2023 Virginia Tech Season Preview

Virginia Tech is hoping to bounce back from its worst season in 30 years. 3 win seasons are rare in Blacksburg and Brent Pry is hoping to get bowl eligible after a challenging first season.

Coaching Staff:

Brent Pry enters his second season in Blacksburg. Pry struggled in his first season after inheriting a roster with many departures from the previous coaching staff. This season Tyler Bowen will be running the offense as the one-and-only offensive coordinator. Last season, he split the role with Brad Glenn who has since moved on to Cincinnati. This season will hinge on Bowen’s ability get more out of the offense than last season. He will need to be more creative and install an offense that makes sense with the personnel he has.

Offense:

The Hokies’ offense struggled last season leading to historically bad results. Tech had trouble run blocking and receivers had a tough time getting open. That along with an injury to Malachi Thomas led to an offense that couldn’t move the ball consistently.

The good news for this season is that Tech loaded up on capable offensive threats through the transfer portal. The coaching staff brought in Ali Jennings from ODU, Jaylin Lane from Middle Tennessee State and Bhayshul Tuten from North Carolina A&T. All these players have shown explosive abilities at their previous stops. These additions should add some explosive targets for Grant Wells in the passing game and another threat in the running game.

Grant Wells is a capable quarterback. Last year’s performance had a lot to do with a line that couldn’t block and receivers who couldn’t get open. Not to mention an injury to his number one running back. Few quarterbacks would perform well under those conditions. Even with that, he graded out as an average quarterback in the ACC. With more help this season, you should see those numbers improve. His most important task is cutting down on turnovers. Even with Wells in a game manager role, this offense can be successful.

The biggest area to watch for is the play of the offensive line. How do they respond to new coach Ron Crooks? Can he turn them into a productive group? Or does it look like last year’s group that struggled to run and pass block most of the season? My guess is that Crooks’ scheme will fit better with what Bowen is trying to do on offense.

Defense:

Brent Pry’s specialty is defense and we should see more out of that group compared to last season. Since Pry arrived he has prioritized size and speed on the defense. This group is slowly getting more athletic than the group Pry inherited from the previous coaching staff. Pry’s staff has made that a focus in recruiting and in the transfer portal.

The Hokies’ secondary will once again be the strength of the defense with Mansoor Delane and Dorian Strong starting at cornerback. The defense’s ability to create turnovers and limit big plays will be pivotal to the team’s success. The Hokies ranked 129th out of 131 teams in generating turnovers last season. That must change this season in order to improve on last year’s 3-win season.

The biggest question marks for this defense are at defensive end and linebacker. If Brent Pry can find a couple of young guys to step up at those positions this should be a pretty solid group. If not, this could be an average defense like last year’s.

Key Players to Watch:

Quarterback Grant Wells: Wells had a 1:1 touchdown to interception ratio last season. That has to improve for Tech’s offense to be a threat in 2023.

Running Back Malachi Thomas: This offense needs a consistent chain-mover in short yardage. In order for the offense to come around, we need to see Thomas return to his 2021 form.

Defensive Back Mansoor Delane: One of the top cornerbacks in the ACC entering 2023. He needs to back up the hype as a lockdown corner for this defense and become a ballhawk who can turn the ball over to the offense when it comes his way.

Non-Conference Matchups:

Virginia Tech has a manageable non-conference slate. They need a win against Old Dominion in the worst way. This staff cannot afford another loss to an in-state Group of 5 program. There are good opportunities for Power 5 wins against Purdue at home and Rutgers on the road. And finally, don’t overlook that road game against Marshall. Marshall won 9 games last season and will be far from a pushover this season.

ACC Outlook:

After the media picked the Hokies to finish 11th in the ACC preseason poll, the Hokies will have their work cut out for them. If the Hokies can build on the progress they made on defense last season, they should be able to outperform these expectations.

Conclusion:

When Brent Pry took the position of head coach, this job was always going to be a multi-year rebuild. The cupboards were pretty bare when he got here. After bottoming out with a 3-win season, it looks like the outlook is brighter but it is going to be a year-by-year process. The goal for this season should be six wins and a bowl game. Anything more than that is gravy.

Tough games (<40% chance to win)

Pitt. Florida State. Syracuse. Louisville. NC State. The goal here is to try to steal one or two of these games. They are winnable but tougher than the rest.

Toss-up games (50-50 games)

Purdue. Rutgers. Marshall. Wake Forest. Boston College. Virginia. These games will be the difference between 8-4 and 4-8. VT must win at least three of these.

Should win games (>60% to win)

Old Dominion. Tech can’t afford to stub their toe again here especially not at home.

Key games for the Hokies: Wake Forest, Boston College, Virginia.

Upset Alert: at Marshall

Game By Game Predictions