Virginia Tech football 2018: Projected Hokies depth chart
By Logan Ulrich
Defense
Notable losses: Departures hit the Hokies defense hard. Brothers Tremaine and Terrell Edmunds both were taken in the first round of the NFL Draft. Both starting corners from last season, Greg Stroman and Brandon Facsyon, also left.
Their replacement and projected No. 1 corner, Adonis Alexander, was ruled academically ineligible and applied for the supplemental draft instead. Add in the loss of defensive tackle Tim Settle and linebacker Andrew Motuapuaka, and Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster has a lot of work to do.
DE: Trevon Hill, junior (RS)
DT: Ricky Walker, senior (RS)
DT: Vinny Mihota, senior (RS)
DE: Houshun Gaines, junior (RS)
There’s no double-digit sack artist in this bunch yet, but Virginia Tech has a solid group that returns a lot of experience. Hill tied for the team lead in sacks with 5.5 and will look to build on that total rushing from Virginia Tech’s “stud” position.
Walker tied for second on the team with 12.5 tackles for loss, while Mihota started 11 games last season. Gaines only started twice and played in a rotational role last season, but tallied three sacks and seven TFLs. Heading into camp, the defensive line is likely the strength of this defense.
MLB: Dylan Rivers, sophomore
LB: Dax Hollifield, freshman
This is where it starts to get dicey for Virginia Tech. The departure of Edmunds and Motuapuaku left a gaping hole at linebacker. Rivers is one of only two linebackers on the roster who saw playing time last season, and that was mostly on special teams. With such uncertainty, it’s a prime opportunity for a talented player like Dax Hollifield, a four-star recruit and top-ten linebacker prospect in the nation, to seize immediate playing time.
CB: Caleb Farley, freshman (RS)
CB: Bryce Watts, sophomore
FS: Mook Reynolds, senior
SS: Reggie Floyd, junior
WHIP: Devon Hunter, sophomore
The third linebacker position in Foster’s defense, the WHIP, is similar to a safety or nickel defender. Reynolds started there last season, and this spring the Hokies have moved Hunter, a rising star, to the position this spring. Reynolds, who has been banged up, could move to either safety or corner to fill a need.
Alexander’s departure left Virginia Tech thin at corner. Watts has impressed in the spring and Farley has the best shot at the other corner spot, but both severely lack experience. Moving Reynolds to cornerback, where he played his first year, could alleviate that weakness. Floyd provides some stability after starting a dozen games last season and finishing third in tackles, the most of any returning defender.
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Special Teams:
PR: C.J. Carroll, senior (RS)
KR: Jovon Quillen, junior
P: Oscar Bradburn, sophomore
K: Brian Johnson, sophomore (RS), or Jordan Stout, freshman (RS)
Special teams have historically been strong at Virginia Tech under Frank Beamer, and that’s continued with Bud Foster staying on to help Fuente. But just like on defense, Foster faces a good deal of uncertainty in the third phase of the game. Bradburn, a sophomore from Australia, is the only confirmed starter. Neither Johnson nor Stout have pulled ahead in the kicking competition, while the hunt for returners is wide open.