Hokies Built to Win Close Games in 2024
Positions critical in crunch time are chock full of experienced playmakers
In 2023, seemingly every game Virginia Tech played was a blowout.
The Purdue game that was delayed due to weather eventually came down to a last minute drive with the Hokies down by a touchdown, but that’s about it for drama.
Perhaps that will be the case again in 2024, but in case it’s not, the coaching staff has built a roster designed to win in pressure-packed, late-game situations.
While the sporting press has devoted appropriate attention to the number of starters the Hokies will return off last year’s team, few have focused on just how experienced the 2024 team is, and how much that matters in close games.
Offense
Imagine the Hokies take possession of the ball down by a score with about two minutes remaining in a must-win game. Who is likely to touch the ball?
Senior center Kaden Moore will snap the ball back to redshirt junior dual-threat QB Kyron Drones.
Up front, the Hokies will have two to three senior linemen and, importantly, no freshmen.
If the Hokies look to play it safe, they could run the ball with senior RB Bhayshul Tuten. However, Tuten is also a reliable receiver, so Drones might look to swing a pass to him out of the backfield.
If Drones looks to throw down the field, he is likely to target one of the following five senior pass catchers:
Ali Jennings (WR)
Da’Quan Felton (WR)
Jaylin Lane (WR)
Stephen Gosnell (WR)
Nick Gallo (TE)
What do Virginia Tech’s biggest come-from-behind wins all have in common? They were led by dual-threat quarterbacks:
Michael Vick at West Virginia (1999)
Bryan Randall at Georgia Tech (2004)
Logan Thomas against Miami (2011)
Vick (R-Fr) and Thomas (R-So) were on the younger side, but both were throwing to senior wide receivers. And, in both cases, it was a long quarterback run that proved decisive:
Vick’s scramble up the sideline to get the Hokies into field goal range
Thomas’s 19-yard QB-keeper on 4th down for the go-ahead touchdown
Randall, though a dual-threat, was in the opposite situation - he was a senior who was throwing to a bunch of freshmen (and David Clowney, who was a true sophomore).
The 2024 Hokies have the best of both worlds. Drones is in his fourth year (just like Randall, who never redshirted), and he is surrounded by seniors at all the other skill positions.
It doesn’t matter who the opponent is or where the game is being played, with so many experienced guys, one would have to feel really good about the Hokies being about to drive the ball down the field late in a game to tie or take the lead.
Defense
One thing that has quietly irked Hokie fans in recent years is the defense’s inability to get stops in key situations. And no situation is bigger than end of a game with a lead of eight points or less.
The Tech defenses that historically have excelled in these situations shared a few traits in common:
Experienced, lock-down cornerbacks
Defensive line that could generate pressure without a blitz
Defensive line that went two-deep with experienced players at all four positions
Once again, the 2024 Hokies check all of the boxes. Dorian Strong is entering his fifth season as a starting CB at Tech with All-American aspirations. Mansoor Delane will be a third-year starter, and he should make an All-ACC team this year.
Up front, all four defensive ends in the two-deep are in at least their third year of college football, and all have demonstrated an ability to get to the quarterback.
At defensive tackle, the Hokies could be even better than last year, with a group that goes a legit three-deep at both inside positions.
What does all this mean in game situations? Let’s compare the 2004 Miami ending to Boise State’s two-minute go-ahead drive in 2010.
At Miami, nursing a six-point lead, the Hokies locked down the Hurricane wide receivers and smothered QB Brock Berlin with unrelenting pressure. That was the game in which defensive tackle Jim Davis batted down passes on third and fourth down to seal the victory.
The 2004 Hokies were solid at safety and linebacker, but late in the game, with a conference championship on the line, it didn’t matter - they were non-factors. Bud Foster rushed four guys and the Canes’ front could not stop them.
Out wide, Jimmy Williams and Eric Green were asked to hold up in coverage for less than two seconds, which they did with ease.
Against Boise St., Tech was clinging to a four-point lead with about two minutes to go in the game. After a rough start, the defense had settled down and played pretty well in the second half. But, with the game on the line, Boise St. attacked Tech’s weaknesses.
First, the Tech defensive line was inexperienced and not particularly talented. The guys who started had been around the program for years, but had been buried on the depth chart. Steven Friday was a decent rusher, but no one else was much of a threat.
In addition, that line was not very deep, so the starters were tired. As a result, Kellen Moore had plenty of time to scan the field and go through his progressions.
Tech was also young in the secondary. Jayron Hosley would go on to lead the nation that year in interceptions, but against Boise St. he was a first-time starter. Antone Exum was a freshman safety and Kyle Fuller was also a freshmen.
All that youth was plain to see as Bronco receivers were given big cushions out wide. Kellen Moore didn’t have the strongest arm, but given time and space he was nearly unstoppable. The result that night was a gut-wrenching loss for the Hokies.
Special Teams
John Love made 22 out of 24 field goals last year, and the entire place kicking operation was generally boring. Snaps were good, holds were good, and kicks were good.
Although none of those kicks were in especially tense situations, there is clearly every reason to believe that Love and the rest of that unit would perform at a similarly high level with the game on the line.
Peter Moore will return as the punter in 2024 for his redshirt senior year. Moore averaged 43.1 yards per punt last year, with 19 punts travelling at least 50 yards. Seventeen of Moore’s punts were downed inside the opponents 20-yard line. Again, coaches and fans all have confidence in Moore, who will be starting for the fourth consecutive year.
Closing Thoughts
Over the course of a twelve game season, every good team gets tested. The 2024 Hokies have the makings of a very good, but not elite team.
One way for a team to post results that exceed its talent level is to excel in crunch time. In that regard, the 2024 Hokies could potentially be the best in school history.
So, keep this article in mind this fall and revisit it when a Tech game goes down to the wire.
All indications are that Tech should emerge victorious.