Per Ryan Bartow of 247Sports, Hokies' 2017 QB commit Hendon Hooker is working to enroll early at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech quarterback commit Hendon Hooker (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) may now enroll early, per his high school coach Steve Davis.
"I talked to his dad today and that's the plan," Davis said. "(Hooker) has to talk to his advisor to make sure he has all his credits."
Hooker was originally not going to enroll early so he could play his senior season of basketball.
That plan has now changed.
Virginia Tech's staff is pushing for Hooker to get on campus by January 13's early enrollee date so he can take part in spring ball.
The writing is seemingly on the wall for Jerod Evans to declare for the NFL draft.
Reportedly Virginia Tech is now in the picture for Malik Zaire. QB's flirtation with Wisconsin looking to be just that.— Dave Heller (@dave_heller) January 2, 2017
Comments
Losing Bucky, Isaiah, and potentially Jerod, you have to wonder realistically what type of team were going to field next year. That's a lot of talent to replace. This last year was supposed to be the "rebuilding" year but in my opinion that's going to come this year. I sincerely hope I'm wrong. 2018 could be a special year though
I think even with the success we had this year, we should anticipate this rebuild to be a couple years.
I agree, 2018 might be the year we really start to see success relative to our starting position (see: Buzzketball year 3)
We could lose a ton on D in 18. Settle, Motu, Edmunds, Edmunds, Stro and Alexander could or would be gone.
settle and the edmunds are the only ones i worry about there. interior linebackers never leave early unless theyre patrick willis which motu is not. stro is wayyyyy to small to leave early and alexander needs to develop a bit dont think he leaves early next year barring a huge year. settle and the edmunds' are definitely prototypical nfl builds
Motu is a senior next year
Yeah, I would love for them to stay but I'm not holding my breath on either Edmunds or Settle exhausting all their eligibility. I don't know anything personal, no #sauces, I just know they look, play, and move like NFL guys.
Stro and Motu would be seniors.
If Fuente is any good we'll be losing a lot of guys every year from here on out.
This is only good if we can reload instead of rebuild.
Yep... This is where it would be awesome to have loads of depth at the skill positions. We are better than we have been but we have a while to go before losing talent like this doesn't hurt us a bit the next year.
That said next year is a huge opportunity for VT football. If we can continue putting up big offensive numbers it proves what we have all thought this season and that we truly do have an offensive coaching staff to go along with the defensive. If that happens our recruiting and annual results should see monumental leaps forward.
Agreed. A strong year next year would go a very long way to helping us continue on an upward trajectory. Big 2016? Check. Players going to the NFL? Check. Still kept performing? Then Fu & Co. are the train you want to board.
So...strong D, limited O and 10 wins next year? I can live with that.
With an uncertain QB situation? Did I just fall back in time to 2008?
Pretty much...but we didn't have Fuente/Cornelion running the show then, so I choose to be bullish. Our ability to make halftime adjustments in the latter half of the year has made me a believer.
Yes the offense may take a step back relative to this past year, but I think we'll still be a lot better than the O'Cainspring and Loeffler offenses at the very least.
I'll disagree from too much adrenaline rush riding the hype train -time to just "reload" like the big boys and what I fully expect CJF and DCBF to do...
2017 might be the year we were all expecting for 2016
edit: or Fuente might work his magic, and 2017 might as good or better than 2016...
Can the defense improve? If they can turn it up one more notch, with stars gradding/declaring across the division, a serviceable offense could keep us in the mix. A more fundamentally sound game against WVU coupled with the proverbial "full offseason to prepare" is key to set the tone.
I was expecting 2016 to be better than the previous year, so if we put that expectation on 2017, that means we win 11 games next year!
Any word on Facyson leaving for the draft?
You know what, I'm looking forward to seeing a young guy take the helm if Evans decided to leave.
Yeah, if next years gonna be a rebuilding year might as well take our lumps with a young guy and have it pay off big time in the years following.
Thanks for trying to blunt the Evans blow with this well timed news! I agree we are losing a ton of talent, but i am interested ro see what a "rebuilding" year next year looks like. I agree that if Jerod stayed, we would be formidible. Its a shame to see Jerod go, but en Fuente we must trust!
Looking at our QB depth with Evans now gone, he has to come in early because it looks pretty grim right now
Farley will get a shot. Durkin could get a second shot.
Nuff said.
We'll need him.
We're going to need all hands on deck to keep next season from being another ~6 winner.
Maybe Lawson can finally be QB1 this spring.
Maybe before this news. Now I bet he will declare for the draft instead.
I WANT NO PART OF THIS. After Brewer and now Evans I am through with the one and done. Brewer (2). Get Hooker in here and develop him. Rock and Roll with JJ next year.
And fuck ND!
If Fuente wants him, so do I.
If he wants to be a Hokie then let him come and be a Hokie. If he wins the job, great. If he doesn't, we don't burn Hooker's readshirt and have a P5 level backup.
We're gonna get a JUCO/Grad Transfer QB in. We have to, so might as well be the most talented one we can find.
Facts. No matter what, we have to bring someone in.
This might be a completely stupid point on my part, but I can't help but wonder if the coaching staff would consider switching McMillian back to QB. Kid was a 4 star at the position in high school, seemed to be in Fuente's doghouse all year, lot of RB depth going forward. I'm just saying, with Devin Wilson playing two sports, Jabrill Peppers playing like 38473 different positions on a football field and now Jerod declaring for the NFL, I've seen stranger things happen...
If you had said move to TE, I think everyone would be on board!
Unless someone else comes out of the woodwork, or Holston is just an absolute monster, McMillian should be receiving the most carries again as he did this year.
Time for another offseason QB battle.
I really hope he can go through spring ball. I would like to have a battle with two guys getting ready. Never know when you will need them. Hooker looks like he has the tools, as does Jackson. Have them push each other to learn the system, and let the best man win. At least the team won't be overconfident in the off season.
USC won the Rose Bowl with a freshman QB, why not the Hokies!
Because we're not Big Ten or Pac-12 . . . oh, I see what you did there!
Alabama is 1 win away from a national championship with a freshman qb.
An 18 year old true freshman at that. And they might pull it off with a new OC one week before the NC.
The also have five star talent littered across their roster and a grown man at running back.
A GROWN fucking man. I mean look at this guy.
Damn dude is a beast .When does Bama not have a huge back
Even #4 on his own team is impressed.
Fun fact, he's their 3rd leading rusher, but as the season progressed and he held onto the ball better and got healthier, he has become an increasingly important member of their offense. He's the closer, but he's probably also their best overall option now.
Kind of a random thought, but this isnt the first time we have lost a lot of talent. These were all special players, but no one that cant be replaced. It is kind of amazing to me the rebuilding jobs Beamer did in the 2000's. It would seem like we were left with nothing sometimes and still end up in the top 10 or winning the ACC. There is a long ways to go until next season, and I think we have some definite issues, but you never know who is waiting in the wings to be the next big time player.
Having this kid enroll early is great! Getting a transfer QB provides a solid 3 QB contest with JJ in the lead. Folks, we talk about next year being a rebuilding year, did anyone forget this year was supposed to be a rebuilding year. I'm actually not worried about the QB (assuming it will be JJ with a transfer for back-up), my worry is in the WR category where we need guys to step up next to Cam now.
I'm counting 15 wide receivers on the roster plus new guys coming in. I would hope someone steps up.
Spring game should be sweet having the QB's battle it out.
We're one step closer to hearing Laaser announcing Hooker-to-Pimpleton hookups.
QB competition will be interesting. Hooker is Fuente's guy and is gonna have the whole spring. A lot of people seem to be automatically assuming JJ has the edge with one year of experience already but considering they have the same eligibility, I think Fuente is now in a situation where he is going to make a decision based more on where he thinks each guy will be 3 years from now than right this second, and my gut says that guy will be Hooker.
My guess is Fu would rather bring in a transfer and red shirt Hooker.
I've got to think JJ won over Fuente the same way that Bibbs won over Buzz early in their careers. Recruited by the previous staff but quickly starts earning praise from the new staff. Otherwise I doubt we'd have heard about him at all during fall camp.