Virginia Tech Football: 2017 season preview, predictions
Offense
The Virginia Tech Hokies offense was a great finish for quarterback Jerod Evans, wide receiver Isaiah Ford and tight end Bucky Hodges. Now with all of them gone to the NFL, Justin Fuente will have to use a combination of experience and a couple gambles to make ends meet in 2017.
Wide receiver Cam Phillips will play a feature role in the Hokies offense for sure but after him, there’s a huge dropoff in production, at least from last season. Wide receiver C.J. Carroll will probably see some time, but probably not in a featured role. Carroll caught 18 passes for 258 receiving yards in 2016.
A few players to look out for are tight end Dalton Keene and wide receiver Caleb Farley, both true freshmen. Keene and Farley were two breakout performers in the Hokies annual spring game this past April.
The offense will definitely be in search of new weapons next season. Two early enrollees could end up getting the starting nod by Sept. 3.
The battle for the starting quarterback position
The Hokies also have another quarterback battle on their hands entering fall camp. The leader in the early going was redshirt freshmen Josh Jackson. That was until the spring game happened, where Hendon Hooker, a true freshmen, went 10-for-11 for 115 passing yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Keene. Hooker also threw an interception in the game.
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Jackson went 3-for-7 with 59 passing yards in the game. Junior college transfer A.J. Bush, the third quarterback in the competition, was 3-for-5 with 60 passing yards in the game.
Hooker may already have the poise it takes to lead the Virginia Tech Hokies offense. He’s sure to still be in stiff competition with Bush and Jackson. However, the early connection with Keene possibly helped put the offense in his favor.
Jackson does have a year under his belt of digesting the playbook and Fuente’s philosophies to his credit. After all, he did redshirt last year. So it’s hard to give Hooker the nod right away.
Bush is another possible candidate. He’s already spent two seasons on the Nebraska Cornhuskers roster before transferring to a junior college. Now as a redshirt junior, he has an opportunity to become a starting quarterback for an ACC program in quick rebuild mode.