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inside.hokiesports.com
9
by
Jimmy
Robertson
Spring a time to start finding answers
about Hokies’ future fall fortunes
On the evening of March 11, most folks
observed an annual rite of spring, setting their
clocks forward one hour and losing an hour of
sleep, yet gaining extra hours of sunlight each
day in return.
In Blacksburg, the second rite of the
season—and arguably the more important
one—started 10 days later when Virginia
Tech’s football program commenced its spring
practice. The staff already planted the seeds
for next season’s success with rugged winter
workouts. Now, the coaches hope this team
blooms in the NCAA’s 15 allotted practices
over the course of the next month.
The Hokies concluded 2016 with a 10-4
record and a No. 16 ranking in the final
Associated Press poll. They lost a lot of
firepower off that team, however, including six
starters on an offense that set several school
records and four starters on defense, mostly
on the line.
Tech has several candidates to fill these
spots. The question is which ones emerge?
That said, here are five to watch:
Josh Jackson
Jack Click, Hendon Hooker and A.J. Bush
will split reps with Jackson at the quarterback
spot this spring, and they all possess a lot of
quality attributes. But Jackson was the one
in the battle for the starting job last fall with
Jerod Evans and Brenden Motley. He arguably
possesses the best combination of physical
skills, experience and knowledge of the Hokies’
scheme out of the group. This is the most
important position on the field, so all eyes will
be on all these guys, especially Jackson.
Reggie Floyd
Floyd played in 12 games last season as a
true freshman, though most of his action came
on special teams. Yet he enters this spring as
a frontrunner at the rover position. Tech’s
staff moved Terrell Edmunds to free safety,
and given Edmunds’ smarts and his skills, he
figures to make that adjustment rather easily.
Someone, though, needs to replace Edmunds
at the important rover spot—a position that
demands a playmaker. That someone may be
Floyd, who has a nice combination of size and
speed.
Phil Patterson
Patterson took a redshirt year last fall,
as Tech’s staff elected to play Divine Deablo
and Eric Kumah as true freshmen since both
enrolled for the spring semester and knew the
system. But midway through the season, the
staff prepared Patterson to play in the event
of an injury. They thought that highly of his
progress. Bucky Hodges and Isaiah Ford
headed off to pursue NFL dreams, and Deablo
shifted to defense, leaving playing time in
their wake. Patterson, with his long frame and
good hands, could be one to grab a lot of those
reps at either of the receiver spots.
Houshun Gaines
Tech lost standout Ken Ekanem at one
defensive end spot, and backup Seth Dooley
elected not to return for his senior season.
Both Vinny Mihota and Trevon Hill, projected
starters at the defensive end positions, are out
this spring with injuries. That leaves plenty
of reps for Gaines, a 6-foot-3, 250-pounder
who played in 12 games last season. He can
run and is big enough to play against the run.
He also shows some ability to rush the passer.
The Hokies need that, too—they ranked 50th
nationally last fall in sacks per game (2.29).
Parker Osterloh
The Hokies lost the entire right side of their
line with the departures of tackle Jonathan
McLaughlin and Augie Conte. The roster
includes 20 offensive linemen, but only three
are seniors—left guard Wyatt Teller, center
Eric Gallo and Osterloh. Teller and Gallo
already start, and redshirt junior Kyle Chung
may move into Conte’s spot at right guard. Can
Osterloh, a fifth-year senior, be the right tackle?
He’s big and powerful, and with 26 games of
experience, he possesses the most experience
of those contending for the vacancy.
Others certainly merit watching. Can
another cornerback or two emerge? What
about depth at linebacker? Who factors into
the tailback discussion? Will the Hokies be
deeper overall this upcoming season? The staff
hopes to find answers to all these questions,
or at the very least, a couple of them by the
conclusion of spring practice.
The good news is that Tech coach Justin
Fuente knows this situation and how to
handle it—the Hokies went into last year’s
spring practice with similar questions. He and
his staff found the answers, as evidenced by
the final record, bowl win and final ranking.
The even better news is that there is time to
find those answers. Yes, there was a recent time
change. But the Hokies aren’t springing forward
into fall just yet. There is still plenty of daylight
left to accomplish what needs to get done.