2017 RB Jalen Holston Ready to Fill a Need for the Hokies as a "Home-Run Back"

2017 RB Jalen Holston of Stockbridge (Ga.) may be a few months away from joining the Hokies, but it seems his explosiveness has the coaching staff itching to get him on board already.

Holston's Dec. 8 commitment comes at a time of extreme uncertainty for the team's stable of running backs, and as the first running back Justin Fuente's signed since arriving in Blacksburg, he feels that the coaches are very ready to see how he might fit in the offense.

"Basically, they see me as a home-run touchdown threat," Holston told The Key Play. "When I get the ball, they want me to score. And they want me to make a difference in the passing game, they want me to get in there and be the home-run back for them."

That sort of explosiveness was sorely lacking among Tech's running backs in 2016, and there's no guarantee that Fuente will trust one of the players currently on the roster as the lead back next season.

After all, 2015 breakout star Travon McMillian earned just 13 carries in the team's last three games, while Shai McKenzie hasn't touched the ball since early October. Marshawn Williams is facing the possibility of yet another lost season after yet another knee injury, while Deshawn McClease has spent the year sidelined with an upper extremity injury of his own.

With Sam Rogers graduating, D.J. Reid, Steven Peoples, and Coleman Fox are the only other runners left on the roster, and it seems highly unlikely that they'll ever become feature backs for the Hokies.

That leaves Holston in prime position to step in and impress as a true freshman, and he seems well aware of that fact. But, for now, he's taking things slow.

"They think I can make a very good impact, but I'm going to have to earn the job when I come up there," Holston said.

But Holston chose the Hokies for more than just the chance for early playing time. He's visited Blacksburg several times over the course of the year, most recently taking his official visit for the team's big win against UVA, and he ended up feeling exceedingly comfortable with Southwest Virginia.

"It was the right situation for me, the right place for me," Holston said. "It was home."

He said he ended up deciding on Tech for sure the week after his official, and gave the Hokies the news by calling up Fuente and RBs coach Zohn Burden.

"They were very excited, they said it was the best news they'd received all day," Holston said.

The only bit of bad news Holston had for the Hokies was that he wouldn't be able to enroll early, as he'd originally planned. He wasn't able to land one of the classes he needed to take to graduate early, so he won't be joining Tech until July.

Luckily for Holston, Fuente and Burden didn't seem too worried about that development.

"I talked to Coach Burden and Coach Fuente about it, and they were like, 'Don't even stress it,' it'll be fine if I come in the summer," Holston said.

But he doesn't plan on losing touch with the Hokies in between then and now. He's already planning a trip for the spring game, and he expects that won't be his only return to Blacksburg before he joins the team.

"I'll be there a couple times before July 8," Holston said.