Tech Tidbits: Anyone Out There Want to Play WR or RG? Anyone?

We're running out of days left before it's officially WEST VIRGINIA WEEK, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm feeling a weird sense of calm before the storm.

We know the new starting QB, we've gotten through the bulk of the preseason without major injuries or other off the field nonsense (I type while knocking on every bit of wood imaginable) and yet we've very nearly reached the one-week countdown to Hokies football.

That's not to say every position battle is settled just yet — otherwise, what would I write about? — just observing that things have felt pretty boring in Blacksburg recently, not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway, tidbit time.

The Hokies Still Aren't Close to Finding Enough Reliable Receivers

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone following Justin Fuente's bunch closely this offseason, but yeah, losing Isaiah Ford and Bucky Hodges in the same offseason has opened up some space on the depth chart. Who could've guessed?

Fuente says he'd ideally like eight receivers to rotate in for his high-speed, spread scheme, but he told reporters Friday that he's "not very" close to reaching that standard.

In fact, WRs coach Holmon Wiggins estimates that just four are truly ready to see the field just yet.

"We've got some guys that are on the cusp of doing some things," Wiggins said, via Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "We want that number to grow, but right now I'd be honest saying four."

Naturally, the coaches wouldn't say which four earned that distinction, but let's try puzzling it out.

Cam Phillips (obviously) and C.J. Carroll seem the likeliest candidates for the top two. But then, I'll be honest, I don't feel confident at all about the rest.

Henri Murphy and Eric Kumah both played a good bit last year, but that was mostly on special teams (and, in Murphy's case, as more of a threat in the run game than as a receiver).

Perhaps one of the freshmen the coaches have praised recently — like Hezekiah Grimsley or Sean Savoy — have stolen a spot instead? Or even Ohio State transfer James Clark? He hasn't gotten a ton of ink this offseason, but he's at least played in 15 games in his college career, and that's nothing to sneeze at when true freshmen are in the mix.

We'll find out soon enough exactly who's earned the staff's confidence (and who hasn't) but it makes for a fun guessing game in the meantime.

Some Media Love for Mook

SB Nation produced a short Twitter video on the value of nickelbacks recently, and it's worth a watch, if for no other reason than it uses Tech's very own Mook Reynolds as an example of the value of the position these days.

Being a nickelback used to mean being the fifth-best defensive back.Now it can mean being a Heisman finalist. pic.twitter.com/wMs3gguvUZ— SB Nation (@SBNation) August 24, 2017

Our film reviewers have written ad nauseum about how Bud Foster has changed the way he uses the whip linebacker position to keep up with changing offenses, and you need to look no further than the above video for evidence of that change — would a guy like Cody Grimm ever been grouped in with other nickelbacks before?

Reporters even asked Mook Friday about how he sees his role in the defense compared to Grimm's back in the day, and his answer is worth highlighting.

"I joked with him and said, 'You were 'The Slice King,'" Reynolds said, via Andy Bitter of the Roanoke Times. "That's a play we've got. It's a blitz. If you watch his highlights, he's blitzing on that same play nine out of 10 times, so I think more now it's more of a coverage position. It can allow you to blitz because it throws off the timing and they don't assume that I would blitz in a lot of cases, so I feel like it throws them off."

Nothing especially new there if you've been reading TKP for a while, but worth flagging all the same. The whip position has undergone a massive evolution in even just the last few years, and Mook is certainly emblematic of that shift.

Someone Will Probably Start at Right Guard

But as for who, it seems the team either doesn't have an answer or isn't interested in telling anyone.

Fuente said that not a single one of the trio of Braxton Pfaff, Kyle Chung and Parker Osterloh has stood out as "leaps and bounds" ahead of the others, but he says he trusts all three just the same.

I suppose that's good, as is the news from Vance Vice that Tyrell Smith has consistently held down the right tackle spot, even despite some bumps and bruises in camp.

It doesn't hurt my feelings to hear that there's only one spot truly up for grabs, considering the Hokies lost the entirety of the right side of the line in the offseason. But, as I've written here before, this particular trio has never inspired all that much confidence from the coaches (and that includes two different staffs now).

I'm not saying it's anything to be worried about with a week left until West Virginia, but I know I'd feel better if Vice had a definitive answer for us, or at least something close.

But enough fretting. Tim Settle is on the dang Piesman watchlist, and it's the weekend. Enjoy yourselves.