January 2 was an interesting day in Blacksburg. Isaiah Ford, one of the top wide receivers in school history, declared for the draft. A few minutes later, Jérod Evans, who put together one of the best seasons by a quarterback in school history, also declared.

Ford was expected. Evans only became expected in the days following the Belk Bowl when word leaked he was heavily leaning towards entering the draft. They joined Bucky Hodges who had declared just hours after the Belk Bowl ended.

Since Virginia Tech rallied from 24 down in the Belk Bowl, Virginia Tech lost:

846 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns on the ground; 3,546 passing yards, 29 touchdowns through the air from Evans;

1,094 receiving yards, seven touchdowns from Ford; and

691 receiving yards, seven touchdowns from Hodges.



Evans’ decision was surprising, as there is a real chance he could go undrafted. I don’t buy the narrative that he was upset about his rushing workload. His ability to run and throw is what makes him a prospect. And it’s not like his rushing hindered his ability to show what he can do throwing the ball. The only games he threw less than 25 passes were BC (a 49-0 blowout), ECU (a 54-17 blowout) and UNC (a legitimate category two hurricane). I believe Evans’ decision simply came down to him having an extreme belief in his ability to not only get drafted, but succeed at the next level. If someone’s that confident, more power to them.

But his decision was a big one. For one year, Evans was the man in Blacksburg. A second year would have cemented him as a revered` all-time player in Blacksburg thanks to a dynamic two-year stint under center.

But the problem is he didn’t follow the plan, and because of that, Virginia Tech might be entering a reload a year early.

When Fuente arrived, he wanted to find a quarterback to give him time to develop a young heir and his first wave of talent. Evans was the stop-gap to Josh Jackson, and now we know, Hendon Hooker as well. Evans was the two-year fix that would give the Hokies a chance to compete for the ACC Championship while Fuente and Cornelson loaded up on talent at quarterback and elsewhere.

He excelled with great talent around him in year one, and the hope was he could carry a mostly young team in year two. Instead, he’s gone, and it begs the question.

Is a full reload (I’m avoiding rebuild) about to happen in Blacksburg? Cam Phillips gives the Hokies a ton of talent at wide receiver and Travon McMillian is essentially a two-year starter at tailback, but elsewhere on offense, it’s unproven.

The Hokies have a redshirt freshman in Josh Jackson ready to get involved at quarterback, and they’ve convinced the talented Hendon Hooker to enroll early. They’re looking for one more quarterback to compete with them. Regardless, it’s unfair to expect any of them to be as good or as productive as Evans was with guys like Ford and Hodges helping him out.

Guys like Phil Patterson, Divine Deablo, Eric Kumah, Sam Denmark, Kalil Pimpleton, Caleb Farley, Tahj Capehart, Dalton Keene, Jalen Holston, Drake Deluliis, Sean Savoy and Hezekiah Grimsley are coming in looking to make an impact at skill positions, but they need time and reps to develop.

They’re young, which could mean the Hokies take a step back in 2017. Justin Fuente will likely get the benefit of the doubt from the pre-season polls, but it’s hard to imagine a team with such young, unproven talent at quarterback and receiver, and with a tailback who was in and out of the rotation in 2016, not taking at least one step back next year.

It’s a sobering thought, as the Hokies tasted a ton of success in 2016. It got the excitement back in the program after a period of mediocrity. People were excited about the program, and man, that offense... it clicked.

But perhaps this expedites a reload for that point in time when the program is full of Fuente’s players. Perhaps another year of Evans would have meant the Hokies would have leaned heavily on his rapport with Phillips and ability on the ground to grind out victories and the Hokies would have entered 2018 with largely the same questions. Who is the next quarterback? Are the young guys at wideout ready to rock? Those questions are now going to get answered in 2017.

Whoever is playing is going to get a ton of experience and is going to develop a ton in 2017. Which means maybe that transition year, where the Hokies become a full Fuente team, is moved up from 2018 to 2017. And maybe that means the year to look out for the Hokies is 2018 and not 2019.

The Hokies need talent across the board, not just on offense. They’re getting it on offense with guys like Holston and Pimpleton and Farley and Keene to add to guys like Patterson and Deablo. Those guys will get the opportunity to play a lot and learn the ropes of college football, particularly with teams like West Virginia and Clemson on the slate next year.

If they can supplement what they are doing offensively on the trail right now with stellar defensive guys, I’m looking at guys like Nathan Proctor, Devon Hunter, Brad Johnson, etc, then this could be a team primed to enter the national spotlight in 2018 and beyond.

But, man, that Evans decision was surprising wasn’t it?