Staff Predictions for the 2014 Season

After two straight up-and-down seasons, the Hokies enter 2014 filled with hope. The schedule is favorable, the Coastal Division is wide open, dynamic playmakers are blossoming on both sides of the ball. Sure, there are a lot of questions concerning this squad, but that's the norm with almost every program in the country. How strong will our quarterback play be? What will the running back rotation look like? Will playmakers emerge at receiver/tight end and change the dynamic of this offense? What will the latest iteration of the Wild Turkey look like? How effective will our svelte defensive line be against both spread and pro-style offenses? Can we keep our key players healthy and productive through the entirety of this season? I could go on and on...

What we do know is that we are currently witnessing the realization of the coaching staff's reconstructed vision for the program. After years of recruiting athletes, Bryan Stinespring & Co. have made a concerted effort to recruit players that have big time talent and are ideal fits for the offensive and defensive systems. The young players that underwent trial-by-fire over the past two seasons are now experienced veterans. Our previously disfunctional and lean running backs corps is potentially six-deep, with backs that fill defined and complementary roles.

So how will the Hokies fare in 2014? The Key Play Staff thought it would be a worthwhile exercise to indulge Hokie Nation with our own predictions for the upcoming Tech football season. Feel free to share your outlook for the season too. Happy football season, everyone!

Joe Lanza

Season Prediction: Let's pretend Mark Shuman is the only injury Tech has to deal with and the offense gets productive quarterback play from either Brewer or Leal. In that case, given how fluffy the schedule is, and how promising the defense seems, it's not crazy to peg this team to go 10-2/11-1. However, there are always injuries and Tech is wafer-thin at d-end, offensive tackle, and light at d-tackle. Unless both Leal and Brewer were practicing like All-Americans, it is not encouraging that neither separated himself until the end of fall camp. It's a scary proposition if the offense lacks a dependable running game, so much so that Tech could finish 6-6 or worse. In summary, if everything goes right this could be a very memorable season, if everything goes wrong, it could be a disaster. I'm hedging somewhere in between. Losses at Ohio State, at North Carolina, at Pittsburgh.

Final Regular Season Record: 9–3

Key Matchup: At Duke. Like Tech, the Blue Devils avoid FSU, Louisville, and Clemson, but they host the Hokies. I think that game could decide the division.

Breakout Player: Corey Marshall.

Alex Koma

Season Prediction: I've often been accused of being too optimistic about the Hokies, and I find myself falling into the same trap again this year.

I felt good about last year too, and I was burned (I hate you, C.J. Brown) but I'm plowing ahead and saying this year goes much better. I think 10 wins are totally reasonable; this is largely because I believe less in the supposed "competition" in the Coastal than I believe in our alleged new-look offense. Miami and Duke have had major injury issues and I don't believe nearly enough in UNC's defense to see them taking the leap that so many project.

The Hokies can certainly stumble in some unexpected ways - as they almost always do - but I think the defense will be excellent once more and, when combined with an offense that should be at least a little more consistent, I think a division win is totally reasonable.

Final Regular Season Record: 10–2

Key Matchup: I hate to cheat and pick two, but UNC and Pitt in back-to-back games is pretty terrifying. Even without Braxton Miller, it still wouldn't surprise me if the Buckeyes get the best of us. And there's no shame in that. If the Hokies can stay focused for two HUGE Coastal games (particularly with one in the strangely haunted setting of Heinz Field), then they can head to the ACC Championship Game.

Breakout Player: Josh Stanford is my pick. He came on big time at the end of the year, and Aaron Moorehead loves the guy. He had a sneaky good year last year, and he's got more talent around him (even with a new quarterback). He should be fun to watch.

Mark Trible

Season Prediction: Beamer and his players said the right things at ACC Media Weekend. The interesting thing wasn't the answers, but the questions. There's a lot of uncertainty on the offensive side of the ball. I think the defense holds up just fine, but how can anyone just count on the offense? It's truly a wait-and-see process. Losses to Ohio State, UNC, Pittsburgh and Duke.

Final Regular Season Record: 8–4

Key Matchup: I think we'll learn a lot about this team when East Carolina rolls into town. A week after Ohio State, where will their focus be? There are more important games, but this one will give a more accurate representation of identity than the Bill & Mary or Ohio State game will.

Breakout Player: Ronny Vandyke.

Jonathan French (french60wasp)

Season Prediction: Honestly, I can't say I would be shocked if the Hokies won 11 games or 5 games this season. So much hinges on the play of the quarterback and offensive line, and both are essentially unknowns thanks to the lockdown on fall camp scrimmages. If the defense plays the way they looked in the next-to-last scrimmage of the spring and the offense is middle-of-the-road running the football without turning the ball over, the Hokies should win the Coastal Division. If we take the coaches at their word and the offense is better equipped for success, there isn't a team on the Hokies schedule that they can't beat. However, you have to expect some drop-off defensively against the run, so the offense must be better this season.

Regardless of how this season plays out, 2014 is about setting the foundation for 2015 and 2016. All the players creating a buzz (Isaiah Ford, Cam Phillips, Shai McKenzie, Marshawn Williams, the young QBs, Kendall Fuller, Brandon Facyson, Bucky Hodges, Ricky Walker, and Andrew Motuapuaka) are freshmen or sophomores. Success will be measured by how well the Hokies establish an offensive identity and how they continue to build depth to match the talent-upswing on defense, the likes of which we haven't seen since 2010.

Final Regular Season Record: 8–4

Key Matchup: Watch the Georgia Tech game. The Yellow-Jackets appear to be worse on paper this season, but their offense always presents a challenge for Foster's defense. This season, the stakes are increased because elite prospects Josh Sweat and Kevin Tolliver III will be on official visits. If you go to one game, go to the Georgia Tech game and bring your lungs.

Breakout Player: I think Deon Clarke is primed for a huge season. Clarke brings a unique combination of speed and physicality to the backer position that we have not seen since Xavier Adibi. He can jolt blockers with his gap fits at the point of attack. He has more speed than Tariq Edwards, to go with a knack for getting to the quarterback on blitzes. Expect to see Clarke coming off the edge often when Kyshoen Jarrett plays in the box. I predict that he will have close to a half-dozen sacks and will be a dynamic playmaker up front. My only worry about Clarke is his lack of experience. There will be the occasional bust on misdirection and bootlegs. His playmaking ability at the position should offset those snafus.

Mason Naumann (3rdand31)

Season Prediction: I can't remember any Hokie team having a higher ceiling and a lower floor than the 2014 squad. The defense has a few NFL-bound players in the secondary, as well as a few potential playmakers in the front-7. However, the margin of error is frighteningly thin. Just a couple of injuries would be trouble, considering how inexperienced the second-team is. Foster's speed-over-size strategy will have to produce lots of negative plays to get off the field quickly, or risk getting worn down as the games and season wear on.

The offense could turn the corner...if every position improves. That's not as absurd as it sounds though, since every position group returns either more experienced or more physically gifted players. If the QB play is merely consistent, the offense could put up decent numbers.

Tech beats Ohio State and their young QB early in the season, but the lack of depth on the DL has to bite us at some point. Playing in Pittsburgh sucks and Paul Chryst has my respect for his blocking schemes, so they get the nod for Techs lone loss.

Final Regular Season Record: 11–1

Key Matchup: Georgia Tech. Always Georgia Tech. Starting a front seven without much experience against CPJ's flexbone attack, Foster will have to work his magic to give Tech an early lead in the Coastal.

Breakout Player: Bucky Hodges. The type of player who is a matchup nightmare anywhere you line him up.

Brian Marcolini

Season Prediction: The mystery is terrifying and not being able to watch any type of "preseason" Tech football (a.k.a. scrimmages) has made the mystery grow even larger. Will this offense gel, find a solid running game for the first time in three years and have consistent passing threats? Or will it be more of the same, with uneven line play at just about every position? Think about this: Tech will start a quarterback that roughly 1% of the fan base has ever seen throw a football with their own eyes. That's pretty nerve wracking.

That being said, the schedule falls perfectly in place for them (Georgia Tech, Boston College and Miami all at home, pulling Wake Forest out of the Atlantic). Who do you look at on that schedule that will give Tech a "definite" loss? Everyone Tech plays in-conference has a major question mark, so you can really talk yourself into a final record anywhere between 7-5 and 10-1. I know it's a popular pick, but I'll go with 9-3, with losses to Ohio State, North Carolina and either Georgia Tech or East Carolina (I know that's a cop out, and I don't care).

Final Regular Season Record: 9–3

Key Matchup: Miami at home on a Thursday night. Everyone's saying that the week prior at Pitt is going to be a tough one, which I agree with. Let's say hypothetically the Hokies lose to both UNC and Pitt, giving them back-to-back conference losses going into a Thursday nighter against the 'Canes. For your reference, here are the games post-Miami: home against BC, at Duke and Wake, home against Virginia. Not exactly a murderer's row of conference games.

If the goal really is to win the Coastal, the Miami game will mean everything. Two losses in-conference is possible to come back from, but three? That's a little trickier.

Breakout Player: Tech fans are going to love Isaiah Ford this year. At the end of the day, however, doesn't it have to be Brewer? Again, we have absolutely NO IDEA what he can do, but if he completes 65% of his passes and throws less than 7 interceptions, I think he wins this category by default.

Billy Berlin (BilldozerVT)

Season Prediction: I want to believe this is the year we go back to 10-win seasons. Looking at the schedule, I feel that it is a very realistic expectation. I think this team will come out of the gates strong and pull-off the upset in Columbus. After stringing together some early wins, I see us dropping consecutive games against UNC and Pitt. With that being said, I see this team closing strong with a bowl win and getting our hopes high for a special 2015 season.

Final Regular Season Record: 10–2

Key Matchup: At Pitt. Coming off a bye week and being away on a Thursday night will tell us a lot about this team.

Breakout Player: Brandon Facyson. Technically not a 'breakout' player, given how impressive he was filling in for an injured Antone Exum. I can see opposing quarterbacks opting not to throw in the direction of a Fuller, and instead decide to contribute to Facyson's INT count.

Pierson Booher (PhillyHokie007)

Season Prediction: There are a lot of uncertainties heading into this season, be it the QB position, our RB roulette wheel, or our frighteningly thin D-line. With that being said, I feel like the coaching staff has worked their tails off to bring in a lot of playmakers who seem ready to contribute on some level this season. If these players can show the requisite maturity early on, this season has the potential to be a surprise. The schedule sets up nice: We (finally) avoid road trips to BC and Miami, meaning the furthest we travel is to Pittsburgh off a bye week.

The continued maturation of the offensive under Coach Loeffler will be scrutinized, but something to watch for is the play out of our leaner and quicker defense. Our defensive speed will bode well for the spread-based teams on our schedule, but how well will it stand up over 4 quarters against teams like BC and Pitt, who will look to beat us up at the point of attack? Given the inexperience on the roster, it wouldn't surprise me if we had a letdown game against a weaker opponent. A night game at The Horseshoe will be tough, so I can see us dropping games against OSU and one of the UNC-Pitt-Miami games.

Final Regular Season Record: 10–2

Key Matchup: Pittsburgh. Playing at Pitt is always a challenge, and coming off a bye week between games against UNC and Miami makes me nervous. Pitt has proven over the years that if we start out on our heels, they will punch us in the mouth early and often. Avoiding the bye week hangover will be crucial here.

Breakout Player: Isaiah Ford. I'm going out on a limb here, but he has the looks of a special talent that could immediately change the dynamic of our offense.

TheFifthFuller

Season Prediction: Since the beer I'm drinking only fuels my blind optimism, let's play this out: Michael Brewer emerges as an accurate, efficient passer. Our offensive linemen stop getting hurt and start grading roads. Edmunds or McKenzie or Juice Williams form a devastating one-two punch, with Coleman as the change up. Isaiah Ford, Josh Stanford and all three TEs catch 60 passes each. Nobody on the defensive line gets hurt. Ronny Vandyke actually plays this season and single handedly "Kyle Fullers" Paul Johnson's offense. Kendall Fuller and Brandon Facyson combine for 34 interceptions. Kyshoen Jarrett sends eight opponents to the Injured Reserve List. [RANDOM FRESHMAN KICKER] only misses one field goal all year. "Pride and Joy" block four field goals and six punts.

Why CAN'T we go undefeated?

Final Regular Season Record: 12–0 (If you don't think I've convinced myself this will happen, you aren't drinking enough)

Key Matchup: North Carolina, because French keeps scaring me talking about how good their quarterbacks are. Also, Duke is too banged up, Miami is worse off at QB than we are, UVA is LOL and Pitt is not an issue as long as I don't lose my Walt Harris voodoo doll.

Breakout Player: Offensively, a running back. I'm not sure which one. But probably Shai McKenzie. Or Trey or Juice. Or JC. Defensively, Ken Ekanem. He's got all the tools to be successful and he's playing under the radar next to Maddy and Dadi. Plus his Twitter handle is @Ekannibal, so he might think Smoke Mizzell is barbecue and just eat him.

Joel Smith (joelestra)

Season Prediction: This feels an awful lot like 2013. If the offense somehow surprises us and becomes a litte more effective than expected, 10 wins is easily within reach; if QB play isn't decent and we can't get a running game going again, we'll barely be bowl eligible. An elite defense keeps you in (almost) every game, so my realistic prediction would be losses to Ohio State and to 2 out of Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pitt, and Miami. An ACC Championship Game appearance will depend on others and we will not control our own destiny after that stretch.

Final Regular Season Record: 9–3

Key Matchup: Georgia Tech is my barometer for the season. If we're not playing well then and drop that one, I'm really worried about the UNC-Pitt-Miami stretch. Win convincingly and I'm searching flights for the ACC Championship Game.

Breakout Player: This is tough - I want to say Josh Stanford, who gained 9.5 yards per target in 2013 with a 58.8% catch rate and is a few less drops away from being a stud. I just don't trust our offense enough. So instead I'll go defense, where I think we'll see Ken Ekanem come onto the scene in a big way.