The Hokies were scheduled to have a scrimmage yesterday - and for a given definition of the term, they did - but it was very limited because there simply aren't a lot of healthy bodies available right now.
With over a dozen players out due to positive tests for the novel coronavirus (or contact tracing related to that with roommates, etc.), the staff doesn't want to risk being full-go with a very limited roster available. Add in the typical short-term bumps and bruises that you deal with during fall camp - and an extended "game week" with the NC State game pushed back - and there's just no need to risk things.
In terms of individual performances, keep in mind that (with fall camp closed to outsiders for obvious reasons) we'll only hear what those inside the program want us to hear, even if a "full" "box score" is released - quotation marks very much intentional and meaningful there - after a couple days. That said: Raheem Blackshear is the real deal, and has No. 1 RB talent... the issue, as much as you can call it one, is that he's so good at other parts of the game that there's almost a sense of guilt in making him the tailback, when other players can perform close to his level carrying the ball (but not replicate what he provides in other phases of the game).
I have been told that there was a scary-looking injury to an offensive skill player - not Blackshear or Khalil Herbert - but it remains to be seen exactly how significant it is. I've been told it could impact the quality of the 2020 team, but obviously a younger guy missing the season (when his eligibility will be frozen due to the coronavirus decision by the NCAA anyway) stinks for the kid, but it's not the end of the world, either.
Hendon Hooker hasn't done anything to lose his starting quarterback position, but there is a sense that a guy who's a bigger risk-taker could add some ceiling to this offense (my take - not what I've been told - is that they went with that philosophy to start last season, and it cost them a few games because Ryan Willis's risks weren't worth the positives gleaned from his risk-taking).
Will continue touching base to get more, but as I said at the top, sounds like it wasn't as formalized a scrimmage as you'd expect in other preseasons because of the personnel limitations.
With over a dozen players out due to positive tests for the novel coronavirus (or contact tracing related to that with roommates, etc.), the staff doesn't want to risk being full-go with a very limited roster available. Add in the typical short-term bumps and bruises that you deal with during fall camp - and an extended "game week" with the NC State game pushed back - and there's just no need to risk things.
In terms of individual performances, keep in mind that (with fall camp closed to outsiders for obvious reasons) we'll only hear what those inside the program want us to hear, even if a "full" "box score" is released - quotation marks very much intentional and meaningful there - after a couple days. That said: Raheem Blackshear is the real deal, and has No. 1 RB talent... the issue, as much as you can call it one, is that he's so good at other parts of the game that there's almost a sense of guilt in making him the tailback, when other players can perform close to his level carrying the ball (but not replicate what he provides in other phases of the game).
I have been told that there was a scary-looking injury to an offensive skill player - not Blackshear or Khalil Herbert - but it remains to be seen exactly how significant it is. I've been told it could impact the quality of the 2020 team, but obviously a younger guy missing the season (when his eligibility will be frozen due to the coronavirus decision by the NCAA anyway) stinks for the kid, but it's not the end of the world, either.
Hendon Hooker hasn't done anything to lose his starting quarterback position, but there is a sense that a guy who's a bigger risk-taker could add some ceiling to this offense (my take - not what I've been told - is that they went with that philosophy to start last season, and it cost them a few games because Ryan Willis's risks weren't worth the positives gleaned from his risk-taking).
Will continue touching base to get more, but as I said at the top, sounds like it wasn't as formalized a scrimmage as you'd expect in other preseasons because of the personnel limitations.
