I read a shitload of preseason articles today while riding across beautiful ole Virginny and officially got on the hypetrain for this season. I made one of these last year and posted it as a comment in a thread that I ended up returning to frequently as we got closer to the season. This year I thought it would be fun to post as it's own thread to use as a catch-all for preseason non-sense and wild O&M glasses content as we head into the '23 season.
I'll probably bump this thread periodically with silly memes and photoshops related to the Hokies and our opponents. Please add your own or other's silly shit or hype videos so we can all ride this wave to Labor Day Weekend.
Gobble Gobble Y'all
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Let's Go!!!
40 days seems unreal. How the hell July is that close to football season is crazy. If you point me to a calendar, just stfu.
If anyone is interested, link to the 2023-2024 VT hype video. Honestly, I'm keeping my on-field expectations in check, but still ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD9iuXhMw6w
For awhile it felt like a Dax highlight reel.
Good video besides the mundane pop radio song. Just seems super soft compared to the older videos by BillDozerVT like this one:
totally agree - I hate the music for this newer video - but at the same time, we're much softer now than we were a decade ago when VT hype videos were really good so maybe it's more appropriate?
BillDozer knows how to layer music, audio, highlights, etc. For example, notice how at the 11 second moment mark, the music takes a more ominous turn, and at the same point, the video flips to behind the tunnel. Also, BillDozer kinda tells a story, going from some generic VT football stuff (stadium views, tunnel entrances, etc) to specific highlights for specific players.
The guy who made the previously posted video just found a bunch of highlights, put them into one video, and threw a 30 Seconds to Mars song in the background.
The former probably took hours and hours of work on a desktop. The latter could've been done on an iPhone on a short flight.
not to mention that I saw at least one highlight repeated in the newer film (Dax tackling a Duke RB from behind)
Thanks for posting this. So many memories and amazing athletes have come through VT. Blessed to have lived through all of these and hope there are more to come! Let's Go Hokies
Lane Stadium features heavily on the ESPN pre season advert. If you haven't seen it, check it out. Cool as hell.
I'm looking forward to thefifthfuller predicting 15-0 again.
My heart says we're going to win 7 or 8 games.
My head tells me we'll be lucky to win 6.
I can't get a good handle on the portal era yet. Should we expect a good coach to turn over a roster faster than normal by using the portal? How much time do we give Pry?
I feel okay about our defense. Our offense is still a big big concern for me. They were absolutely pathetic last year and it'll take a herculean effort just to get into the middle of the pack.
I like Pry a lot and I want him to succeed here. I'd love for him to get things back on track relatively quickly but idk how realistic that is.
I would love to get back to looking at our schedule at this time of year and saying "you know what, I don't see any reason why we can't win every single game" but I don't think we're there yet. I hope we are on the right track.
2023 is exciting for me because I'm looking forward to seeing us make progress to that end. I want Pry to be that guy to get us back to where we feel we belong. I want 2023 to be a big, visible step in that direction. I want 2023 to show us that 2024 is a going to be a helluva fun season.
Go Hokies! Get hype!
I think six wins and getting back to a bowl is a reasonable benchmark for this year. Wells should be improved and has more weapons to work with now. And if not, I definitely think he will have a much smaller margin for error with a legitimate option in Drones. If Drones can win the starting job in camp outright, I will feel really good about the QB spot. At worst, he's a high ceiling/high upside option with athleticism to extend the play. I feel really good about RB, WR, and TE, but OL is still the huge question mark on offense. On D we're a little thin at DE (Powell was an enormous pickup though) and safety, but I feel good about the experienced trio at DT (Pollard, Kendricks, Fuga), the options and potential combinations we could use at LB, and the starters we have in the secondary (Delane, Strong, Canteen as a true nickel/flex corner, Peoples and Stroman). Very excited to see some of the talented freshmen DBs and if they can work their way up the depth chart.
Still think this roster is about two years away from truly being ready to contend for an ACC title, but I think we can make a substantial improvement and show progress on the field to keep recruiting momentum rolling. I'm looking for six wins and a bowl - anything above that is outstanding and will only further my excitement about the direction of the program.
Reasonable take if none of our opponents have improved. I'm guessing some of them have, so I still think we will struggle on offense, sustaining drives, executing and/or having a good enough OL in the red zone. I see big time problems there. On defense, I don't trust us to stop the run, if a team decides that's what they are going to do- like Pitt or a smart offensive coach like Babers/Clawson. They will adjust at half time and run power if need be. I honestly don't see 6 wins unless nobody on the schedule improves.
I'm definitely chalking up Pitt as an L until proven otherwise. I see FSU, Pitt, NC State, possibly Purdue as likely losses. Wake lost Hartman and a lot of talent from last year, so don't see how they are as good or better. UVA is a rudderless ship until seen as otherwise. Louisville lost a lot and breaking in new staff. I see ODU, Rutgers, UVA, BC as all should wins, Marshall, Wake, Louisville, Syracuse as toss ups (hoping we can go 2/4 here), and FSU, Pitt, NC State, Purdue as likely losses.
I hate that ODU is now a "should win" for us... Oh how much we've fallen lol
I like our chances against Purdue more than BC honestly. I like our chances much more against Marshall than Rutgers too- Schiano can coach. And there will be 50/50 VT fans in huntington.
Marshall scares me more. Huff has recruited some good players there, they return their RB Ali who had over 1400 yards and 20 some TDs last year, and most of a very stout defense. Plus this is going to be a Super Bowl type game for them. Makes me nervous.
Yeah, I don't see Virginia tech as a super bowl game for them.... They'll be favored most likely
No doubt they could very well be favored. Even though we are down, they will still want to get their shots in on a P5 school coming into their stadium. Plus we have taken several transfers and hired a few coaches away from them in the last few years. They'll be looking to make a statement against us one way or another.
I agree with this. Each year I have to convince my self that 5 teams on our schedules playing the best game that have in years is not coincidence or us being that shitty
FSU is the only legit team on our schedule. The rest of the games I'd literally label as toss ups. Our team is full of unknowns. Essentially a brand new receiving core. Brand new running back. Potentially a brand new QB. Our secondary got some solid portal transfers. And I'm extremely interested to see the impact Stone Snyder has on the defense. I just think there are way too many question marks right now for us to be even close to having an idea of how this year will go.
With that said... 15-0 here we come.
FSU is only legit until they lose game one lol
they'll likely be stumbling into our game 2-2. But I think we'll probably be 2-3 at that point anyway so it'll be a real snoozer of a game
Yeah they have a lot of talent and are a solid team, but overall not buying into the hype on them. Think LSU hammers them honestly. Clemson still the team to beat in the ACC.
Jordan Travis is a damn good QB. In college football, that takes you a long way. I don't think we have the offense to be competitive against FSU- their defense is fast and good. We will struggle to move the ball, and Travis will make a few plays against our safeties- the weak link in our D, IMO.
Just so we're clear - I'm not saying that we shouldn't be scared of FSU or that I think we'll beat them. FSU is absolutely better than we are and I expect them to beat us pretty soundly. I also don't think they're going to be as good as they're likely to be advertised going into the LSU game. I think LSU crushes them and I think they lose to Clemson. I think after we play them we'll be 2-4 and they'll be 3-2
I could see LSU beating them, yes. But I think that will be a very close game. Should be a good one.
Why would our opponents improve, I've read here many times that players don't improve, and we won the portal so that's that! /s
Regarding your statement about the portal, I assume, based on some of the statements made on here, that turning over a roster and seeing improvement based on the portal alone, is that it depends on the positions you need. I think a couple people have pointed out that OL availability is pretty low in the portal, and there isn't as much talent. So if you need those positions, you're likely to have to recruit them and develop them, so not a fast process there.
We needed receivers desperately and we're able to pick up quite a few, but most of them don't have much eligibility, so there's a little bit of a gap between those guys and the talented freshmen we're bringing on board.
So basically, I think the takeaway, as far as I can tell is - depends on position, and also may need to fill certain position gaps via the portal for a couple years before your freshmen have developed into starters unless one or more really steps up.
I will be glad to get the BS season over with. Time to play the games.
Experts say Lane has some very nice elevators. I don't think ODU will be able to handle that kind of environment.
Lol. Everyone doing season previews of their teams, but I come to TKP for the true analysis of the elevators. They can be a pretty big obstacle for our offensive staff.
This video has 164k views and 234 very serious elevator comments. I'm baffled
I... don't know what I just watched. But I hope we lock odus coaching staff in a box for 45 minutes at halftime. On purpose. Because fuck those guys.
The 'Boo Box' perhaps?
There is a thriving YouTube community that is VERY into all things elevators. Lots of elevator review videos on there.
I mean, Aerosmith even had a popular song about it.
I remember the first time I heard the intro to that song and knew what it meant. I'd heard it 100 times while being too young to understand the innuendo.
Not sure if I am shocked at the number or the fact that you counted the very serious elevator comments.
2-3-4 are all right in line on the keyboard. It's easy to type. It's clearly hyperbole. I can't tell if you know that and are making a joke, or if you really think he counted comments
I'm on work laptop so comment view is restricted but there were 234 "thumbs up/likes" on the video.
I can clear this debate up. Was not hyperbolic, I was just a weee bit high and mistook the likes number for comments numbers. But 32 very serious elevator comments is still very high IMO
So can I dump pre-season previews here, or is this meant to be a hype thread?
Are your previews not going to hype us up? /s
Post whatever preseason stuff feels relevant. This is a catch-all with a slight hypeytrain bias.
sounds like you should start a new thread
I don't see why you couldn't. Would be nice to have a one-stop shop for all things countdown to kickoff (hype, previews, etc.) But then I'm sure we'll have a bunch more threads once camp actually starts.
When does camp actually start?
I believe sometime next week.
I see 5 wins, and if we actually hit that and we play hard I'll be ecstatic. ODU, Marshall, Rutgers, BC, UVA.
I think the D is pretty good. D-line is deeper and more talented than last year. Keli Lawson will be a first round pick in next year's draft. Dorian Strong will be a mid-round pick and Delane will go first round in 2025.
Offense is totally dependent on the line. If it improves, we could maybe get to a bowl (beat Cuse or Louisville). Definitely deeper at receiver and RB but a little shallow for pass catching TEs.
Overall we're still not very talented compared to the rest of the league. Although we don't have Clemson or ND on the schedule, it's a difficult schedule. We have no FCS teams, 2 Big 10 teams, and 2 G5 teams that had P5 wins last year. Not great OOC scheduling. In the ACC we get everybody's pick to finish 2nd in FSU and the reunification of Brennan Armstrong and Robert Annae at NC State, a team I think will make the ACCCG. Plus Pitt which always kicks our ass and now has Phil Jurkovec, Wake is excited about Mitch Griffis, I think Louisville is going to be better, and Syracuse is winnable but they play us tough and it's coming off the back of the Pitt/FSU/Wake stretch.
Ultimately, I could see us winning 8 games or winning 1 game. But either way I think we will see improvement and promise especially on defense.
Good take. I'm cautiously optimistic about the offense - not that they will be good but that they will be visibly better than last year. Quarterback has to be a slight improvement regardless. Skill positions seem improved with some potential for a couple real playmakers. Hopefully the line can stay healthy and at least be serviceable. Would really like to see if win the games we should (are there any?) and be competitive. Would be nice to beat Syracuse for once, let alone Pitt.
The kid is a physical freak, but he was borderline awful in more than 50% of his snaps last year. If he can, as Bud Foster used to say, keep his head from tying up his feet he might be All-ACC, but, and I don't think I'm going out on a limb here, he likely won't be a first round pick in next year's draft.
Lawson in the first round is my 2023 bold take. He's going into his 3rd season where you see a lot of guys take a leap. He's now in his second year under 3 really good LB coaches (Pry, Quinn, Marve) and 2nd year in the system. NFL teams will often reach on athletic freaks who maybe don't have much production but have a really high ceiling. Lawson has game changing ability and it will only take him flashing that in a couple games for him to shoot up draft boards.
This is a good bold take. He certainly has some unteachable things that will make him stand out from an NFL perspective. If he has a true breakout season he could be a very interesting prospect.
I think we beat Syracuse 62-0 for the second time, and it is the straw that breaks Dino Babers contract. :)
I like the way you think! I was at the first one in 1999, and it was glorious-as well as the birth of Gameday as it is today!
I'm for this. Happy Birthday to me if that's the case.
wait, I was told our schedule was actually easy last year even though we only won 3 games
Seriously though, I feel the same way. No result would surprise me except for an above .500 finish.
💯
b.street
Like always I'm not quite sure what bstreet means by what he posts, but this 100% easier to look at than normal
I think he is saying that odu is qualified!
She looks like the paid actress cast to star in the documentary about Eliza Dushku if Eliza Dushku attended college at ODU.
Wouldn't mind her hitting the portal...
We all knew this girl. It doesn't end well.
Yeah she looks like some one's wife that is into crystals and sell essential oils to pretty much only herself.
I do not have a follow up to this comment that follows community guidelines so I'm just going to leave it.
If you stare long enough, yuo can imagine she's saying "hit that portal"
I tried my hand at some video editing. It's a little rough around the edges, but I had fun with it.
edit: Updated with stereo sound for all you audiophiles.
you might want to check your audio track setup. Audio is only coming out of the left channel.
That's what I get for only having one earbud in during editing. Thanks for the heads up, I'll fix it this weekend.
Old school mono mix.
This is awesome! Send it to Pry, he'll love it!
It's starting to hit me. There's less than 17 days to kickoff.
I downloaded my tickets this morning!
Those uniforms were 🔥🔥🔥
TWO WEEKS!!! JUST TWO FRIGGIN WEEKS!!
LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Happy Last Saturday Without Football
More fuel for the hype train:
Kind of bummed out today....woke up thinking it was game week....
At least there are games this week! Notre Dame and Navy, go America! Boo Notre Lame!
Is Navy going to stay a triple option team? Will they go air raid?
Supposedly Navy is sticking with it this year, but Army is going another route.
Navy otw to beat Notre Dame in Dublin
would be pretty badass if the Navy football team took an aircraft carrier to get to the game and practiced on the deck during the week. Would cost millions more then a plane, but chalk it up to marketing.
Uhhhh coach? The ball flew off the side of the deck on that pitch.
Damnit Alvarez 🤦🏻♂️
Coach, "What's your excuse for not going after it?"
Wide receiver, "Sir, it's an 80 foot drop to the ocean! And there are sharks out there!"
I had hoped this as well.
Dang, game was SO lopsided. Oof
Aaaaand I'm gonna miss the game. My daughter has her admissions tour at VT.
Good gif, but this is one of my least favorite episodes
Two and a half long hours
Courtesy of HokiesFB social medias.
It's game week y'all and I can already feel my productivity plummeting.
I would like to return everyone's attention to the fact that Virginia Tech football returns in a little over 24hrs.
YES!!! Enough of all the ACC expansion talk. Time for FOOTBALL!!!
Happy Game Day Eve, to all who celebrate.