The start of the 2020 football season is under three months away, with Virginia Tech set to host Liberty on September 5th at Lane Stadium. One of the signs of preseason swinging into full gear is the arrival of early ranking predictions and conference teams from the various outlets. Athlon led the way this past week debuting their annual preseason content - and the Hokies were well regarded.
First, the national preseason top 25 rankings. Virginia Tech came in at 24th on Athlon’s list, noting that the Hokies are returning 19 starters and several of last year’s losses were by close margins. The biggest question will likely come in defense, where Justin Hamilton takes over after Bud Foster’s retirement at the end of last season. Week two will offer a big test, and a potential ESPN College Gameday destination, as Tech hosts Penn State (Athlon predicts them as the #5 team in the preseason rankings) on September 12th.
On the individual player level, the Hokies topped the Coastal Division in selections to the All-ACC teams with 13, just one behind the overall leader Clemson (14). Here is a rundown of the Virginia Tech players and their respective placement:
First-Team
- Christian Darrisaw (OL)
- Rayshard Ashby (CB)
- Caleb Farley (CB)
- Oscar Bradburn (P)
- Tayvion Robinson (PR)
Second-Team
- Lecitus Smith (OL)
- Jermaine Waller (CB)
Third-Team
- Tre Turner (WR)
Fourth-Team
- James Mitchell (TE)
- DaShawn Crawford (DL)
- Dax Hollifield (LB)
- Chamarri Conner (DB)
- Brian Johnson (K)
A well rounded representation for the Hokies with four players on offense, six on defense, and three on special teams. Tech’s reliance on youth last year should begin to pay dividends this season and the team should once again be a strong contender to win the ACC Coastal Division.