Virginia Tech Spring Football: Hokies Offensive Line Chief Concern for Beamer Co.

Replacing long-term starters is a fact of life that football programs are tasked with every offseason.

The compounded problem of losing continuity at key positions and the emotional toll of moving forward without team leaders is replaced by a quick turnaround in which difficult personnel decisions must be made and new faces are forced into action.

For the Virginia Tech football team, the graduation of three starters on the offensive line nearly clears the board of a unit that already had its pass protection issues in 2014. Virginia Tech allowed 2.62 sacks per game (third-highest in the ACC), and the offensive line is partially responsible for that shortcoming.

"Half of the sacks last year, in my opinion, were on the line, and the other half were on the quarterback or the skill guys," Hokies offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler said in a pre-spring interview with HokieSports.com "A lot of people don't get that a wide receiver not running a route properly or not creating the proper space can cause those sacks. A sack is an offensive negative, but not necessarily an offensive line negative. At times, the offensive line did better at some things than the previous year, but we need to reduce the mistakes. We need to become consistent and play better, just like the quarterback position needs to play better.

Left tackle Laurence Gibson, a projected seventh-round pick by CBSSports.com, is joined in departure by center David Wang and right guard Caleb Farris.

In a depth chart released today, Jonathan McLaughlin will move full-time to left tackle, with second-year veteran Wade Hansen at right tackle, Eric Gallo at center and Wyatt Teller and Augie Conte at the guard spots.

Fifth-year senior Darius Redman — a notable switch from tight end — is listed behind McLaughlin at left tackle.

The rebuilding of the offensive line is the 29th-year head coach's top item on the agenda this spring and going forward.

"As far as spring, our primary concern is getting our offensive line together," said Frank Beamer. "We have to have some young guys not play like they're young guys."

Gallo is the least-experienced member of Tech's first-team offensive line. The Richboro, Pennsylvania, native appeared on just 14 plays in relief last season. At six-foot-two and 298 pounds, Gallo's measurements compare nearly identically to his predecessors, Wang and Farris.

Tyrell Smith and Andrew Moras are listed as the two and three behind Gallo — neither having any game experience.

Smith, a class-of-2014 commit, spent the fall at Cushing Academy before enrolling in January.

"We have a couple of new guys at center," Beamer said. "We feel great about them in terms of their athletic ability."

For many positions, spring is about establishing depth, but many young offensive linemen not listed with the first team have opportunities to emerge and claim non-concrete spots.

Redshirt sophomore Parker Osterloh is a six-foot-eight, 327-pound tackle listed behind Hansen at right tackle.

Beamer Co. will also get their first on-field look at Austin Clark — a four-star, class-of-2015 early enrollee who didn't appear to be starry-eyed or fazed by the competition of the next level during his first practice.

Augie Conte and Wyatt Teller, who started 10 and 6 games respectively last season, have taken the reins of a mostly inexperienced unit.

"Experience means a lot on the offensive line and we just don't totally have it," Beamer said. "But guys like Teller and Conte are great leaders and they have that toughness that you like and I see our offensive line going more in that direction."

The on-field effort exemplified by Teller and Conte is matched, if not exceeded, by their determination in the weight room.

"Augie Conte and Wyatt Teller are just stellar as far as what we do in strength and conditioning," said associate athletics director for athletic performance Mike Gentry. "They're off the charts and they set the level of personal training a little bit higher for the rest of the line."

Conte and Teller scored two of the five highest bench press maxes this offseason, 440 and 430 pounds, respectively.

A notable scratch for the spring is center Kyle Chung, who underwent his second shoulder surgery in January after finishing the season as the second-team's right guard, behind Farris.

Redshirt junior Jack Willenbrock will also miss spring practice after failing to appear in a single game in 2014 and being sidelined with a foot injury.

To help boost an offense that ranked 96th in scoring offense in 2014 (24.1 ppg) and 100th in 2013 (22.5 ppg), the offensive line must develop into a cohesive unit despite the fresh faces.

"The offensive line is such a critical deal," Beamer said. "I really like the people we have. We want to get more toughness in there and I think we're well on the way to doing that. It'll be interesting to see how they develop."