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BLACKSBURG — Once last year’s football season came to an end, Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry said the plan in his second year with the Hokies was to upgrade the talent level in the offensive skill positions.
Saturday’s spring football game at Lane Stadium was the first time Virginia Tech’s fans got a good glimpse of where things are at in that category. And while some of those new faces may not have been in the spotlight, their impact was evident in what the Hokies were getting out of some of their returning wide receivers and running backs.
There was progress, Pry said, although most of that was only seen on the Maroon side of the football. Because of what Pry said was partially due to a shortage of experienced and healthy offensive linemen, the Maroon team beat the White team 34-0 in a two-hour exhibition (including the obligatory commercial breaks).
“Our roster isn’t where it needs to be yet,” Pry said. “When you split it, you’ve got some weak spots that can show up. And that happened a little bit today. But I was pleased. We were efficient. ... The kicking game was pretty clean. The operation was pretty clean.”
At wide receiver, where some of the most significant changes were made roster-wise, the standouts on Saturday were a couple of returning Hokies — Stephen Gosnell and Tucker Holloway.
Gosnell, who Pry called Virginia Tech’s most consistent receiver during the spring, caught three passes for 53 yards. Holloway, a sophomore who joined the Hokies as a true freshman late in 2022, had three catches for 77 yards, including a 39-yard TD reception from freshman Pop Watson and a 33-yard catch from 2022 starting quarterback Grant Wells on a fourth-and-4 play in the first quarter.
“Yeah, he’s another guy that’s just developing in the program,” Pry said. “He’s doing a great job. I’m excited for Tuck. We have competition at the wide receiver position, which we didn’t have previously. There’s five or six guys that have an opportunity to get into that lineup, and he’s one of them.”
Two of the new faces in the wide receiver room, Ali Jennings and Da’Quan Felton, made their way to Blacksburg in a cross-state migration. Jennings, who graduated from Highland Springs in Richmond, played last year at Old Dominion. Felton, a Churchland High School graduate, was at Norfolk State a year ago.
They had the challenge of being part of the White team on Saturday, but still got on the stat sheet. Felton had two catches for 40 yards, and Jennings had two receptions for 29.
Their general impact on their teammates is already evident, according to Holloway.
“Something I’m looking for from an older guy who is transferring in, or even an older guy who has been here a while is how does he lead by example and teach the younger guys,” Holloway said. “... Ali has been a super selfless guy since he got here. He’s quick to critique and coach the younger guys, and you can tell it’s from a loving standpoint.
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“... Da’Quan has pushed the group in a tremendous way. He’s a verbal leader, which is cool. Some people lead by example, some are more verbal. Da’Quan is definitely a verbal leader and he doesn’t shy from stating his opinion. And it’s always something that’s going to make us better.”
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The way the teams were split turned out to be good news for Wells, who wore Maroon and was playing mostly with linemen projected to be starters.
The fifth-year senior who started every game in last year’s 3-8 campaign looked like a player comfortable in his surroundings, completing 12 of 18 passes for 148 yards and a TD in the two 12-minute quarters he played for the Maroon team. In addition to his 4-yard TD pass to Chance Black, Wells also led the Maroon side to two other touchdown drives. Wells scored the first TD of the game on a 10-yard scramble. Black followed up his TD catch with a 12-yard scoring run.
“I can tell the difference with Year 2,” Wells said. “It’s the second time seeing the offense, the second time installing the offense and seeing different looks that we saw last year.”
While Wells was moving the football up and down the field, White team starter Kyron Drones — the offseason transfer from Baylor — struggled behind the Hokies’ second-team offensive line. He was picked off twice and sacked three times. Drones also returned in the second half for a drive in an attempt to give him a few more opportunities. He finished with 7 of 13 for 102 yards.
Pry said he was not concerned with Drones’ level of success and is pleased with the progress the newcomer has made.
“I would say it trended upwards,” Pry said. “I think as it went, he showed us more and more each practice, each outing as he got more comfortable. I think today, he had people in his face early and I don’t think he was very confident to start the scrimmage. He didn’t look like himself in those first couple of series. I thought he settled down a little bit.”