The Hokies have won 19 games in Fuente’s first two years, but have two losses apiece to both Georgia Tech and Clemson. The advent of Miami in the Coastal Division won’t make things any easier in 2018, either.
MORE: SN way-too-early top 25
Despite Virginia Tech’s success in 2016 and ‘17, it will need to see improvement on offense and overcome several key losses on defense if it wants to finally clear that hurdle. The Hokies, fell back to 17th in Sporting News’ updated way-too-early top 25, will see how far they can go in the season-opener against Florida State in Tallahassee.
Here’s what to look for from the Hokies in 2018:
Virginia Tech football schedule 2018
Virginia Tech football recruiting 2018
The Hokies’ 2018 class ranked 24th nationally and fifth in the ACC, according to 247Sports’ Composite team rankings, the second straight year of improvement under Fuente. Virginia Tech got nine early enrollees in the Class of 2018, including three-star offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw, the country’s No. 1 overall prep school player. Four-star linebacker Dax Hollifield, the No. 151 overall player and No. 8 inside linebacker, headlines the class and could immediately compete to start.
MORE: ACC offseason primer
Virginia Tech football roster 2018
The Virginia Tech football roster will be updated in the spring and fall here.
What to watch in 2018:
- What position will Caleb Farley play?
Hokies everywhere were disappointed last season when Farley, a versatile player who expected to play at receiver last year, tore his ACL, causing him to miss the entire season. But Farley should be ready to go for 2018, with a caveat: He might not play at receiver. The Hokies saw three starters depart from the secondary, meaning a move to defense isn’t out of the question for the former three-star athlete, whom many projected would play on defense out of high school. Either way, expect to see a lot of him on the field in 2018.
- Will offense finally take off under Justin Fuente?
Fuente’s arrival in 2016 came with the promise of the same offensive success he saw as offensive coordinator at TCU and head coach at Memphis, both of which enjoyed top-20 offenses in his system. But Fuente’s offense at Virginia Tech has been good — not great — and fell off in the 2017 season. Year 3 seems a good time for the offense to take off; he has had three recruiting cycles to bring in his style of players, and quarterback Josh Jackson has a year of experience underneath his belt. The Hokies also play only one team with a top-25 defense from 2017: No. 19 Florida State, in the season-opener.
- Who will replace key defensive starters lost to NFL Draft?
Virginia Tech lost a total of six starters from its linebacker corps and secondary. That’s a lot of talent to replace, but Tech can ease those losses with its latest recruiting class, which includes Hollifield and fellow linebackers Alan Tisdale and Keshon Artis. JUCO transfer Jeremy Webb, the No. 2 cornerback to come out of junior college, also has a good shot at breaking into the starting lineup in the secondary.
