Hard to believe, but we've managed to put two and a half months between us and the abortion of a game that was the Sugar Bowl. Spring practice opens in Blacksburg on Wednesday so here are some of the questions we hope to see answered.
1.) What the hell does our O line look like?
We have one known starter at this point: center Andrew Miller. Other than that the competition is as wide open as the Hunger Games. The candidates have talent, some experience, and injuries. Brent Benedict has a chance to prove the hype, Ed Wang has a chance to prove he's back to fill health, and Vinston Painter has a chance to show he can hang as a starter after all.
2.) Do we have any semblance of depth to the receiving corps?
What a difference a year makes. Last year we had the deepest roster of wide outs in the ACC. This year even our number two is a question mark. DJ Coles and Marcus Davis are guaranteed starting spots. Coles proved reliable and steady last season, but Davis has had a frustrating schIzophrenic quality to his game that needs to be put to bed if he's going to be a starter. Dyrell Roberts returns from the broken arm that cut his season short last year, but let's see if he can make it through a full season unscathed. After Dyrell we descend into uncharted territory.
3.) Are we any better off at linebacker?
Bruce Taylor and the Hyphen are still recovering from Lisfranc sprains and Telvion Clark just got dismissed for being a sloppy drunk. Time for the underclassmen to nut up or shut up. Jack Tyler, Chase Williams, all eyes are on you. And remember, Chase, no bounties.
4.) Sup, Holmes?
David Willson becomes the latest in a long line of superhuman freaks to turn in one amazing year at tailback and then leave early for the draft. Next man up is Michael Holmes, a local product who was a bit of a sleeper during the recruiting process but who has apparently made believers out of our starting defense. Holmes is more of a prototypical power back than Wilson, which probably means fewer "OMFG did you SEE that?" moments. There will also hopefully be fewer massive losses of yardage from trying to make something out of nothing.
If Holmes can't go, it's literally in the hands of true freshmen. JC Coleman will probably be amazing...in time. Drew Harris comes in rehabbing a knee injury and Trey Edmunds comes in not knowing if he'll be a linebacker or a tailback.
