2003 Football Preview: Offensive Skill Positions
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 7/30/03

As the Hokies prepare for the 2003 football season, they return nearly all the important players at the offensive skill positions of quarterback, tailback, fullback, and wide receiver. The Hokies lost record-setting tailback Lee Suggs to the NFL, but if Kevin Jones steps up and continues to develop, even Suggs won't be missed in Blacksburg.

The Depth Chart

First, let's take a look at the full offensive depth chart. The two-deep in the chart is color-coded by class, and returning starters are listed in bold italics.

The Hokies are blessed with mostly juniors and seniors manning the starting positions on the offense, and of those juniors and seniors, most of them are redshirts, so the program boasts both game experience and strength and conditioning experience in the first string.

In the second string, Tech has a nice assortment of sophomores and juniors, with a few talented freshmen (including a guy named Vick) thrown in for good measure.

In the following text, statistics are for the full 14-game season, including the bowl game; snaps played are for the 13-game regular season.

Quarterback

Starter: Bryan Randall (6-0, 209, Jr.)
Backup: Marcus Vick (6-0, 203, r-Fr.)

In 2002, the Hokies entered the season with a workmanlike but not particularly popular starter in Grant Noel, and an inexperienced, undeveloped backup in Bryan Randall. Tech fans debated all summer long who the starter would be, and the Hokie coaches did little to quell the debate, expressing lukewarm support of the injured Noel as 2002 dawned.

One year later, the Hokie coaches are beaming, because they have a seasoned, improving returning starter in Randall, and one of the most electrifying names in the nation at backup: Marcus Vick.

Randall had a solid season last year, finishing 10th in the nation and 2nd in the Big East in passing efficiency, with a 143.9 rating. He was 158-248 (63.7%) for 2134 yards, 12 TDs, and 11 INTs.

A Randall Gripe: He bails from the pocket too quickly. (click to enlarge)

But Randall was plagued by three things: (1) nervousness in the pocket; (2) fumbles [13 fumbles, 8 lost]; and (3) interceptions at key times (game-enders against Syracuse and WVU).

Randall won Diamond Walnut Bowl MVP for his near-flawless performance (18-of-23, 177 yards, 0 INTs), and he continued to progress by leaps and bounds during spring football, so much so that the VT coaches, unlike the year before with Randall and incumbent starter Noel, killed any speculation about QB battles by repeatedly and firmly stating that Randall will be the starter heading into 2003.

For now, Marcus Vick, he of the strong arm and famous bloodlines, waits on the back burner. But Hokie fans know that Vick will get plenty of playing time, particularly early in the season, and that he is only one snap away from being the full-time starter. Vick has a stronger and generally more accurate arm than Randall, allowing him to stretch the field with more authority, but the Hokie offense, at least under Randall, has gotten away from the long ball and is using the running backs more in a shorter passing game.

Whether this is by design or necessity is anyone's guess. This year, the Hokie coaches are toying with tight end Jeff King in an H-back situation (part fullback, part tight end), bringing more emphasis to the short passing game, and as always, Tech's coaches are promising to use the tight end more. We shall see.

For now, wide receiver Chris Clifton will serve as the emergency quarterback, as previous third-stringer and scout team QB Will Hunt has quit the team. Hokie fans hope that Clifton won't need to be used this year, and if VT never goes beyond the #2 QB position this fall, both guys appear to be ready to do the job. No worries here.

Tailback

Starter: Kevin Jones (6-0, 209, Jr.)
Backups: Cedric Humes (6-1, 223, r-So.); Mike Imoh (5-7, 185, So.)

Lee Suggs and his Tech-record 56 career touchdowns (almost twice that of #2 James Barber's 30 TDs) are gone, and the perception in Blacksburg is that he won't be missed ... if Kevin Jones improves on a few things he hasn't been doing very well.

KJ (who wears #25 now) and potential #1 backup Mike Imoh. (click to enlarge)

Jones, who rushed 160 times for 871 yards (5.4 ypc) and 9 TDs last year, is already #16 on the Tech career rushing list with 1,828 yards. He's one good season away from overtaking Suggs (2,767 yards) at #4, or Maurice Williams (2,981 yards) at #3. If he stays at Tech for his senior year and stays healthy, Jones has a great shot at topping Cyrus Lawrence, who holds the VT record with 3,767 yards, particularly since VT plays 12 regular-season games this year, and bowl games are now counted in statistics.

But the former #1 prep player in the country has displayed some weaknesses that stand between him and being an all-time great. Jones has a penchant for eschewing the simple five-yard gain as he hunts for a game-breaker, which is a fancy way of saying that he tends to dance around behind the line looking for the big gainer, instead of hitting the hole quickly, his head down, and picking up a solid five yards. KJ is very much feast or famine, as he gets tackled for little or no yardage, or breaks a long one (and when he breaks a long one, man, is he fun to watch).

Jones also fumbles too much, more than VT fans are used to: 8 fumbles, 5 of them lost, in just 160 carries last year. Contrast this with Suggs having just 4 fumbles in 257 carries last year, and once going well over 200 carries without a fumble. Suggs only had about 6 fumbles in his entire 535-carry career, one per every 89 carries. Jones had one per every 20 carries last year.

Tech will still platoon tailbacks -- they always do -- but Jones will probably get about 20-25 carries a game, more than the 14 carries a game he has averaged since coming to VT. Will this make him a more patient runner, one who is content to slam into the hole for five yards, picking up the first down and not always aspiring to be an ESPN SportsCenter highlight? Will getting into the flow help him with his fumbling problems?

Hokie fans hope that KJ's performance against UVa in 2001 serves as an answer. In that game, Jones carried the ball 37 times for 181 yards. He was patient, he used his blocks, and he picked up yardage in 5- and 7-yard chunks, instead of hunting for the big one. He got into the flow of the game and held onto the ball as Tech protected the lead in a game that ended up 31-17, Hokies.

A little heads-up: the VT media guide lists Jones at 209 pounds, but sources tell TSL that he is up over 220, specifically, 224.

Behind Jones are tailback/fullback Cedric Humes (16 carries, 68 yards in 2002) and tailback/wide receiver Mike Imoh (10 carries, 38 yards). Humes began last year at fullback, and Imoh was a wide receiver. Both have shown promise, but Humes was a little rusty last spring as he switched back to tailback, and Imoh displayed worrisome fumbling problems in a JV game last year. The coaches listed them as co-backups to Jones coming out of the spring, indicating that there's still a battle to be waged there after fall practice opens.

Fullback

Starter: Doug Easlick (5-11, 238, r-Sr.)
Backups: A Cast of Thousands, mainly Jeff King (6-5, 258, r-So.)

Last year, former walk-on Doug Easlick stepped into the role that had been held by Jarrett Ferguson since, oh, the early years of the Clinton Administration, it seemed. Easlick, perfect fullback size and speed at 5-11, 238, with a 4.59 forty, did a more than capable job. He started all 14 games, blocked well, rushed 19 times for 92 yards (4.8 ypc), and caught 16 passes for 118 yards and a TD.

What more can you ask of a fullback? Just stay healthy.

Behind Easlick, however, is a vast wasteland of inexperienced players. No insult to them, it's just that we have no way of knowing if any of them are going to be any good. Cedric Humes, really not suited to the fullback's job, played a little (172 snaps) as Easlick's backup, and he will probably be retained as an emergency fullback.

What the VT coaches are excited about is the Jeff King experiment. King, a 6-5 converted tight end, will back up Easlick as a sort of H-back, which is a combination fullback/tight end. H-backs can stay in the backfield or split out wide as an extra receiver, so they add versatility to the offense. The drawback is that when the H-back splits wide and acts as a receiver, his blocking capability is gone, and at 6-5, King might not be good at leading a tailback into the hole and getting leverage on smaller, quicker linebackers.

There's also the point that the VT coaches have hinted at snazzy new offensive formations before in the spring, only to bail out in the heat of the regular season. Does anyone remember the famous "Suggs and Jones on the field at the same time" statements last spring? That didn't last very long once the season started. It wouldn't shock me to see King at fullback a few times, just to see him immediately shifted back to tight end the instant he misses a block, misreads a blitz, or drops a pass going out into the flat. Frank Beamer quickly gets cold feet when players start missing assignments or making mistakes.

Behind King and Humes, walk-ons Jesse Allen (6-0, 241, r-Fr.) and Luke Dales (r-Fr.) hope to be the next great walk-on fullback at VT. Steve Canter (6-0, 232, r-Sr.) may see some playing time this year, but as a senior, he's not in the picture beyond 2003.

Split End

Starter: Ernest Wilford (6-4, 221, r-Sr.)
Backup: Justin Hamilton (6-3, 209, r-So.)

We all know what Big East Second-Teamer Ernest Wilford can do. He set Tech records last year for receptions in a season (51), receiving yards in a game (279, vs. Syracuse) and TDs in a game (4, vs. Syracuse). Wilford ended the year with 925 yards and 7 TDs. He caught just 10 passes in the first six games, then burned up the field for 41 catches in the last 8 games, a pace of 5.1 catches per game.

One catch down, 50 more to go. (click to enlarge)

If Wilford posts similar numbers this year, he'll depart Tech as the career leader in receptions, and he can break the yardage record, too, though it will take an outstanding effort. Wilford has 71 career catches, while Antonio Freeman (1991-94) leads with 121. Wilford has 1,166 career yards, and the VT record is held by Ricky Scales (1972-74) with 2,272.

Wilford, with 8 career TD receptions, likely won't break Freeman's record of 22.

Justin Hamilton, who played tailback in high school but was switched to receiver at Tech, has shown some promise. He is a solid #2 behind Wilford and has three years ahead of him after catching 5 passes for 56 yards last year. Given very few opportunities, Hamilton had a workmanlike performance and didn't get to display much, though he did make one nice sliding catch at the sidelines against Air Force, if memory serves correctly.

Behind Wilford and Hamilton, the trio of Chris Clifton, Brenden Hill, and Michael Malone jockey for position. In case of injury, one of them will get to play this year, but otherwise, they will have to wait until 2004 to make their move.

Flanker

Starter: DeAngelo Hall (5-11, 198, Jr.)
Backup: Richard Johnson (5-10, 189, r-Jr.)

Something very special might be going on here in the form of DeAngelo Hall getting about 30 snaps a game as the Hokies' starting flanker. Six years ago, back in 1997, the Hokie coaches tried a similar experiment, playing cornerback Ike Charlton at wide receiver, but that switch was made in the middle of the season, in response to injuries, and Charlton didn't get a chance to study the offense and try to truly learn the position.

DeAngelo Hall skies during the 2003 spring game. (click to enlarge)

With Hall, the VT coaches put him at flanker in the beginning of spring practice and worked him there all spring long. They liked what they saw enough to name him their #1 flanker coming out of spring practice. Hokie fans saw Hall display natural instincts and an appetite for the ball in the spring game, and his emergence at flanker might free up Wilford to do more damage from the other side of the field. Last year, Shawn Witten caught 25 passes from the flanker spot, but it was for only 306 yards (12.2 ypc) and just one TD. Witten was a possession receiver, which is the norm for the flanker spot at Tech; Hall brings explosiveness the likes of which hasn't been seen at flanker for a while at VT.

Hall is backed up by the experienced and often-hyped Richard Johnson, who caught 14 passes for 147 yards last year. Hokie fans have been waiting for Johnson, a highly-rated player coming out of high school -- SuperPrep named him the #30 prospect in the nation in 2000 -- to blossom, but he has shown a frustrating lack of ability to break tackles, separate, and make big plays. At 5-10, 189, Johnson has not been big enough and physical enough to be a major-college force, and time is running out on him to distinguish himself.

After Hall and Johnson, the Hokies have Chris Shreve, Robert Parker, and Fred Lee. Shreve, a redshirt senior, is finishing out his career, and Lee, a redshirt-freshman, has not pegged the coaches' hype meter yet. Of the three, Parker appears to have the most potential. His 4.48 forty time, though it doesn't sparkle, is fourth-best among the receivers, behind Shreve (4.33), Lee (4.45), and Hamilton (4.46).

Next Up: Offensive Line and Tight Ends

In the next fall preview article, we'll take a look at the tight end spot, as well as one of the biggest areas of concern on the team: the offensive line.