1. How do I unlock Ali Jennings?
The standout transfer from two summers ago experienced a stop-start career as a Hokie. Jennings suffered a season-ending injury during a rainy game last season that the Hokies ultimately lost to Purdue, 24-17.
Entering this season, Ali was expected to be the crown jewel of a wide receiver corps that once again competes with the best in the nation. But the Richmond, Va., native only recorded four receptions on the year.
It goes without saying that Jennings is an ideal target for the Chiron Drone. This means both sides will be keeping a close eye on the former monarch. Meanwhile, Jaylin Lane Daquan Felton and Stephen Gosnell have taken the weight off Jennings’ shoulders, but Ali has to become the threat he promises if the Hokies want to knock on the door of an ACC Championship appearance. . To be.
2. Why do the Hokies keep making coaching mistakes?
It’s not just the Vanderbilt game. Not just when the infamous “two zeros” call kept the Commodores in position to extend their lead to 10 points, or when the Hokies wasted the final 1:57 in a controversial game against the Hurricanes a few weeks ago. do not have. .
This has been a consistent theme with the Hokies since Pry first arrived in Blacksburg in the fall of 2021. Now in its third year, Tech has made repeated blunders reminiscent of a first-year coach and first-year staff. While these mistakes are mostly understandable in the first year, it’s not unreasonable to wonder, “What would Vanderbilt’s results be if they fixed their special teams unit?” “What if they could have used the last two minutes in South Florida better and put together a better play much closer than 30 yards instead of sending a pass into the back of the end zone? ?”
Of course, most of this technical staff is not very experienced. If you look at offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen, defensive coordinator Chris Marve, and head Hokie Brent Pry, all of whom were at the top coaching level during their time as Penn State’s DC under James Franklin. Pry was the only one who had. So the obvious answer is to hire a coach who can spend more time at a level where these errors can be eliminated. But in a market like today, and with the Hokies clearly focused on a young team, the job market likely won’t be explored too much.
3. What do the Hokies need to start the season?
This huge question cannot be answered in just a few verses. If you asked Tech fans at the beginning of the season if they were going to go 3-3, you probably wouldn’t get a yes. This is a damning indictment of how poorly the tech industry has performed this year. To be honest, the players looked pretty good most of the time. Running back Beishul Tuten has been excellent this year as well. The Drones have settled down considerably as the season has progressed, with wideouts Jayline Lane and Daquan Felton each increasing their draft stock each week. Still, you can criticize the play calling and at times the Hokies looked rusty and really rusty on both sides of the ball. I think the easiest way to fix this is to not overcomplicate it. Make sure you’re doing the basics correctly every time you play. Because the basics have given the Hokies at least two losses so far. This is easier said than done, but it needs to be fixed as soon as possible.
