Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 13 No. 1 | August 2020

12 Inside Hokie Sports by Jimmy Robertson of What will look like this fall? Tech’s defense 1. 2. tailback job? Who wins the Legendary defensive coordinator Bud Foster retired at the conclusion of last season, ending a career of excellence that spanned more than three decades. Fuente used that transition to overhaul the entire staff of his defense, naming safeties coach Justin Hamilton as the defensive coordinator and bringing in four new coaches—Tracy Claeys, Ryan Smith, Bill Teerlinck, and Darryl Tapp. The lack of a spring practice probably hurt these coaches more than the players. Hamilton wasn’t able to install his own ideas and tweaks and see them put into action, and the lack of scrimmages meant that the coaches couldn’t “coach” together or make adjustments in game situations. The new coaches also missed on getting to know their players’ strengths and weaknesses. Tech returns eight starters on defense for this fall, and Hamilton is fortunate in that respect. Also, the former free safety under Foster can simply carry over a lot of Foster’s schemes and packages, ones that led Tech to a 42nd finish nationally in total defense in 2019. The Hokies have talent and experience on defense, and Hamilton is a shrewd guy. Tech is betting that all those things lead to a successful fall. The Hokies again enter a season with a question as to who becomes the primary ball carrier. Two seasons ago, Steven Peoples emerged, and last year, Deshawn McClease led the way. As for this season, numerous candidates are in the mix. Keshawn King probably leads the way after a freshman season in which he showed potential, running for 340 yards and two scores. Also, Jalen Holston returns from an injury, and hopefully he can stay healthy to put his skillset on display. Tech’s staff jumped into the transfer market in the offseason to bring in prospects for the top job. Kansas graduate transfer Khalil Herbert, Rutgers transfer Raheem Blackshear, and junior college signee Marco Lee all bring varying skills to the tailback position. Herbert averaged 5.4 yards per carry during his career at Kansas, while Blackshear accumulated 2,200 all-purpose yards at Rutgers, and Lee is the biggest of the bunch at 225 pounds. There are a lot of questions surrounding the group, and new running backs coach Adam Lechtenberg needs to sort out the mix. Hopefully, two or three premium tailbacks emerge—and quickly. T he 2019 season was a rollercoaster for the Virginia Tech football team, which lost its first two ACC games, but rallied to become bowl eligible for the 27th consecutive year. Unfortunately, Tech’s season ended on a losing note, as a late Kentucky touchdown propelled the Wildcats past the Hokies in the Belk Bowl played in Charlotte, North Carolina. The loss left Tech with an 8-5 record on the season. This offseason has made last fall’s rollercoaster look like a ride on the merry-go-round at Caboose Park. Tech head coach Justin Fuente made widescale staff changes, a COVID-19 pandemic wiped out spring practices and the Spring Game, and players worked out in what turned out to be speculation-filled summer regarding the 2020 campaign. For the time being, Tech appears set to play an 11-game schedule, and from a personnel perspective, the Hokies appear to be in good shape to tackle the challenges of the fall. They return 16 starters, their kicker, and their punter. For the first time in three seasons, they enter a campaign with experience—20 seniors. So Tech—and its fan base—have lofty expectations. With that said, here are the top five storylines for the upcoming season: Justin Hamilton