Virginia Tech Football: Is Josh Jackson the right choice at QB?

With the college football season quickly approaching, Virginia Tech football coach Justin Fuente has found his starter in redshirt freshman Josh Jackson.

After spending much of the summer deliberating between three young quarterbacks, the Hokies seem to have found their week one starter. Josh Jackson will get his first look at the field against West Virginia on Sept. 3. The game will be played during primetime at the neutral FedEx Field in Maryland, making it quite the debut for the young signal caller.

Furthermore, the game will be played against a West Virginia team that finished 10-3 last season, by no means an easy test for a brand new quarterback. On the other hand, West Virginia will be testing the waters with a new quarterback of their own after losing dual-threat Skyler Howard.

The Reserves

After losing starter Jerod Evans to the NFL draft this past April, coach Fuente was tasked with replacing the dynamic junior in time for the 2017 season. Fuente had quite a few options at the position, the most intriguing being freshman Hendon Hooker and junior AJ Bush in addition to Jackson.

Jackson was the most likely candidate to secure the starting job thanks to his familiarity with the program, but both Bush and Hooker certainly bring their own particular qualities to the table. Having an entire year in Virginia Tech’s system is likely what gave Jackson the nod over his peers, but there’s no doubt that this was a long and well thought-out decision from the coaching staff.

One of the best ways to make a decision is to formulate a pros and cons list of some fashion. As just mentioned, Jackson enjoys having significant familiarity with the program but has less overall experience than Bush.

Bush red-shirted his first year at Nebraska before transferring to Iowa Western Community College. During his time at IWCC Bush passed for 602 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 265 yards and five scores. Much like Jackson, Bush is a dual-threat quarterback who has enjoyed much success running the ball up to this point.

In comparison to Hooker, Jackson’s knowledge of the system alone could have secured him the starting spot. Hooker is very talented and athletic, but also very raw. He will likely benefit greatly from sitting a year or two behind Jackson before truly competing for the current freshman’s spot.

The Results

With coach Fuente and the rest of the coaching staff instilling a good amount of confidence in the young quarterback through their recent decision, expect Jackson to come into the season fully ready to go.

Jackson’s dual threat abilities should allow offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen to maintain a scheme similar to the one he operated with Evans in 2016. This should provide a smaller buffer than would’ve been experienced with Hooker.

Bush will likely serve as the team’s backup for the season given his similarities to Jackson. Should Hooker play exceptionally well, there is little reason to believe he would not take over relief duties down the stretch.

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Expect Virginia Tech to play well with their new quarterback, perhaps kicking off another solid stretch similar to the one they enjoyed from 2004 to 2011. After considering Jackson’s strengths in comparison to his competition, it seems that Fuente has made the right decision regarding who will captain the ship in 2017.