Virginia Tech Football: 5 bold predictions for the 2017 season

5. The Hokies will win 10 games in 2017

I said it before and will say it again, the Virginia Tech Hokies will win 10 games again in the 2017 season. They’ve done some good work on the recruiting trail to shore up some things.

The biggest change on offense this year for the Hokies is depth on the offensive line. There’s actually experience on the offensive line, something that has been absent in the past seasons.

Wyatt Teller (30 starts) and Eric Gallo (25 starts) have been in the rotation for three seasons. Yosuah Nijman (13 starts) and Parker Osterloh have two years in the rotation. Braxton Pfaff and Tyrell Smith were in year one of the rotation in 2016.

Behind those six, there’s another handful of players who could see the field in 2017. Considering how unsteady the run game was for the Hokies last season, changes up front could certainly improve things.

Virginia Tech ranked fifth in the ACC in rushing with 183.1 rushing yards per game. However, 60.4 of the yards came from departed quarterback Jerod Evans. Evans was banged up all season taking on that role, but it was his scrambling that opened up the passing attack.

The Hokies will need the offensive line to step up and get the running game in the hands of the running back, whoever that may be. It could be Travon McMillian or Steven Peoples or even Deshawn McClease.