” Season Preview 2 18 QUARTERBACKS After a summer of WORK , Jackson ready to take it to the NEXT LEVEL by Jimmy Robertson Josh Jackson