Are the Hokies missing out?
Nobody loses in the spring football game. Sure, there might be traditional scoring or some sort of contrived points system generated to put numbers on the scoreboard, but the jersey color that “wins” the scrimmage isn’t germane. It’s a chance to showcase depth, tease the attributes of specific players or aspects on either side of the ball and, above all else, promote the program.
On Tuesday, Virginia Tech announced it doesn’t plan to have a scrimmage open to fans in Lane Stadium at the end of spring practices, which are set to conclude on or around April 17. The decision means Virginia Tech won’t be among the nine ACC schools that will have their scrimmage broadcast by the ACC Network in March and April.
In a statement, Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock cited the statewide coronavirus-related attendance restrictions that were in place at the time to hopefully ensure the health and well-being of students, fans and the community, and the challenge of trying to allocate tickets to the 1,000 fans that would’ve been permitted among primary reasons for not playing the scrimmage.
Later Tuesday afternoon, the framework for a spring scrimmage from a potential attendance standpoint changed quite a bit. Gov. Ralph Northam loosened restrictions, permitting as of April 1 up to 30% of full capacity in outdoor entertainment venues.
Lane Stadium holds 66,233 fans, which means more than 22,000 conceivably could come. Yet, given how students apparently had issues on or near Tech’s campus with staying socially distanced and properly masked during St. Patrick’s Day functions, it’s understandable if the adminis
tration, which is planning to hold on-campus graduation ceremonies in May, might be reluctant to host a big on-campus event just a month earlier open to thousands of students and fans.
It’s a difficult issue to deal with from Tech’s perspective, which is clearly interested in — and rightfully so — remaining safe and healthy, but even if no fans were permitted to come to the scrimmage, wouldn’t it seem like it should be a priority to gain television exposure on a day when nobody loses for a football team that went 5-6 last season?
Yes, the staffing logistics could be nightmarish, given what’s already a packed ACC Network slate from Virginia Tech’s campus that weekend — baseball and softball games against Georgia Tech will be picked up by the network all weekend. It just seems like shedding positive light for the biggest money-maker the athletic department has to offer — the football program — would be a can’t-miss opportunity, if nothing else for recruits to catch a glimpse of the team on TV.
Deep Thoughts
Several sources have reported Walker Kessler, a 7-foot-1 post player who entered the NCAA transfer portal after his freshman season at North Carolina, is looking to move on to Gonzaga and might also be considering Georgia, where his father, Chad Kessler, and late uncle, Alec Kessler, played in the 1980s.
Nobody could fault Kessler for wanting to head to Gonzaga, which will play this weekend in the Sweet 16 and has been ranked No. 1 all season.
One would think Virginia, which is losing 7-1 forward Jay Huff (admittedly, a very different player than Kessler), and Virginia Tech likely made overtures to Kessler. Virginia Tech coach Mike Young all but hung up a “help wanted” sign recently directed toward big men, stating that adding a post player was at the top of his offseason to-do list in his postgame video conference after the Hokies’ loss to Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
For the third consecutive NCAA Tournament, coach Leonard Hamilton has led Florida State into the second weekend. FSU, the No. 4 seed in the East Region, played in the Elite Eight in 2018, the Sweet 16 in ‘19 and will make another Sweet 16 appearance Sunday against No. 1 seed Michigan.
Getting out of a region that still includes Michigan and No. 2 seed Alabama will be a tall order, but might Hamilton finally have the team that can get him to the Final Four for the first time? There might not be a deeper team left in the tournament.