Question Two: The Quarterbacks

From Beer Control Offense,

"Are you concerned about the lack of depth of quarterback? How many significant snaps do you think VT's back up quarterback will get?"

EhhTee responds:

Beer Control Offense,

Kreese: Sweep the leg.
Johnny: ...
Kreese: Do you have a problem with that?
Johnny: No, Sensei.
Kreese: No mercy.

To totally teen out for a bit, OMG YES! Let's put it this way: Taylor's injury prone. His ankle has been a real problem and if the strength coaches don't work on getting it stronger, we have Ju-Ju Clayton, Jeff Beyer, and Marcus Davis all of whom have never seen a snap in line to relieve him. Put another way, the entire season very well may rest upon on one ankle. If the ankle survives, we'll do well, if not extremely well. If it doesn't, well no JC Penny “black” belt for you, SuperFan.

Where's The Ice responds:

It centers around a rushing quarterback who has improved his throwing game, but has not demonstrated consistency in execution. A quarterback rushing offense may get you some headway in a majority of your ACC contests, but you can't build an offense around that strategy. Sean Glennon is gone, so we don't have an experienced, consistent thrower to add into the mix. And to more pointedly address the question, we don't have a backup with any experience, Tyrod Taylor has been injured for at least one game in each of the seasons he's played, and albeit a superb athlete Taylor hasn't demonstrated to me as a fan that he has a firm grasp of his position. As a rising Junior, he knows he has a lot to prove in the eyes of a potential NFL career, and this may well be the season that his maturity comes into form. He has a good core of up and coming receivers and tight ends. He has at least two solid running backs returning. The offensive line will be a question, and that's the biggest problem because he won't have an abundance of opportunity to develop the pocket passing aspect of this game. Is all of this adversity something he and the Hokies can overcome? Absolutely, and if they do overcome it, I'll have to revise my answer to question 1!

MadJay responds:

Unlike many, I am not concerned about back-up quarterback. JuJu Clayton by all accounts is more than serviceable at QB. He will surprise some of you and he will likely be needed in a game or two this year given Taylor's propensity for taking some hard hits. Clayton's not going to win a game by himself back there as a redshirt freshman, and you can never tell until they are in the fire, but he looks to have the skills and poise necessary to keep from losing a game all by himself as well.