Film Review: Virginia Tech's Offensive Line Shows Progress and Promise in Spring Game

The biggest question mark Virginia Tech football faced this spring was development of its offensive line. Plagued by penalties, poor footwork, and a lack of depth in 2022, the offensive line's poor play hampered the Hokies' undermanned offense to develop much of any identity. Spring practice saw the entry of a laundry list of new transfers at offensive skill positions: quarterback Kyron Drones, running back Bhayshul Tuten, and receivers Ali Jennings and Jaylin Lane. However, outside of a handful of incoming true freshmen, Tech relied on the same players who struggled so mightily last season to take a big step forward this spring.

Enter offensive line coach Ron Crook. Crook, a veteran coaching vagabond who worked with the Cincinnati Bearcats offensive line during their 2021 run to the college football playoff, was tasked with improving the fundamentals and cleaning up mistakes. Crook's challenge was exacerbated by former offensive line coach Joe Rudolph's late departure from the program, as Crook joined the program a couple of weeks before spring practice started. Despite those challenges, the first review of the spring game film showed Crook has already made remarkable progress. There were no procedural penalties by prospective starters, and several players demonstrated significantly better footwork, technique, and effort than last season.