By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente certainly was thrilled with his team's performance Saturday night in its season opener against NC State and for good reasons.
Despite missing 23 players, including quarterback Hendon Hooker, and four coaches, including defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton, the Hokies dominated in every phase of the game, playing one of the best all-around games against a quality opponent in Fuente's four-plus seasons as the coach.
Tech amassed 314 yards rushing, did not turn the ball over, forced two turnovers, had six sacks, and made no glaring mistakes on special teams. All of that added up to a convincing 45-24 victory.
So what does this mean going forward?
"Oh, I don't know," Fuente laughed during Monday's weekly news conference with media members. "Each week is different, and there is no guarantee that we'll have a full complement of people coming into the next week. It was nice for us to get to do it. It was nice for us to play well. Certainly, I don't want to make too much of it. There were plenty of things that we've got to do better that plenty of people on our schedule, starting with Duke, will highlight if we don't get fixed.
"I think we're going to have to have that mentality as we go throughout this season that we've got to do our best to get everybody prepared – and that's coaches and players alike – to play multiple roles because we could find ourselves very easily in that situation as soon as this week."
Fuente expects Hooker to be available to play this Saturday against Duke. He wasn't as committed to the status of Hamilton, saying he expected to find out later in the week.
Monday's 30-minute video news conference touched on a variety of topics. Here are some takeaways:
• Tech's 314 yards rushing marked just the third time that the Hokies have eclipsed 300 yards rushing in an ACC game since joining the league and its third-most ever in an ACC game. Tech last rushed for 300 yards in an ACC game in 2010 (317 vs. NC State).
The Hokies dominated the line of scrimmage behind a big, strong, and experienced offensive line. The staff nominated center Brock Hoffman as its ACC offensive lineman of the week, and PFF placed right tackle Luke Tenuta on its offensive team of the week based on its grades after analyzing all the games played over the weekend.
The Hokies' tailbacks took advantage of the line's work and their talent. In fact, Tech's tailbacks only lost yardage on three carries the entire night.
"I think our kids executed at a high level," Fuente said. "We had them pinned down pretty well in terms of what they were doing schematically, and our kids then went out there and executed. We got the ball to the unblocked hat a couple of times and made the unblocked hat miss, which led to some pretty explosive plays. We'll have a different challenge this week. We're going to face a really good, talented defense that certainly understands their scheme and executes it at a high level.
"But our execution level last week was pretty high, and I think our kids had a good handle on it. They had been working on that scheme for two weeks. Now we've only got six days to get ready for this one, so it's a new challenge."
• Tech's staff basically played a minimal number of receivers against the Wolfpack – a move that highlights the positions lack of depth. Tré Turner, Tayvion Robinson, and Kaleb Smith all caught passes, and the staff played tight end James Mitchell some as a receiver, but a couple of receivers were out, and graduate transfer Changa Hodge did not play. Another graduate transfer, Evan Fairs, only played toward the end of the game.
So the receivers remain a work in progress.
"I think James Mitchell kind of helps us in that scenario in terms of his ability to not just play in the slot," Fuente said. "We didn't do this very much. We didn't move him outside, but he certainly can go out there and contribute, so he gives you a little more depth there – quality depth that can help you not only just get you out of a tough situation when you're short numbers, but be productive there. So he gives you a little security blanket there. We didn't have to reach too far out of our normal operation. I would like to get a few more of those guys back and up to speed and game ready so that we can shuffle those guys in and out a little more."
• Speaking of graduate transfers, the staff did get outstanding production from Khalil Herbert, Raheem Blackshear, and Justus Reed. Herbert rushed for more than 104 yards on just six carries and scored a touchdown, Blackshear rushed for 28 yards and scored a touchdown, and Reed had five tackles and two of the Hokies' six sacks.
"We've been a huge benefactor of the transfer portal," Fuente agreed when asked. "I don't know that anybody has brought in higher character kids and added more to their locker room than we have. Certainly, we talk about how they produce on the field, but I'm talking about high-end individuals that are leaders, that are doing more than just contributing on the field for our program. I couldn't be happier with how that's all worked out for Virginia Tech.
"I do think there's an element that this place may appeal sometimes to some guys that are a little bit older. I don't know that for a fact – I'm just projecting there. I can tell you this: we do our due diligence on them. There are people out there that a guy enters, and he's played a little for some school, and they just go out and try to get him. We really slow down and try and talk to people and try to get a good handle on what we're adding not just as a player, but maybe most importantly, as a person. Our staff has done a really job of vetting those young men and we have some great additions here on our team."
• Ryan Smith, Tech's cornerbacks coach was pressed into play-calling duties for the defense with defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton unavailable. In his first game at Tech, Smith dialed up a defense that allowed just 5.1 yards per play from the Wolfpack and also registered two takeaways.
