The Virginia Tech Hokies wrap up their final spring football workouts this week, culminating with the annual spring football game on April 22nd in Blacksburg.
Among the many questions that Justin Fuente and his staff had to answer this spring, the wide receiving corps and their development was right at the top. The Hokies will head into the fall coping with the loss of their all-time leading receiver Isaiah Ford and 6’7″ freak athlete Bucky Hodges, as the duo has moved on to the NFL.
Cam Phillips remains and will be the number one receiver this upcoming season for the Hokies. Phillips is a four-year starter at the position, and is primed for a big year in his final season of collegiate eligibility. C.J. Carroll will figure into the mix heavily once again in the slot, although he has been out this spring due to offseason surgery to repair an undisclosed injury.
With plenty of spots available and a number of young, unproven players at wide receiver, this spring has served as a benchmark to determine who will have the inside track to playing time this fall.
There has not been much in the way of open media access to the practices thus far, as the coaching staff prefers to keep team matters close to the vest. With that being said, a few players that have been mentioned as guys making good strides include redshirt-freshman Sam Denmark, sophomore Eric Kumah, and redshirt-freshman Phil Patterson. In addition to these three young guys who could make an impact this season, the Hokies recently landed James Clark, a graduate transfer from Ohio State, who should find some playing time in the fall as well.
I discuss the prospects of the wide receiver position with Mark Rogers in the video below, getting into everything we know based off of the spring practices that have taken place thus far. I also handicap the competition as best as I can heading into the spring game.
I encourage you all to follow Mark Rogers on Twitter here, and to also check out his YouTube page here. Mark does an excellent job covering all aspects of college football, while hosting numerous bloggers and other media members across all conferences from the best outlets around the landscape.
