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Inside Hokie Sports
Normally, Tech fans spend this time of
year lamenting about the lack of depth, and
in some cases, talent along the offensive
line, as the team seeks to rebuild from the
previous season.
This spring, though, saw little in the way
of conversation about that group, perhaps
because educated fans know that the Hokies
return three starters and several interesting
young players at the various five positions.
The mix of experience and youth, and the
overall play of the unit this spring, has line
coach Vance Vice cautiously optimistic, as the
program heads into summer workouts.
“They don’t turn the scoreboards on right
now, so I feel all right,” he said. “I’m excited
about the summer and definitely excited about
the fall, but we’re definitely a work in progress.
This spring, they’ve gotten after it. I like to
complain, but this spring, I can’t complain
about how they came to work every day. I had
no issues, none of that stuff. I feel good about
those guys coming back, and I’m excited about
the guys that are new, too.”
Vice saw veteran leaders Augie Conte
and Jonathan McLaughlin depart off last
fall’s squad, and they took with them a lot
of production and experience. McLaughlin
started 49 games in his career, while Conte
started 37, but Vice saw his top task as
replacing their leadership first instead of their
on-field production.
He leaned heavily on his seniors to
accomplish that this spring, specifically guard
Wyatt Teller and center Eric Gallo, and the two
of them played well. Those two anchor things
up front for the offense and possess the most
experience. Teller enters the fall with 30 career
starts, while Gallo has 25.
“Wyatt’s the old guy now,” Vice said. “He’s
trying to be the leader. He had the luxury of Jon
and Augie taking the leadership role, and now
he’s at the top tier just because of his age and
his experience. That means I can’t have an off
day from him. He got better each and every day
this spring. He’s got an opportunity to have a
productive year for us.
“It’s the same with Gallo. Gallo had the best
spring he’s ever had. He’s running the show. He
holds the whole thing together.”
Those two worked with the first team for
most of the spring, along with left tackle
Yosuah Nijman, who started all 14 games last
season. Vice believes the 6-foot-7, 300-pound
Nijman possesses the traits to become one of
the best offensive linemen in the ACC.
With those three returning to their positions,
Vice centered his attention on the right guard
and right tackle spots where Conte and
McLaughlin played. Tyrell Smith got most of
the first-team reps at right tackle, while Braxton
Pfaff and Kyle Chung rotated at right guard.
Keep in mind that Parker Osterloh, who missed
spring practice with an injury, will figure
into that mix in August, but this spring, the
aforementioned trio received the most work.
“Tyrell and Braxton know it’s a challenge,
and they’ve accepted that,” Vice said. “They
had good days and not good days. Some of
Braxton’s bad days were because of [defensive
tackle] Tim Settle. Timmy’s getting better, and
that’s good. I told Braxton, ‘You’re the luckiest
and unluckiest guy.’ You’re unlucky because
you had to line up against Tim every day, but
you’re lucky because it will pay off in the fall.
“But those guys [Smith and Pfaff] have done
a great job of trying to earn a spot. The effort
is exactly what I want. Did we make mistakes?
Yes, but that’s why we practice.”
Vice also liked what he saw from Chung this
spring. In fact, Chung is an incredibly valuable
player because of his versatility. He worked at
three different spots this spring, with little in
the way of drop-off.
“Chung is a guy that I think is a left guard, a
right guard and a center,” Vice said. “He gives
me a little bit of depth at those inside positions
because he’s played all three of those, but
he’s also is in a battle trying to be one of the
[starting] five.”
Seniors
lead the way
for Hokies
along an
offensive line
with
EXPERIENCE
,
YOUTH
and
TALENT
by
Jimmy Robertson
NIJMAN
YOSUAH