The Virginia Tech Hokies are preparing to play the Miami Hurricanes this week in a game that has a chance to decide who will represent the Coastal Division in the ACC Championship.  Hokies’ quarterback Logaan Thomas has been the focus of a lot of criticism over the past two years after there were some projecting him as the potential #1 overall pick after his sophomore season.  There have been some extremely harsh critics and Thomas came out with some strong words in his media availability on Monday.

Thomas said he does not take outside critics seriously because they are not at practice, saying “Until you do that, your opinions mean nothing.”

Thomas has 12 interceptions this year after having 16 last year, but said of said of turnovers, they are the “biggest measure of winning and losing a game is turnovers. … You’ve just got to try to limit them.”  And when the the idea of being taken out of the game was mentioned, ”You can ask anybody in this building right now … if there’s any chance for me being taken out for a series. And they’ll say, ‘No.”

His head coach Frank Beamer agreed with him, standing behind his quarterback.  ”He absolutely is the quarterback.  There is no question that he’s the guy.”

Thomas and the Hokies have a huge opportunity to win a big game and position themselves for the ACC title if they can win this game.  And as much as Thomas’s confidence might bother some considering some of the results he had this season, he is the guy that can lead them to a big win, so they need him in the right mindset for this game.

When it comes to the NFL Draft, which is largely where much of this criticism is coming from, Thomas is a work in progress without a ton of experience at the position.  He was a tight end in high school, so he is still learning.  And there is a lot for him to learn, but he is built like a tight end and resembles Ben Roethlisberger or Josh Freeman with his body.  His passing needs work, but he will be drafted higher than many expect because of his tools.  Taken in the right situation as a developmental quarterback with a good coaching staff, he could develop into a franchise quarterback.

In the meantime, Thomas and the Hokies prepare to take on Miami and their talented but inconsistent quarterback Stephen Morris.  Both have a ton of ability but can get in trouble with decision making and costly turnovers.  Both players could put on a show Saturday but it could also come down to who avoids the big mistakes in deciding the winner of this one.