Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 5 | May 2018

18 Inside Hokie Sports The Virginia Tech football team entered spring practice with questions at several positions, but coming out of it following the annual Spring Game, the staff arguably felt the best about the situation along the offensive line. Line coach Vance Vice went into both the offseason and spring practices searching for replacements for departed three-year starters Wyatt Teller and Eric Gallo. Those two combined for 81 career starts, and Teller earned first-team All-ACC honors for his play this past fall. Complicating the situation, Vice decided to move right tackle Kyle Chung from his spot on the right side to the center position to replace Gallo. Chung had played both center and guard throughout his career before beating out Tyrell Smith for the right tackle job this past season. Replacing a longtime starter at center, especially one as steady as Gallo, is never easy. Chung, though, never missed a beat. Looking energized after gaining a sixth year of eligibility because he missed nearly two past years with injuries, he played well, and he anchors the line heading into summer workouts. “I did not have any reservations,” Vice said about moving Chung to center. “I know what his goals are and what he’s trying to do, and I know he’s better suited for those goals inside than out there on the edge [at tackle]. After the year he had, he’s a seasoned vet now for whatever that’s worth. He brings the work ethic and leadership, and he hasn’t missed a step.” The other two returning starters are right guard Braxton Pfaff and left tackle Yosuah Nijman. Pfaff started all 13 games this past season and enters this fall as a consistent, even underrated, player. Nijman, who worked a lot at right tackle this spring, bulked up to 322 pounds, and more importantly, he looks healthy after missing four games late in the season with an injury. Vice’s top task, thus, was finding two new starters, and several players performed well enough to put themselves in the mix. The contingent of D’Andre Plantin, Silas Dzansi, Christian Darrisaw, T.J. Jackson and Smith drew accolades for strong play this spring. Plantin, a rising redshirt junior, played in seven games this past fall, including the final two. Parker Osterloh, who subbed in when Nijman was injured, battled injuries down the stretch, which allowed Plantin to receive some reps, and Plantin held up well. Vice decided to move Plantin to left guard for spring practice, and he held up well there, too. Perhaps more impressively, he became a vocal leader for a group not noted for speaking out. “Obviously, he’s a tremendous talent, and I’m encouraged about which direction he’s going and another thing that spurred that a little bit is that he’s healthy now,” Vice said of Plantin. “He had some wrist and some hand stuff there for a while, and now he feels good. He had a great offseason in the weight room, doing his job in there. Just growing into the spot, he’s definitely on schedule [offensive] line-wise. This is his time now, and he’s taking advantage of it.” Dzansi, a redshirt freshman, received most of the first-team reps at left tackle—a rather unusual development for a freshman—and both Darrisaw and Smith worked mostly as backup tackles, with Darrisaw on the left side and Smith on the right side. Smith nearly won the right tackle job this past August, but suffered an ankle injury that hindered him, allowing Chung to move ahead of him on the depth chart. He looked like a different player this spring—and he should. Like Plantin, he is a rising redshirt junior, so the time to step forward is now. “I’m very encouraged with what I’ve seen this spring, getting more to where he was last spring and through the summer,” Vice said of Smith. As per his custom, Vice moved linemen to different spots throughout spring. Tackles played guard spots, and guards moved to tackle. Some guards got reps at center. Injuries happen (see Nijman and Osterloh), and Vice always wants his best five players in a game at all times, so that means learning which players can play certain positions effectively. It also means that what fans saw in the Spring Game may not be what they see this fall. “It’s very beneficial [to switch guys to different spots] right now because we’re a young room,” Vice said. “Being able to … for [Kyle] Chung to be back and to be able to honestly play all five [positions] … he can, [Braxton] Pfaff can, Tyrell [Smith] can, and that just gives you quite a bit of depth to mix and match. It gives me the opportunity with some of these young guys to leave them at one position. Tell them to just learn this right now, and then we’ll expand on that as we mature.” Others battling for playing time include Zachariah Hoyt, a rising redshirt sophomore who figures to be Chung’s backup at center, along with rising redshirt freshman guard Lecitus Smith—who came to Tech as a tight end—and rising redshirt sophomore Austin Big, talented OFFENSIVE LINE in good shape at conclusion of spring practice by Jimmy Robertson D’ANDRE PLANTIN