Potential power of transfers
U.Va., Virginia Tech newcomers destined to have an impact in Cup
Searching for a place over the summer to play football, Ra’Shaun Henry felt like Charlottesville was the right place after video conferences with Virginia coaches and players.
There was no opportunity during the pandemic to visit campuses, so in many ways, it was a journey into the unknown for the Killeen, Texas, native who graduated from St. Francis, a Football Championship Subdivision program in Pennsylvania. But Henry wasn’t alone.
Going into tonight’s Virginia-Vir
ginia Tech rivalry game in Blacksburg, there are more players on the two-deep depth chart for both schools who have had to gain a quick education on the Commonwealth Cup rivalry than likely ever before.
U.Va. (5-4, 4-4 ACC), which is seeking to start a winning streak of its own in the matchup after snapping a 15-game skid last season, has seven players on its two-deep who were playing elsewhere last fall.
Tech has six such players, but that’s not including the five other first- or second-team players who transferred after starting their college careers elsewhere and either playing last season for the Hokies or sitting out per NCAA transfer rules. That group includes starting center Brock Hoffman from Coastal Carolina, No. 2 quarterback Braxton Burmeister from
Oregon, and starting defensive tackle DaShawn Crawford and backup defensive end Amare Barno from junior colleges.
After finishing last season with 90 catches for 1,118 yards and nine touchdowns for St. Francis, Henry hasn’t had nearly the same sort of success with Virginia, where he has six catches for 200 yards and four touchdowns. Still, he doesn’t seem to have many regrets.
“It was crazy,” Henry said regarding the video conferences. “I felt like I was part of a family I’d never been a part of.”
Henry is a senior, as are U.Va. starting tight end Tony Poljan, who transferred this year from Central Michigan, co-No. 1 running back Shane Simpson, who transferred from Towson, and starting defensive end Adeeb Atariwa and backup free safety D’Angelo Amos, who both transferred in August from James Madison.
Virginia Tech (4-6, 4-5) welcomed incoming seniors this year in the form of starting running back Khalil Herbert and backup receiver Evan Fairs from Kansas, backup receiver Changa Hodge from Villanova, starting defensive end Justus Reed from Youngstown State and starting strong safety Devin Taylor from Illinois State.
The beauty of the situation for those seniors is that this might not be the only Virginia-Virginia Tech game for many of them. The NCAA isn’t counting this season against eligibility for any players as a response to complications created by the coronavirus pandemic.
Reed has already said he won’t be back, but Henry and Hodge are among players who have said they haven’t decided what they’ll do after this season.
Junior running back Ronnie Walker and junior receiver Keytaon Thompson are among players who will have two more seasons of available eligibility for U.Va. after gaining immediate eligibility this season. Hoffman, No. 2 running back Raheem Blackshear from Rutgers, Barno and cornerback Brion Murray, who has already played two seasons for Tech after being a junior-college transfer, all have two more seasons available at Tech.
Herbert’s stay in Blacksburg is almost certain to be brief. He arrived at Tech after playing primarily a backup role at Kansas, but he’s likely put himself on NFL draft boards for several teams by running for 1,020 yards and seven touchdowns this season, while averaging 7.6 yards per carry (second in the nation among players with more than 67 carries).
“That’s kind of why I came (to Tech) in the beginning,” Herbert said of his chance to get significant playing time. “When I got (to Tech), I felt like it was the place for me to be. Things just panned out better than I could have imagined.”
Like Henry at U.Va., Hodge has had a tough time making an immediate impact at Tech after putting up prolific numbers at his previous stop. Hodge had 65 catches for 1,118 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for Villanova, but after dealing with the coronavirus early in the season, he has just two catches for 14 yards in eight games this season.
“It’s been adversity, trying to learn a new offense coming in straight to camp and going through COVID and being set back by other things,” Hodge said. “So, it’s been a process and something that I was able to handle, but I just have to be patient to handle it.”
A sense of urgency inspired the decision-making process for players from FCS schools that decided not to play football this fall. Many of the players had to make decisions having never seen Virginia’s or Virginia Tech’s campus, but Atariwa and Amos at least had some familiarity with U.Va. after playing in the same state at JMU.
“As soon as I decided to enter the graduate portal, I immediately hit up (Amos) and saw who he was thinking about and where he was thinking about going,” Atariwa said. “We talked a little bit about it. I knew at the end of the day it’d be an individual decision for both of us, but we both ended up thinking U.Va. would be the best opportunity for us.” more pressure than anybody in Lane Stadium, considering his job might be on the line. His buyout drops on Tuesday from $12.5 million to $10 million. After leaving last weekend’s 45-10 loss to Clemson in the third quarter because he was cold and couldn’t regulate his body temperature,
Tech quarterback Hendon Hooker was back in practice early this week. So was backup quarterback Braxton Burmeister, who left the Clemson game after suffering an undisclosed injury. If they’re ready to go, Tech will look to attack a
U.Va. secondary that was primarily responsible for surrendering 10 pass plays of 20-plus yards in last weekend’s 43-32 win against Boston College. U.Va. has given up more pass plays of 20-plus yards (51) than any other Power Five program and all but two Football Bowl Subdivision teams. U.Va. quarterback Brennan Armstrong is coming off arguably his best game, passing for 287 yards, a touchdown and interception while running 17 times for 130 yards and a touchdown against BC. Tech running back Khalil Herbert and the Hokies’ offensive line will face one of the better run-stopping units they’ve seen all season (U.Va. is giving up 125.9 rushing yards per game, the fourth-lowest average in the ACC.) Both Tech and U.Va. have been adept pass-rushers, with both teams amassing 32 sacks (defensive end Justus Reed leads Tech with 6.5, while linebacker Matt Gahm is U.Va.’s active leader with four).
The pick: U.Va. 31-27.