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

inside.hokiesports.com 21 6 Hezekiah Grimsley (6-0, 182, So.) 8 Phil Patterson (6-2, 193, r-So.) 11 Tre Turner (6-2, 179, Fr.) 12 Henri Murphy (5-10, 190, Sr.) 14 Damon Hazelton (6-2, 217, r-So.) 15 Sean Savoy (5-9, 190, So. ) 35 Peter Muskett (6-2, 194, r-Fr.) 37 Nicolas Conforti (5-11, 192, r-Fr.) 38 Kaleb Smith (6-2, 210, Fr.) 39 Sean Daniel (5-9, 180, r-Jr.) 46 Nick Reisenweaver (6-1, 182, Fr. ) 47 Corey Thomas (6-4, 225, Fr.) 83 Eric Kumah (6-2, 217, Jr.) 86 C.J. Carroll (5-8, 173, r-Sr.) 87 Tre Coghill III (5-10, 169, r-Fr.) 88 Justin Hairston (6-0, 171, r-Fr.) Wide Receivers Normally, spring football provides a little clarity for coaches, as the team heads into summer workouts, August practices and ultimately the upcoming season. Unfortunately, the Hokies left spring practice with probably as many questions as answers at the wide receiver positions, as they attempt to replace the program’s all-time leader in both receptions (236) and receiving yardage (3,027). “A lot of work to do,” Tech head coach Justin Fuente admitted of the receivers following the Spring Game. Cam Phillips’ production and overall consistency would be hard to replace anyway, but Tech entered spring practice without several top contenders because of injuries, including C.J. Carroll, Eric Kumah, and Damon Hazelton. Not only that, Tech lost a ton of leadership this spring, with Carroll and Henri Murphy, who suffered a spring-ending injury midway through spring practice, being the lone two seniors among the receivers. Their absences, though, created oppor­ tunities for some of the younger receivers, and certainly all was not lost. In fact, Tech’s receivers made the big plays in the Spring Game, with Sean Savoy catching an 83-yard touchdown pass, Phil Patterson making an incredible one-handed grab, and Hezekiah Grimsley catching several passes. They gave a glimpse of what could be, provided the group becomes a little stronger physically and a lot more consistent. “Obviously, we didn’t get to practice with several of them,” Fuente said. “We’ll get healthy, and we show up every day and work hard and improve. Those three guys got better. I was proud particularly of Hezekiah and Phil, in terms of their dedication to improving every single day. Still have a long way to go, but they were very productive.” Patterson missed most of this past fall with an injury, but he came back toward the end of the season and showed some flashes of being a really good player. He caught seven passes for 59 yards in the bowl game. The same applies for Grimsley, a player whom the staff thinks highly. The rising sophomore caught five passes in each of the Hokies’ last two games. Tech’s staff moved him a couple of different times this past season because of injuries, but for the most part, the coaches kept him in the slot role this spring, and he appears to be well suited for that spot. “It was kind of unfair to him [last season], but we want to put him in one spot and leave him there,” Fuente said. “There’s a lot that goes into playing on the inside. He’s got some physical maturation in terms of physical strength, but he likes it in there. He’s just a slender guy, so it’s going to take a longer time to get him as strong as he needs to be to play at this level. “In short, there’s plenty of fundamental work, technique work and strength work that he’s made strides in, but he needs to keep working.” Fuente is spot on—the Hokies just need to get healthy at these positions. Adding Kumah and Hazelton into a mix with Patterson, Grimsley and Savoy gives him five potential big-time threats, with Carroll and Murphy providing help and leadership. Those seven would allow talented freshmen like Tre Turner and Kaleb Smith an opportunity to ease into roles, learning from those ahead of them on the depth chart. Then again, one just never knows, especially with injuries. This past season, Savoy and Grimsley played prominent roles as true freshmen because of injuries and a lack of depth. “We need some of those guys to grow up, mature and be there every single day, and that’s the value they can add to this football team with being here every single day,” Fuente said. “And we have to get to that point to give ourselves a chance. So we need to get guys healthy so they can know what to do and be ready to play.” RECEIVERS a talented group , but still searching for consistency by Jimmy Robertson PHIL PATTERSON