Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 4 | March 2020

24 Inside Hokie Sports Providing Teamwork and Fast Forward Document Technology to Virginia Tech Athletics ... and your company! MFPs I Document Management I Managed Print Services I Production Print VBS VT ad 2018_Layout 1 7/26/18 10:28 AM Page 1 Q: Coach Fuente often has mentioned needing a bigger running back (e.g. Dalton Keene). Can Marco Bell and Khalil Herbert be the guys in that role, and how important is it? BC: At the end of the day, you just want guys that can get the job done and do what you ask them to do. You don’t want to be big or small or fast. Just getting the job done and do what we’re asking, but certainly, it’s nice to have a guy or two with that kind of size that can punch a hole inside in short yardage or bring a different type of physicality when they are blocking in the pass game for the quarterback, or leading the way on a perimeter run. Big, physical tailbacks can really be effective at certain times. If you look at the times late in games when it’s time to finish a team off, and you know there’s going to be extra hats and you need to get some extra tough yards to finish a game, those are the moments when it’s nice to have a guy or two with some size that you can lean on. Q: You lost some experience at receiver with the transfers of Damon Hazelton, Hezekiah Grimsley, and Phil Patterson. How concerned are you about that group? BC: The depth concerns me, absolutely. Guys are going to have to step up. The young guys are going to have come in and be ready to go, and we’ll see who can slide in there and help us like last year. We still may add some more pieces to it, too. The tight ends add some flexibility, with James [Mitchell] doing it all year and Nick [Gallo] is a similar athlete that can do similar things to give you some added depth out there. Guys have to continue to develop to add some depth in that room. We’re going to TAKE next step Continued from page 23 James Mitchell caught 21 passes last season and rushed for four touchdowns, and he figures to be an even bigger cog in the Hokies’ offense this fall.