Every year, Bruce Feldman puts together a list of the 100 best athletes in college football. The full article can be found at The Athletic (behind a paywall), but Hokies FB shared a screenshot on Instagram:
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Screenshot b/c I can't embed instagram for some reason:
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Comments
I personally would have chosen Barno as our inclusion point on this list, but I have read several things about Burmeister being a legitimately great athlete.
Their number one on this list is pretty well-justified. I don't know if you guys have seen this but... Evan Neal split jump
I think both should have been included on the list.
I am getting excited to see what Burmeister can do this year. It's the first time in a long time that we know who our starter will be and I think Burmeister knowing he's the guy will improve his confidence. He should be able to play loose and know he's not getting yanked if he makes a mistake, which will happen.
We have a ton of talent at WR and an experienced O-line. Burmeister just needs to make good decisions and hit on the easy throws consistently. He also needs to be conscious of keeping his body healthy and knowing when to lay his body on the line. I don't want to see him taking major contact to extend a drive in the first quarter against Richmond.
Do we? WR is definitely talented, albeit inexperienced. Our O-line is very much not experienced. We lost a quite a few starters/contributors from last year. Add to the equation that every team is experienced this year due to the super senior COVID year; tough to say how much the experience we have will matter given that every other team has experience as well.
That said, I agree with your first paragraph:
I think we do. Tre Turner is a proven commodity and has potential to be a NFL contributor. Tayvion Robinson is a playmaker that can work out of the slot or out wide. The buzz around Jaden Payoute makes me believe he is the real deal. Not to mention James Mitchell is a great pass catching option at TE.
Are you sure about that? Tenuta, Lecitus Smith, Tyrell Smith, Hoffman, Dzansi, Jordan. That is 6 guys that have played/started for us or Maryland in the case of Jordan. I believe this is an experienced group.
I agree and feel similar about Burmeister, but then I remember that a lot of us were saying the same thing about Hooker this time last year.
I agree. I had a great feeling about Hooker last year and I felt good about Willis before that. The biggest red flag for me in previous seasons was that Fuente never seemed fully convinced of Willis or Hooker. I feel like the fan base was always wondering why we didn't anoint these guys as the starter in fall camp. In hind sight, maybe it was because those guys weren't convincing day in and day out. Even last year it seemed like the fan base wanted Hooker but Fuente wanted Burmeister.
I've had this thought too but also wonder if its because this year we don't really have a deep QB room so I think it's much easier from a PR standpoint to say "BB is the guy he's really incredible." I mean he's really the only option we have this year so the coaches kinda have to be all in on him
He is our only choice but it is also the first time in his career he is set up for success. Thrust into action as a freshman at Oregon and then playing here recovering from COVID and then breaking his toes during the season. He had a strong finish to last year, full offseason of work, 3rd year in the program now and some weapons around him with a decent OL. He is prepared and if he stays healthy, I think he surprises a lot of folks.
We did say the same things about Hooker, and he was statistically both a better passer and runner than Burmeister.
*when warm
Biggest problem I had with Hooker was that he seemed to regress once game film showed his limitations. I am interested to see if he earns playing time, and how he performs if he does, at Tennessee.
I had read something the other day from 247 that made it seem like all four Tennessee QBs are in the running at QB, but that Joe Milton and Harrison Bailey are probably the frontrunners. Obviously, it's early, but that wouldn't be a great look for him if he ends up not getting the starting job there.
Hooker was a really solid QB for us and I wish him well. But his game was very one-dimensional. You had to scheme open passes with him off of play action for him to be most effective, and he's a one read type QB. He really struggled when he was in a drop back passing situation. He was good in the ground game but wasn't really fast enough to be a great option in the read option game and wasn't powerful enough to be consistent in the power/IVR game. Hats off to him for everything he did in the maroon and orange, but I'm not completely surprised he's not in contention for the starting job.
Yes, my only retort is that Hooker was injured or something to start last season that had to get medically cleared. The season before was his shoulder, he never really had the time to improve in the off seasons it seemed. Burmeister seems to be healthy and ready to go. So that and his play against UVA should allow for some optimism.
"I don't want to see him taking major contact to extend a drive..." THIS
Please let us have a strong running game...that centers around RB's, not a QB.
Damn, it is nice to be recognized for skills/achievements, but maybe we are sticking a target on this guy's back. Fuente has been talking him up loudly, and now he is getting more in the press. Under the radar may have been better. Congratulations to him- I am sure he is earning the praise , just worried about this dude's health for the season. We are going to need him ..
I'm okay with the attention and praise. I don't think it will impact or influence how defenses attack Burmeister so I don't necessarily agree that the added attention paints a target on him in any way. I'm sure it adds more mental pressure to him but that's a different story altogether. I think VT being in the news (particularly for something positive) is a good thing - the more we hear VT the better, IMO.
I do worry about Burmeister getting hurt this season but that is much more a function of how this offense is run than anything else. If he gets hurt it's likely because he's being used in a manner that puts him in position to get hit a lot - that has nothing to do with the praise he's getting from coaches, teammates or the media. I think the coaches are on a knife's edge a bit here - they probably need to rely on his athletic ability to make this offense work but they also need him to stay healthy for the offense to work. Damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of situation. They're going to trot him out there and ask him to do things that most QBs probably aren't asked to do (or probably can't do) and just hope that he doesn't get hurt. It is my belief that if Burmeister goes down, so does our offenses chance at being a reliable and productive unit.
I just hope "athletic freak" will translate to "successful quarterback"
I agree - I hope so too - I don't think it does very often, though *shrug emoji* but we shall see. I also hope that he stays healthy, but I'm not holding my breath on that either.
henri.browni gets it.....
Delicate balance between "protect him at all costs" and "play not to lose, rather than to win."
In my book we better ALWAYS:
