While a full comparison of the first two years of the Hamilton led Hokie Defense isn't the easiest thing in the world to make, there are certainly more than a few items of note that should give fans of Virginia Tech some optimism.
Through the first two games of 2020, the new DC's group was certainly not the defense VT fans were accustomed to: 27.5 ppg allowed, 139 rushing ypg allowed, 264 passing ypg allowed, 2 turnovers caused, a tenacious 6.5 sacks per game, but only 3 more TFL per game (indicating a lack of push into the backfield on rushes and screen passes)
Does 2021 show any improvement?
Why, yes. Yes, it does.
In the opening two games of the 2021 campaign, Hamilton's side has limited opponents to 12 ppg, 106 rushing yards per game, 245.5 passing yards per game, 4 turnovers caused, a reduction to 4.5 sacks per game, but 4.75 additional TFL per game, showing this unit is better at getting upfield and bringing the ball carriers down in the backfield.
You might be thinking, well, the 2020 team had to go up against conference foes in their outings, while the 2021 squad had a G5 opponent to soften the schedule. Well, to use a slightly lesser acceptable quote from Lee Corso, "NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND." Looking at the end of year F+ rating from FootballOutsiders for 2020 as well as the current standings, the 2021 Middle Tennessee team is only about 5 spots behind the 2020 Duke team, while the 2021 UNC team is currently about 30 spots ahead of the 2020 NC State team. Granted, it's not even fully mid-September, but it appears that the 2021 Hokies defense has put up the better numbers against better aggregate opponents than the 2020 defense.
We will see if this trend continues into week 3. In 2020, the Hokies got rocked to the tune of 56 points to a UNC team that finished the year in 15th in the F+ rankings. The 2021 version will be going into enemy territory for the first time to face a WVU side that, as of this writing (only week 0-1 was in the rankings), sits 65th after losing a tough fight at Maryland (although they did rebound this week annihilating Long Island University (Bishop Sycamore HS) by a 66-0 margin).
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