2012 Program Preview - Virginia Tech

Jul 3, 2012, 3:30 PM UTC

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Let’s be blunt - Virginia Tech has been the class of the conference. Sure, Clemson took the conference championship last year, but there’s a reason Clemson was 16 spots of Va. Tech by the time that game took place. The Hokies have won three of the last five ACC Championships, last year’s loss being only their second ACC Championship since the inaugural. But it feels as if there’s a changing of the guard upon us (not only because they’re likely gone ASAP).

While Clemson and Florida State have stepped up in recent years to elevate the conference as a whole, Virginia Tech’s recruiting has stalled out to say the least. So while the 11-3 record speaks well to their quality, consider these facts/games:

In week 2, the Hokies beat East Carolina by a touchdown. This was an East Carolina team that allowed 32.3 points per game, 97th in FBS football.
Three weeks later, they lost 23-3 to Clemson, looking completely overmatched. Nearly two months later to the day, they would repeat the failure in the ACC Championship losing to the Tigers, 38-10.
The only beat Miami by 3...at home...that might be the scariest bullet on here.
The rest of their ACC schedule included a four-point win at Duke and a three-point win over UNC at home.

The cap came in a 3-point overtime loss in which Michigan only gained 184 total yards. Yes, Michigan gained 184 total yards and still won 23-20 in overtime. That’s your omen.
Despite having a legit top QB prospect, make no mistake -- this is a defensively driven team (unless a surprise offensive newcomer breaks out unsuspectingly). That’s not a bad thing in college football, but looking at Florida State it’s tough to suggest the Hokies are still sitting on top of the heap.

After the jump, the prospects worth noting as well as some games and matchups to pencil into your calendar.

References

Gobbler Country (SBN Virginia Tech community), SB Nation team page, official team site, Dane Brugler’s preview for CBS Sports

Notable offensive prospects

Name	POS	Yr.	Early projected Rd (notes)
Marcus Davis	WR	RS Sr.	7
Nick Becton	OT	RS Sr.	UD
Logan Thomas	QB	RS Jr.	1
Andrew Miller	C	RS Jr.	UD

Notable defensive prospects

Name	POS	Yr.	Early projected Rd (notes)
Bruce Taylor	MLB	RS Sr.	3
James Gayle	DE	RS Jr.	3
Kyle Fuller	CB	Jr.	3
Tariq Edwards	OLB	RS Jr.	5
Antone Exum	CB/SS	RS Jr.	5
Jeron Gouveia-Winslow	OLB	RS Jr.	5
Derrick Hopkins	DT	Jr.	6
J.R. Collins	DE	RS Jr.	UD

Summary

While I'm not as high on Thomas as others, there's no denying he certainly has a pro-quality skill set. And he big. He real big. I'll note this: the Hokies have to replace RB David Wilson, WRs Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale and four O-linemen all in a single offseason. That's a tall, tall task. But from a draft perspective, it might be the best thing for Thomas' development.

Too often last year, the offense was so static, it didn’t require much individual skill or awareness. You could tell that Thomas didn’t have enough field awareness to deal with blitzes. With his two top receiving targets and (more importantly) his star RB gone, Thomas will have to be more flexible in the pocket working through the defense and the mismatches he perceives.

Beyond Thomas, the Hokies have a solid grouping of defensive prospects which one should expect having just allowed a seventh-best 17.6 points per game. Taylor, Edwards and Gouveia-Winslow are all coming off notable injuries; Edwards had a surgery on a stress fracture in his leg just prior to the spring, while Taylor and Gouveia-Winslow are coming off of Linsfranc injuries. As of right now, they’re all expected to be ready for the season opener. Speaking of...

Key games

Georgia Tech (home) - Week 1 (Mon., Sept. 3 - 8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)

A week before the NFL takes over Monday nights, the ACC’s two “Tech” schools (one a Polytechnical Institute, the other an Institute of Technology lest we be so ignorant) have the football-watching world to themselves. Let us give thanks and be glad.

Georgia Tech’s triple option offense should test the Hokies’ D, while Logan Thomas will be pressured to perform well against a relatively mediocre defense. I am ready for some footbaw.

Pittbsurgh (away) - Week 3 (Sat., Sept. 15 - 12:00 p.m. ET, TBD)

Virginia Tech loaded up their non-conference schedule with a pair of Big East foes in Cincinnati and this Pitt game. I'm putting the Pitt game here because the Panthers might well have the second best offense in the Big East (which if you recognize that West Virginia is going to score 16 touchdowns per game is not a knock on Pitt). This game has some key matchups all over the field; if the Hokies are to have any chance at being in the national spotlight, they'll have to win most of those. Oh, and Pitt is on their way to the ACC along with Syracuse starting in 2014. Yay confusing realignment.

Clemson (away) - Week 8 (Sat., Oct. 20 - TBD)

Florida St. (home) - Week 11 (Thu., Nov. 8 - 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Well if you're an ACC fan and want your cross-division jones, here you go. Virginia Tech and Clemson met up twice last year leading to two Clemson wins. With Andre Branch and Brandon Thompson gone, does the needle immediately swing toward the Hokies this year? Meanwhile, the Seminoles-Hokies game could be special. Either way, there's a very good chance either of these two games get played again as the ACC Championship.

Key matchups

MLB Bruce Taylor v. Pitt RB Ray Graham, CB Kyle Fuller v. Pitt WR Devin Street, Week 3 - Sat., Sept. 15

Like I said above, key matchups abound in this game. These two should be fun though. Strengths on strengths. Not sure what else to say here except all four are likely headed to the NFL next year, so this (along with Cal-Ohio St. which kicks off at the same time) should pretty much be on your schedule by now.