Virginia Tech football finished the 2022 season with a woeful 3-8 record. The team only defeated Boston College, Wofford, and Liberty. They also lost to Old Dominion, Georgia Tech, and Duke in one of the worst seasons in recent memory.
DraftKings Sportsbook has the Hokies’ win total at 5.0 with the over juiced to -115. Virginia Tech also sits at +15000 to win the ACC, which ranks only ahead of Georgia Tech and Virginia. With that said, let’s dive into Virginia Tech’s season preview.
2023 Virginia Tech Football Predictions & Season Preview
Virginia Tech Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff
At head coach, Virginia Tech returns Brent Pry for his second season as head coach. Pry inherited a complete rebuild and will just hope for incremental improvement in 2023. At offensive coordinator, Pry retains Tyler Bowen. Bowen previously coached tight ends with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021. However, last year’s woeful offense already raises questions. On defense, Chris Marve returns as defensive coordinator after previously coaching Florida State’s linebackers from 2020 and 2021.
Virginia Tech Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense
Quarterback
At quarterback, Virginia Tech returns incumbent starter Grant Wells after an up and down 2022 season. Wells completed 196 of his 332 pass attempts (59%) for 2,171 yards (6.5 yards per pass attempt), nine touchdowns, and nine interceptions. On the ground, Wells has decent mobility with 205 yards rushing on 111 attempts. Overall, these numbers put Wells as the ninth graded quarterback in the ACC among 22 qualifiers with at least 100 pass attempts, per PFF.
Even with Wells back, Virginia Tech went to the transfer portal and added Baylor transfer Kyron Drones. Drones originally went to Baylor as a four-star recruit and 130th ranked player in the 2021 recruiting class. Drones only has 23 pass attempts to his name through two seasons, but he does have solid mobility. Last year, he took eight carries for 49 yards on the ground. This quarterback competition will likely come down to summer ball. Behind them, Devin Farrell looks like the third string with a few incoming freshmen to potentially compete with. Quarterback remains one of the biggest questions on the roster, but adding Drones as competition should be viewed as a positive.
Running Back
At running back, Virginia Tech lost Keshawn King and Jalen Holston, but they return their most talented back in Malachi Thomas. Thomas missed most of last year with injury, but he still ended up with 37 carries for 146 yards and 13 receptions for another 91 yards. Thomas previously rushed 93 times for 440 yards in 2022 in his second college season. Thomas stands 6-1, 198 pounds and averages 2.31 yards after contact and a forced missed tackle on 6% of his attempts. Overall, his efficiency metrics leave much to be desired, but his experience will be valued.
Virginia Tech also hit the transfer portal, adding Bhayshul Tuten from North Carolina A&T. Last year, he rushed 208 times for 1,363 yards and 13 scores on his way to third team All-American honors in the FCS. Chance Black and Bryce Duke should compose the depth here after rushing 41 and 18 times last year. This backfield didn’t have much juice last year and should at least perform to the same level.
Wide Receiver
Virginia Tech lost their top receiver Kaleb Smith from last year’s team, but they injected some much needed talent from the transfer portal. They added Ali Jennings (Old Dominion), Da’Quan Felton (Norfolk State), and Jaylin Lane (Middle Tennessee State) and there is a chance that all three start immediately for this team.
Jennings stands 6-2, 200 pounds and caught 54 passes for 959 yards and nine scores last year. He played out wide 83.2% of the time and registered an elite 2.96 yards per route. Felton stands 6-3, 205 pounds and caught 38 passes for 568 yards last year. He played out wide 84.8% of the time and his 2.25 yards per route proved solid at a lower level of competition.
Lane stands 5-8, 183 pounds and caught 69 balls for 940 yards and five scores last year. He played out wide 89.8% of the time, but could move into the slot here. Lane also posted a solid 2.33 yards per route run and has never fallen below 2.0 at any point in his career.
If any of these players cannot make the jump, Virginia Tech does return Da’Wain Lofton and Stephen Gosnell. Lofton finished third on the team in receiving with 22 catches for 254 yards. At 5-11, 193 pounds, Lofton played out wide 78.1% of the time and registered an awful 0.85 yards per route. Gosnell caught ten balls for 134 yards and played out wide 97.1% of the time. His 1.07 yards per route also lagged behind league average last year. The Hokies did land a four-star freshman in Chance Fitzgerald, who comes in as the 280th ranked player in the country. While this room remains better than last year’s, Fitzgerald still may play early behind this below average receiver room.
Tight End
At tight end, Virginia Tech returns their top two playmakers in Nick Gallo and Dae’Quan Wright. Last year, Gallo played 661 snaps and blocked on 56% of those. He stands 6-4, 240 pounds and ranked second on the team in receiving with 30 catches for 256 yards.
Wright only played 140 snaps, but he blocked on just 27% of those. Wright stands 6-4, 231 pounds and caught 19 balls for 208 yards. This was enough to put him fourth on the team in receiving, despite the limited snaps. From there, they also return 2022 four-star recruit Benji Gosnell, who should provide depth. Tight end might be the strongest position on this roster.
Offensive Line
This offseason Virginia Tech lost center Johnny Jordan and left tackle Silas Dzansi. Right tackle Parker Clements returns after 761 snaps last year. He has been a starter for two years, but he took a major step back last year in a new scheme. Right guard Kaden Moore also returns after 758 snaps last year. He is another player with two years of starting experience.
The center position could be held down by Braelin Moore. Moore only played 81 snaps last year and they mostly came at guard. Ultimately, one of the interior linemen will have to change positions and play this role. Jesse Hanson returns at left guard after playing 632 snaps last year. He looked decent in his first year of starting experience.
Finally, Xavier Chaplin is the favorite to play left tackle after playing 27 snaps in one game last year. However, Bob Schick and Jack Hollifield could shake up these rotations with a strong summer. Ultimately, they likely function as rotational pieces. This line played some gross football last year, so it is hard to see it getting much worse. With that said, they didn’t make many additions.
Virginia Tech Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense
Virginia Tech ranked 49th on defense in 2022. This included the 43rd-ranked run defense, 35th-ranked pass rush and 85th-ranked secondary. This defense lost two starters in the secondary and three starters in the front seven. The Hokies also added four transfers in addition to their returning starters. The strength of the team last year, Virginia Tech will again project to lean on their defense.
Defensive Line
Along the edge, Virginia Tech lost edge defenders Jaylen Griffin and TyJuan Garbutt. These players ranked inside the top three on the team in tackles for loss, making this a big position for Virginia Tech to address. With that said, they do return 355 snaps from CJ McCray and another 352 from Cole Nelson. Nelson logged five tackles for loss and two sacks, but McCray’s 21 quarterback pressures actually bested Nelson’s eight.
The Hokies also grabbed Florida transfer Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. from Florida. He played 446 snaps last year and generated 23 quarterback pressures. At the very least, Powell-Ryland should play an important role in this pass rush rotation.
On the interior, Virginia Tech returns three players with solid experience. Norell Powell highlights this group after 511 snaps last year. A strong run defender, Powell finished 15 tackles, three tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. Mario Kendricks also returns after 384 snaps last year. He logged 19 tackles, five tackles for loss, and one sack last year. Finally, Josh Fuga returns another 370 snaps with solid run defense numbers. Overall, this rotation should be enough to set up an above average run defense from Virginia Tech this year.
Linebacker
At linebacker, Virginia Tech lost Dax Hollifield after leading the team with 82 tackles. They do return a Alan Tisdale after 244 snaps and safety/linebacker hybrid Keonta Jenkins after another 410. Tilsdale only played in five games last year after eligibility issues. However, he has 1,696 snaps of experience in his Virginia Tech career and should be leaned on heavily. Jenkins plays a unique role that will flex him to safety or slot corner. He finished with 40 tackles, three pass breakups, and an interception last year.
The other linebacker should be Jayden McDonald, who played 167 snaps last year. The Hokies did add VMI transfer Stone Snyder as well, who finished as a third team FCS All-American last year. He led the Southern Conference in tackles for three straight seasons. Ultimately, there shouldn’t be much change in the talent level of linebacker for Virginia Tech this season.
Defensive Back
At corner, Virginia Tech lost Armani Chatman, but they return a few players with starting experience. Mansoor Delane played 401 snaps last year and led the team with eight pass breakups along with his 38 tackles. Dorian Strong also returns after an injury shortened 2022. He only played in four games, but Strong started the two previous seasons with solid coverage numbers. The third corner and nickel defender should be Derrick Canteen from Georgia Southern. Canteen logged 64 tackles, 12 pass breakups, and an interception last year. Virginia Tech is a little short on corner depth, so they will hope this starting unit remains healthy over the course of 2023.
At safety, the Hokies lost Chamarri Conner, but they return Nasir Peoples and Jalen Stroman. Peoples played 578 snaps last year and ranked third on the team with 61 tackles. Stroman comes in with 314 snaps from last year, but he still ranked fourth on the team with 43 tackles. Players like Ny’Quee Hawkins will comprise the depth here. However, like corner, this position remains inexperienced behind the starters. Overall, it would not be surprising to see this secondary take a slight step back in 2023.
2023 Virginia Tech Football Schedule & Predictions
Virginia Tech Football 2023 Schedule
The Hokies play an interesting non-conference schedule consisting of Old Dominion, Purdue, Rutgers, and Marshall. While none of these opponents look too imposing, Virginia Tech likely isn’t light-years ahead of any of them. Within conference, they draw Florida State and Louisville from the top of the division. However, they dodge North Carolina and Clemson. With that said, they likely won’t be massive favorites over any opponent here.
Virginia Tech Football Futures Bet & Prediction
The Hokies over/under 5.0 wins is juiced to -115 towards the over. With a fairly easy non-conference and ACC schedule, the Hokies should be able to knock off at least five wins. With some push equity here, over 5.0 wins will be the play.
Best Virginia Tech Football Futures Bet: Over 5.0 Wins (-115 at DraftKings)
You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!
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