Virginia Tech wide receiver announces starting quarterback change for the #Hokies: https://t.co/CaQ9Xkg84I pic.twitter.com/sym8TF64xb— 247Sports (@247Sports) October 4, 2019
Turner posted on Instagram Thursday night that redshirt sophomore quarterback Hendon Hooker will record his first collegiate start on Saturday afternoon when the Hokies travel to Miami to face the Hurricanes.
"First start Saturday 2," Turner posted on Instagram Thursday night. "No need for the talkin (SIC). Go Kill!"
[Mod Edit: Embed original source.]
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Per 247 sports per Tre Turners IG
I wonder if that "Go Kill!" is a thank you to Jerry for recommending the QB change, or a "Go Get 'Em" to Hooker, or both?
Or to "Go Kill" Miami?
I hope this is true. Offense needs a kick start and maybe this will help.
Legit question... will he be allowed to throw the ball?
Also legit question: why announce this with a couple days for Miami to game plan? Wouldn't it make more sense just to roll out a new QB on the first drive?
I'm pretty sure that if they had decided to announce it that Tre Turners IG page wouldn't have been the platform.
Will Turner get reprimanded for leaking information?
Confirmed Turner benched 2 games, probably
Well he is out with an injury vs Miami, so count that as 1.
Speaking of Will Turner
How do we know it was a leak and not him being allowed to post it?
The only reason you would do this is if QP is actually the starter.........................
Well since we used 3 QBs last week and knowing our situation on offense and at QB, Miami would've been really dumb to think we'd only play Willis anyway.
"This guy only completes 50% of his passes!" -Manny Diaz
with all that game film of Hooker, they sure didn't need a whole two days to prepare for him! /s
Implementing "Operation Georgia Tech"
Can he correctly run a read option?
Has any recent VT QB?
Brenden Motley
Jerod and JJ could at least make the correct read. JJ wasn't exactly a dynamic runner, but he could at least make the correct read.
In all seriousness, I watched the replay of the first half of the Duke game on YouTube, and I've never seen a quarterback do the exact opposite of what he should do on a read option as often as Willis. It's almost like he's doing it on purpose. Whatever he thinks is the correct read, he needs to train himself to go with the other read.
Me trying to run the option on Madden
This is one of my favorite Seinfeld scenes of all time:
I used to really struggle making the correct read on these in NCAA 14 until someone taught me a trick. Trey Edmunds was our RB around the time that game came out and my friend told me, "If the defender stays put, hand it to Trey". Stay --> Trey. I still mouth those words when making my read.
I won a national Championship with Marshall against Clemson on NCAA 14 running the read option into the ground with Rakeem Cato if anyone remembers him (started against Tech in 2011 and 2013). That play was overpowered if you knew how to run it correctly.
The game makes the read option incredibly easy. It got to the point I refused to use it.
Yeah, the inverted veer was much tougher to run, so I found myself using that a lot more. The speed option was also difficult to run. There was more gray area on those plays.
I ran a speed option with a QB-WR earlier today. I really think i messed it up but my QB is so fast I just dodged the defender and ran it right up the middle. I love the option shovel pass play where the TE gets the shovel pass. But it's tough to run.
But any of the read options make that game simple. I won the national title with ODU the first year by running the read option and only throwing the the TE.
Yeah, NCAA 14 was a good game as far as physics go, but some of the gameplay was super suspect. For example, the computer throws the ball at least 70% of the time and completes like 80% of those passes. I regularly finished seasons with the number one rushing defense but dead last in passing defense. I also led the country in interceptions somehow though. The old PS2 games where impact players actually played a difference in the game were the most realistic. If the computer had an impact player at running back, they'd run him into the ground.
I hope they leave him in and don't start a rotation. I think Willis has obviously lost some confidence, but I think his injury has severely limited his throwing abilities. I hope Hooker has a successful start and kick starts something(anything) on offense.
I'm probably reading too much into this but a receiver putting this on his story gives merit to the rumors we heard that no one liked Willis.
Or he could just be trying to boost morale.
...or we've heard there is some discontent with TT. Maybe letting him announce (leak) is a way to make him feel included.
Or maybe he simply just leaked it and there is no deeper meaning for message boards posters to glean...
Nahhhhhhhh
Or Fuente is doing everything he can to keep him from entering the transfer portal....joking.....kind of.
It's probably because they "grew up together" with both being big time North Carolina prospects. I believe Tre and HH are close friends off the field. He's just happy for him.
I don't think people understand what a big deal HH's father is to the Greensboro area football recruiting scene either
I'm sure giving his son nearly zero play time until now and no opportunities to throw the ball was really helping build that relationship. Geez.
Hooker and Hooker's family cited the staff's offensive acumen as the reason why he withdrew from the portal.
Interpret that however you like.
I mean I get that. But it's hard for many other teams to have interest in you when you have zero film. I'm glad Hooker is getting a shot now after he showed so much promise in that 2017 spring game but has gotten little opportunity since then. Hope he makes the most of it.
Would love to see this on the field at some point, really would.
I know everyone wants to burn the outhouse down, but HH is a rs sophmore this year. I highly doubt there is any bad feelings about playing time.
Honestly, if the kid comes in and does a good job, it'll be a help some for 2021 in NC, where the class is a lot more robust.
I like it...can't get much worse, right?
Signs of life from Fuente. I think the offense coaches had a lot emotionally invested in Willis which made it difficult for them to bench him (especially by essentially telling Jackson last spring he wasn't going to be the incumbent starter).
Obviously this doesn't absolve their prior mistakes but at least this shows Fuente is willing to make radical changes.
I think an injury is also a factor
Exactly. Willis has a jacked up throwing shoulder. You could tell in the last game that he was having issues throwing the ball.
Apparently Hooker also has a shoulder injury to his non-throwing shoulder. I guess that's a better option, but I'd be worried about him running the ball and taking some big hits against the Miami defense.
You KNOW they are going to be aiming for that shoulder too
Wouldn't you?
There's been no confirmation from the team that this is the case. So unless the Miami coaching staff spends time reading opponents fan boards, how would they know?
Bbb...bbb...but our coaches and other teams' staff do read our message board.
That reminds me of that scene in Fever Pitch where, IIRC, Drew Barrymore's character asks Jimmy Fallon's character to talk about Spring Training. And he talks about how they go down there to scout out the team and see how they look. Then she says "oh and the coaches listen to your thoughts?" and Fallon's character says "No, well no not yet."
If that ain't TKP in a nutshell I don't know what is.
My favorite thing about that movie is that they had to change the ending because the Sox finally won the Series the season they filmed it.
My wife has often compared my Hokie fandom to jimmy Fallon's character in that movie haha.
What are you responding to?
Key word "start".
Now watch him play the first two downs and Willis will rotate in
See thats just good strategy. Would hate any one qb to get comfortable in there and start to perform well
It worked so well in the TT Glennon era
Anyone remember the 2003 Boston College game when Bryan Randall came out red hot? Then the coaches inserted Marcus Vick inexplicably killing the momentum causing us to lose. That was fun. Marcus Vick getting suspended for the entire 2004 season was the reason we won the ACC that season. You can't tell me otherwise.
I wouldn't try to tell you otherwise. I've agreed with your conclusion since it happened.
This is rubbish...Hooker too has an Injury, he's not ready in the passing game..I love the kid for next year but I just don't see him being ready at the moment..Please prove me wrong.
Willis is a more than Capable QB, he has 2700+ passing yards, this is the coaches screw ups. I don't think Willis can even transfer somewhere to have a legit shot at a full season. Screw CorFu...
After this game, if anything goes wrong we'll get a canned answer from Fuente...well "Hooker has to improve"
This is a joke, the kid is setup for failure, this is an embarrassment.
I'm seriously out...
Willis is much more injured than known to the public eye.
Is this why he always hands off in the RPO?
Right, everyone on our offense is hurt.
Apparently he has a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder that he has been playing through for some time.
If that is the case, I feel terrible for him and so should every VT fan (including those that have been cursing his name the first 1/3 of this season). Question his decision-making all you want, but when a guy's biggest fault is that he plays too hard, I'll take him on my team any day of the week. He may not be the best read-option QB (why the coaches continued to ask him to do that is another question), but that kid played his nuts off for us, and he has my respect.
The man has my respect. Very rough to watch all the booing after he showed up big for us last year.
Seeing as Willis is a RS Senior, he can not transfer. He also has at least one or more turnover accounted to his name in every game this year.
We have an incredibly small sample size, like barely existing, of Hooker as a passer, no one knows if he is "ready". We will hopefully find out Saturday. However, behind and weak O-Line and playing hurt, like you mentioned, he may indeed be set up for failure.
Exactly the reason why it's time to turn him loose now.
"This is rubbish...Hooker too has an Injury, he's not ready in the passing game."
How long does Hooker need to be around Fuente's incredibly complicated passing attack of bubble screens and fades before he's ready?
This is year three. To paraphrase Lincoln Riley, if your system isn't QB friendly, you need a new system.
Willis is butt - just the facts.
INVERTED VEER BABY LETS GOOOOO
Unfortunately, I have my doubts that Hooker will have Turner to throw too this weekend. I think his hammy injury may be nagging him quite a bit...
This is irrelevant if Corn doesn't call the game according to the talent on the field. But I'm sure we'll see the exact same offense out there.
I feel like HH actually played well in the few snaps he got against Duke aside from that bad handoff, which I'm not even sure who's fault that really was. There's no hiding that this feels like a desperate move, but at the same time Hendon Hooker at least seems to have some wiggle, maybe make some plays out of nothing. Maybe that adds a new identity to this offense.
One of his better plays, pretty impressive to get 7 yards out of this.
Just remember to stop watching immediately after you see the play in question. Otherwise, the following play will trigger PTSD.
Fuente lamenting our inability to make the unblocked hat miss while this kid sits on the bench.
May or may not be related: my cousin who used to bounce at Big Al's told me today that RW got thrown out of Tot's last week for snorting coke in the bathroom. Well done.
Why are college athletes and college kids in general so dumb? I'm not condoning snorting coke, but if you're going to do it, at least do it in the privacy of your own apartment.
Also,
Not cool to repeat hearsay about players.
Or the President...
I know, I know, but I couldn't resist. Feel free to delete. Or downvote if you have no sense of humor.
what's humorous about this? I legitimately don't get it. I'm fully aware of the Republican talking point though.
Thanks.
Political humor is always crap to me. You have to either be strongly on team blue/red to think it's funny.
For real. At least have the decency to snort your line off the inside of stripper's thigh like a civilized human being.
The GIF from this movie that I really wanted to use would probably not be "appropriate" so we'll go with ole Town Car Matt here.
Considering the nearest strip club to Blacksburg is Southern X, I would highly advise abandoning this advice. Do you want a brain-eating amoeba? Because that's how you get a brain-eating amoeba!
or a player for the U
I have no desire to snort a line off the inner thigh of a player for the U...
Where's your sense of adventure, eh?
I mean, Tots has upgraded their bathrooms over the past three or four years.
Plus, Chip isn't there any longer to creep a guy out in the bathroom.
Glad someone got it!
where the hell do you get coke in blacksburg???
. . . asking for a friend. /s
Lmfao
From Mook Reynold's "friend" or Derrius Monroe
From Avon, String or Bodie......unless your on the westside, then you have to see Prop Joe....I miss The Wire....
The same place you get
meth*meth and N,N-Dimethyltryptamine*, in my old apartment complex University Terrance of course!*EDITED*
i thought that was a DMT bust
Whoops, you're correct. Need to get my drug terminology down.
https://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/charges-filed-in-suspected-university...
UT alum in the house! That splosion happened on my 21st. Nothing like waking up from a blackout to S.W.A.T in your front yard.
That's crazy! I stayed there my sophomore year until I couldn't deal with the parking and the fact that our place was literally collapsing in on itself. That and the fact that we had such a great time there with our neighbors that I had to move to a quieter place if I wanted to have any chance to pass my classes.
I have all kinds of stories from that year, but one sticks out. We put in a maintenance request because our ceiling was leaking - it was literally saturated with natty light from the unit above us. Instead of replacing the drywall, they came in and laid down about 4 coats of kilz primer and put this awful 80's looking ceiling fan with a wide flange over the really bad area to hide it. They said they were looking into putting in fans in the common area anyway. Right... The funny thing was it wasn't even close to being centered on any portion of the ceiling. After a fine job-well-done, we tried giving our trusty contractor a little tip but instead he asked for the handle of Burnette's Vodka we had on the fridge because he was blacklisted at most ABC stores in the area.
Ahhhh, college...
That complex was complete garbage from top to bottom, but damn if it wasn't cheap. We had a pipe burst from the apartment above us every one of the 4 years I lived there. They "fixed" it exactly like you said, by covering the mold with primer. However, being so shitty was great for kids who liked to be a little raucous, not worrying about our deposit was a god send haha
Nice! Haha, no doubt about the price. Now I'm living in downtown Richmond in a place 1/3 of the size for 3X the price, so ya...
The Bottom will get after ya
My wife lived in one of the sub-level units and had mushrooms growing out of the kitchen floor in a corner where the cabinets were splitting apart.
1215 UT alum in the house. Shout out to the upstairs neighbor, Shane Graham.
Me too. Good times in UT!
Unfortunately, also heard the balcony collapse at DelRicco's party as I was walking up the sidewalk.
I remember that one. I live right past there.
Is that the place behind Kroger ?
No the place behind Kroger looks similar but is called University Place this is that random that sits in the middle of Terrace View.
And now I'm picturing a guy with the nickname University Terrance. If there isn't such a guy in Blacksburg, there should be.
Ah, good ol' UT. So many memories...that have been obliterated.
Haha, my old apartment complex as well. When was this?
2010
Found the Geed
grEeK LiFe iS aBoUT pHiLanThROpY aNd cHAriTy
(lol edit fwiw i upvoted you to offset the downvotes and also because i legitimately laughed)
Tough crowd. Clearly a joke.
I gotchu. Ditto to gobble gobble.
Kroger sells coke by the case, there's no short supply...
Nope don't start posting shit like that.
Man, I get where you are coming from. I really do. We don't want to drag a kids name through the mud. But seriously, this is also fan site.
Sometimes this place is so damn controlled that you can't speculate or question actions without considering "how it's phrased" and triggering a shit ton of people. As a newer poster you sure as hell can't post 2nd/3rd hand knowledge without someone demanding documented sources. It's so damn irritating.
He isn't claiming Willis has an injury because of a source he is claiming Willis committed a crime potentially a felony because of a former bouncer friend. So the friend wasn't there that night and didn't bounce him. That is a line that should never be crossed on here.
Agreed. Why cross the line when you can just snort it?
No. Spreading an unsubstantiated rumor about someone doing things that would result in felony charges is irritating. Remember Mook getting kicked off the team? That was for charges. Not a conviction. That's the policy.
When you're floating stuff this serious, you should be damn sure.
Really? No one is speculating over coaching changes or other trivial BS. It's dragging Willis without any verifiable source of information other than "my friend Becky's cousin knows a guy that went to high school with another guy who's cousin works at TOTs"
I agree with about 90% of your frustrations - they drive me crazy. However, I gotta (and I can't believe I'm about to say this) agree with Fireman on this one. Spurting out things to that degree as heresay is 100% across the line.
It's not that difficult, and not about not 'triggering' somebody. This is a Virginia Tech Sports Fan site. All that's relevant is that Willis might have lost the starting role this week for an issue other than on the field. It's not that 'irritating' to say "I heard Willis got into some trouble at Big Al's, and that might be contributing to him not getting the start." In fact, that's less words to type than the original comment.
Come on man, some day this kid is probably going to be applying for a desk job, or a coaching job, or some other role where a hiring manager will google his name. He doesn't need future employers knowing about some extra curricular activity he may/may not have been involved in as a college student. Just because you're a fan of the team he plays for doesn't mean you're obligated or entitled to know/share these things.
EDIT: It would have been different if he was arrested, and there was already a public record of it (like Mook), but that's not the case.
It's not about
but instead it's about one quick Google search of this guy's name leading to this thread and finding people posting secondhand shit about felonies and drug use.
Say what you will about Willis' turnovers and his inability to make the correct read, he's still a guy who, like most of us, chose to come to VT instead of other schools. He will likely be entering the job market when his football days are over and having a potential employer Google search his name (fun fact: they do) and come to this thread with all of this speculative shit on here won't do him any favors.
Ryan Willis is polite, has a firm hand shake, and is deceptively mobile.
He also politely declines candy corn from old ladies during the fall.
Because that's Satan's candy and it tastes like a melted plastic butthole.
I just laughed at that soooooo loud at my desk. I'm glad my office mate was out of the room. Would have been a tough one to explain away.
DO NOT google that
Ryan Willis likes to fish.
having a potential employer Google search his name (fun fact: they do)
Possibly an unpopular opinion but I think it's a joke that they do. Yes I realize accusations of felony drug use are not in the best light, however, it's college. Companies need to get over it. I had a job interview where the HR lady ("Hello, Ms. Lady") said they saw photos of me on Facebook from college dressed up in dumb costumes clearly drunk having a good time and it wasn't a good look. As soon as I left the interview, immediately knowing I didn't want to work there, I looked her up on Facebook, finding pictures of her hammered at parties in college. Did I care? No. Is it dumb for them to judge about that stuff? Absolutely. Hypocrisy at it's best.
Seems like there wouldn't have been a problem if you had just come up with better costumes. /s
Man, this is bad.
What is this, 6 interceptions on the year now?
Stop!!! Just. Stop.
There is no room here for rumors about possible felonious activity from players/coaches/fucking anyone based on hearsay. I know it's tempting to share it with everyone. I, too, have had juicy info that has been tempting to share in the past, but have refrained because it just isn't right and gets way too cozy with slander and libel.
You're obviously not talking about your post.
My friend is a second cousin of Whit Babcock and I hear that Fuente's agent robbed $15M from VT.
Is it robbery if VT consented?
That would be fraud
He must have been set up by a Hooker.
Must have been after I left, i didn't see anything of the sort
From what I can remember TOTS bathroom has to be one of the most public bathrooms you could possibly do drugs in.
Also one of the worsts. Where would you chop the line at? On the trough? Seems very unsanitary.
If you have developed any common sense since you made this post, you would remove the comments content.
My only concern is that HH is injured as well and he is going to take more hits when running the ball. Seems like a great way to wreck an athlete. Obviously I don't know any specifics about his injury but I just don't want to watch a player get more seriously injured when it could have been avoided.
Same. I'd much rather they start a not ready QP than a not healthy HH.
Im surprised QP didn't have a concussion from that hit he took to the head against Dook.
Line has moved another point and a half since this news broke (+14 for the Hokies).
Question why you'd start the run game QB against this defense that's holding teams to 1.5 ypc. From the previews I've read of the canes, you have to attack them through the air - they're pretty locked in on stopping the run game.
Remember when we played them in 2017? We kept a hurt a JJ in the game behind an injured offensive line and he got pummeled until the final whistle. I felt so bad for him. I'm worried we see the same thing.
When your throwing quarterback is injured and has a few too many completions to the other team you don't really have a choice.
Hooker only needs to be a passing threat. Having a running QB evens out the numbers between offensive and defensive players. Someone is going to have to account for him, which should leave a VT player either one-on-one or uncovered. Typically it would be one-on-one because you end up with two offensive linemen on a defensive tackle.
I was encouraged by how easily Hooker threw a long ball, even though it went out of bounds. He's definitely strong. I am not convinced he's got what it takes to run the passing game but I do think that with a competent plan and play-calling we can keep this game competitive or win. Miami squeaked by CMU at home. It may not sound creative but a triple-option package with Hooker, King and Mitchell would be worrisome for any defense. All three guys have wheels and two of them are pretty big. Running an H-back should give you the flexibility to be versatile wit offensive play calling. I think option plays, sweeps and opportunistic shots downfield would keep the Miami defense guessing. You only need to connect on a couple of those long shots to start affecting their morale.
There's also the possibility that the team plays harder with Hooker under center if he gives them confidence. Any player holding a block for only a fraction of a second longer could be the difference between a loss of yards and a first down.
I'm not convinced Hooker is the silver bullet but Willis has been far too inconsistent this season.
Good points and very optimistic view here. Canes coming off a bye week and Diaz is a defensive coach with a roster loaded with speed. If hooker can't burn them early on some deep/mid throws, we are in trouble.
I agree. The first offensive series will be critical and even more critical than it is in a typical game. I would love to see us take a shot deep on the first play. I guarantee the first pass will be some sore of WR screen. They should run the same screen and go that Duke burned us on. That early in the game, Miami will be expecting something short and simple to break in a new QB, and then just let Hooker bomb it.
I mean, the best case scenario is a long TD to open the game. The worst case is an incomplete pass. Interception is least likely outcome of the play, and mentally you just have to treat an INT as a 3-and-out and short punt. There is way more to gain then there is to lose.
If we are talking worst case...this is probably about as likely as an INT:
Hooker gets drilled (by a defender notorious for overrunning run plays) because the offensive line is playing screen pass and he fumbles the ball which then gets picked up and returned for a touchdown. The Miami player who scores then puts up the U sign after receiving a fake diploma and handshake from a teammate, gets the turn over chain and puts it on his previous defensive coordinator and punches him in the nuts which gets plastered all over ESPN and the interwebs. There were no flags. "You can't fault him, he played my nuts off" Foster replied after the game.
To be clear - we are in for trouble. But I'm really looking forward to watching hooker. I just want to see what he can do over a longer time span.
Please forward to Corny. Or, hire Chinballs for the weekend.
You can't install a triple option offense in a week in the middle of the season. Actually they talked about it during the Duke game and mentioned that Cutcliffe was interested in doing it last year but had to wait until the offseason to install the package.
Also we can't even run a read option properly >50% of the time and have tons of freshman OL starters. Decision making in those offenses is even faster with more reads and our mesh points would be getting blown up. I don't know what the NCAA record is for fumbles in a game, but ESPN would dig it up and we'd find out pretty fast if we tried that.
I forgot the /s after a bottle of Dark Horse last night, but I'll take your word for it.
FWIW, the line was moved to +14 at most books in the overnight on 10/2.
I am kind of ambivalent about this, Willis seems to be loss and injured, but the canes are experts at handling Hookers. And I will see myself out after that...
They caught walking out with the crabs.
I think you may be getting your degenerate Florida teams confused...
I would expect that this is strictly because of Willis' injury. I don't think HH or QP is going to be successful against this Miami D.
I just hope that they put some kind of package in to help HH be successful and not get him killed.
So....RW sits the rest of the year and gets a medical redshirt.
2020 is our year!! /s
I see Diaz stacking the box, daring us to throw, and several blitz packages. If Corn doesn't have very good hot reads and checks for Hooker, it is going to be a long, long, long afternoon. I would recommend we do what the steelers did the other night- throw some pop passes, easy crosses, bootleg throws early to have some balance and get Hooker some confidence.
My thoughts too. I just don't know if HH has the accuracy to complete the quick hitters or the skills to recognize where the blitzes are coming from. Moving him from the spot will help, but it will also limit the field to throw he has available to him.
I don't think I've ever seen our offense run a Hot-read. I don't think Corn has gotten to that Chapter yet in "Offensive Coordinating for Dummies" yet.
I see 2017 all over again here; with Diaz blitzing at-will and HH scrambling for his life most of the day. Love to be proven wrong, but I haven't seen anything from our Offensive Staff that makes me think that they have a feasible counterattack planned.
I recommend for us watching, bourbon. Copious amounts of bourbon
I'm not sure all of that would fit in the ass pocket, but I would give it the ol' college try.
Also, if you need a friend...
If you're ever down by Raleigh, you're more than welcome to share. This is only what I brought back from Kentucky
You're a brave one to invite me into your home to partake of your bourbon.
Not too often you see Jameson AND a bottle of Heaven Hill on the top shelf!
Hey! That heaven hill BiB was my unicorn of the trip. Never thought I'd get a bottle of that
As long as it isn't jet sweep motion straight into Trevon Hill's waiting arms...
You're a gentleman and a scholar - and I may be using this gif for a long time.
I will say this, I am much more interested in watching this game tomorrow because HH is playing. I want to see what he can (or can't) do.
Agreed 100%. Not sure if this is going to lead to better results, but its at least intriguing.
Whether it is injury, off-the-field stuff, turnovers, or a combination of everything; I think its time for Willis to sit. Going into this season, I was hopeful for lots of progression from him, as he really has a lot of physical tools to be a good QB. His lack of development has been a big disappointment and another one of the factors that has me seriously questioning what Fuente really brings to the table here.
He is sitting because of injury. You wait a week and get his legs under him against Rhode Island if this is your intended change. Not throw him into an away game against the #13 defense in the country. That said, hope he plays great.
Yeah. With each new piece of evidence that comes out I am convinced that QB usage this season has been dictated more by injury than strategy. Willis should have been benched earlier but HH was hurt. HH should not be thrown to the wolves against Miami but Willis is hurt.
Ditto. It doesn't change my expectations for the outcome but at least the game (i.e. 1st quarter) should be more interesting to watch.
Why would someone announce this? (not talking about posting it hear, talking about the original announcement)
Seems like horrible judgment to give your opponent any kind of prep time like this if true.
To throw them off the trail.
Manny's jaw is gonna hit the ground when he sees #12 trot out there for the first series.
I guess ...
1. They are likely preparing for us to use multiple QB's anyway.
2. Starting Hooker doesn't necessarily mean Willis won't play.
3. There isn't really enough film of Hooker to make a full game plan off of anyway is there?
Probably all true, but why give them any inkling at all about what you're really planning to do?
Do we believe this leak/announcement was intentional? Doesn't seem like Fu's style.
Maybe it's all a Jedi mind trick to manipulate the insider knowledge that 94 took with him?
I heard that Bradburn was going to start at QB. Rumor has it on the first play, he's going to deck 94 straight away. Put him on his ass, in fact.
Seriously we just just roll out with Hooker and run the single wing or straight T since our offense has done broke.
I'm honestly not sure if I'm gonna be more upset if Hooker sucks that Fuente seemingly can't develop any of these guys, or more upset if Hooker is awesome and Fuente torched the beginning of this season with Willis for nothing.
If you're hypothetically equally upset if Virginia Tech wins vs. loses, you need to reevaluate your fan emotional spectrum.
If we win this game because Hooker is great, it potentially means we threw away two games because Fuente was stubborn. Pissed over 2 losses > happy over 1 win. Maths.
I don't think a scenario in which Hooker shows out in October is mutually exclusive to Willis being the right guy to start the season. Obviously in hindsight, with the lack of improvement in Willis and the offense, it's easy to think "what could have been" if Hooker looks great, but my guess is that if Hooker looks great then the coaching staff would have definitely used these four games worth of ineptitude to put Hooker in a place to succeed.
Nobody had a problem with Willis to start the season, it was absolutely the right call based on last year. Even after the BC game I was willing to chalk it up to just a bad game for him.
Halftime of the ODU game was the point where serious consideration needed to be given to replacing him. I can understand not pulling him there but his leash needed to be very, very short at that point and it wasn't.
Halftime of Furman was where it became completely and totally inexcusable to keep rolling with him. That is a full game and a half at the very least that you can chalk up to just Fuente being stubborn.
At a bare minimum, he blew two games against Furman and ODU which should have been prime chances to get valuable reps for inexperienced depth players (and lord knows we have those). Instead we had to keep starters in because Willis continued to be so ineffective that we were sweating it out in 4Q against what should be, but what in reality is not, two inferior opponents.
I had an objection with Willis starting this year.
I - and I am sure there were others - have been on the side to get Hooker OR Patterson game experience this year so we could go into 2020 with a returning starter. Willis was only going to give us this year then we'd have a very experienced offense, with no experience at QB next year.
You think a full game of Hooker negates the loss against Duke? Do we need to be reminded that Hooker and King fumble an exchange that leads to Duke's first touchdown? Do we need to be reminded that VT's only score was a deep ball thrown by Willis? Do we need to be reminded that Duke won by 5 touchdowns?
If Hooker IS awesome it means that he was injured earlier in the season, Fu CAN develop our QB's, and we have reason to hope the rest of the season.
Or it could mean Fuente was stubbornly sticking with Willis despite better options. He did this with Paxton Lynch at Memphis, albeit during a development stage. But he has been known to stick to his guns over his career.
I thought he benched an entrenched starter in favor of unproven Lynch to the surprise of the fan base but was ultimately proven right thereby cementing his QB guru reputation?
not /s - I'm not very familiar with the situation other than what I remember hearing on here when we hired Fu.
10 - 2 baby. ACC Championship game. Here we come.
Major setback for a minor comeback.
hehehe
Then Fuente leaves us for a better job, throwing Marcus Vick-style double birds as he walks off into the sunset.
Hendon Hooker's nickname should be "The Deuce"
For any fans of the HBO show - it will make extra sense.
As long as he drops dimes instead.
It's funny because his last name is Hooker and he wears #2, and The Deuce is a show about hookers.
Not familiar with the show. I was just making a poop joke, carry on.
I figured. That's why I Pocket-splained.
Leg for the poop joke though.
*somewhere in the penalty box, hokiemacgruber26 stirs*
Well, Miami has always been a good place for Hookers.
As negative as I feel about the game tomorrow, I can envision a headline in the Miami Herald reading:
"Unknown Hooker Spoils Miami's Night"
That needs to be the headline here if we win.
"Hooker gives the Canes a night they won't soon forget."
"Canes unprepared for what Hooker does with balls in the air."
"Hooker delivers the final blow. Hokies leave satisfied while the Canes return home in shame."
"Hooker leaves Hokie fans itching for more."
Can do this all day.
With our young OL, I'm worried it will be "Entire Miami football team pounds inexperienced Hooker".
Cane's ruin Hooker's first time.
Hooker *Comes* Early For Multiple Scores
CMYBALL Hooker Best in Blacksburg
So, legit question: who's the backup?
The answer to that question tell us a lot. My bet is Willis plays some, and would be "the backup.". If he is not able to go due to injury, then you know this move is not purely performance related.
Yeah, I don't feel great about Hooker's shoulder. We've already seen him come off the field favoring it (I read it was dislocated and had to be set) and he's played like 30 seconds this year. I don't see how he can make it through the entire game, shoulders seem to be way more nagging and difficult to heal than say an ankle.
I don't know, those high ankle sprains can last all year, it seems.
A high ankle sprain is actually not really an ankle injury. It's an tear of the tissue that connects the tibia and fibula. Regular ankle injuries are much less problematic.
How was that not a roughing the passer on hill