2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football
2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Belk Bowl, L 30–37 vs. Kentucky
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
	Coastal Division
Record	8–5 (5–3 ACC)
Head coach	Justin Fuente (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Brad Cornelsen (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Bud Foster (25th season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Uniform
	Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

The 2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Tech during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hokies were led by fourth-year head coach Justin Fuente and played their home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. They competed as members of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Hokies lost to arch rival Virginia for the first time since 2003. The loss cost the Hokies the Coastal Division and a trip to the Orange Bowl.

2019 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 2 Clemson xy$^	8	–	0	14	–	1
Louisville	5	–	3	8	–	5
Wake Forest	4	–	4	8	–	5
Florida State	4	–	4	6	–	7
Boston College	4	–	4	6	–	7
Syracuse	2	–	6	5	–	7
NC State	1	–	7	4	–	8
Coastal Division
Virginia x	6	–	2	9	–	5
Virginia Tech	5	–	3	8	–	5
Miami (FL)	4	–	4	6	–	7
Pittsburgh	4	–	4	8	–	5
North Carolina	4	–	4	7	–	6
Duke	3	–	5	5	–	7
Georgia Tech	2	–	6	3	–	9
Championship: Clemson 62, Virginia 17
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Preseason media poll

In the preseason ACC media poll, Virginia Tech was predicted to finish in third in the Coastal Division.^[1]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Media poll (Coastal Division)
1	Virginia	1003 (82)
2	Miami (FL)	992 (55)
3	Virginia Tech	827 (20)
4	Pittsburgh	691 (8)
5	Duke	566 (6)
6	North Carolina	463 (1)
7	Georgia Tech	302 (1)

Schedule

In non-conference play, Virginia Tech played home games against Old Dominion of Conference USA, Furman of the Southern Conference, and Rhode Island of the Colonial Athletic Association, as well as a road game against Notre Dame, a football independent. In ACC play, the Hokies will play the other members of the Coastal Division as well as Boston College and Wake Forest from the Atlantic Division.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	4:00 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	ACCN	L 28–35	35,213
September 7	12:00 p.m.	Old Dominion*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPNU	W 31–17	57,282
September 14	12:00 p.m.	No. 16 (FCS) Furman*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	W 24–17	52,314
September 27	7:00 p.m.	Duke		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	L 10–45	59,537
October 5	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (FL)		Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 42–35	53,183
October 12	4:00 p.m.	Rhode Island*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	W 34–17	51,716
October 19	3:30 p.m.	North Carolina		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCRSN	W 43–41 ^6OT	65,632
November 2	2:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	L 20–21	77,622
November 9	3:30 p.m.	No. 19 Wake Forest		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	W 36–17	65,632
November 16	3:30 p.m.	at Georgia Tech		Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	ACCRSN	W 45–0	43,263
November 23	3:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN2	W 28–0	55,936
November 29	12:00 p.m.	at Virginia	No. 24	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ABC	L 30–39	52,619
December 31	12:00 p.m.	vs. Kentucky*		Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina (Belk Bowl)	ESPN	L 30–37	44,138
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Source:^[2]

Personnel

2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`2`	Hendon Hooker	So
QB	`3`	Braxton Burmeister	So
QB	`4`	Quincy Patterson II	Fr
QB	`5`	Ryan Willis	Sr
WR	`6`	Hezekiah Grimsley	Jr
QB	`6`	Trevor Jackson	Fr
WR	`8`	Phil Patterson	Jr
WR	`9`	Luke Bussel	Fr
WR	`11`	Tré Turner	So
QB	`12`	Knox Kadum	Fr
RB	`13`	Jalen Holston	Jr
WR	`14`	Damon Hazelton	Jr
WR	`16`	Darryle Simmons	Fr
RB	`24`	Terius Wheatley	So
TE	`29`	Dalton Keene (C)	Jr
RB	`30`	Caleb Steward	Fr
RB	`33`	DeShawn McClease	Jr
WR	`34`	Tink Boyd	Fr
RB	`35`	Keshawn King	Fr
RB	`37`	Carter Rivenburg	Fr
RB	`38`	Nashaun Overton	So
RB	`39`	Tahj Gary	Fr
WR	`40`	Travis Williams	Fr
TE	`41`	Ty Eller	Jr
TE	`42`	Cole Blaker	So
RB	`43`	Cole Beck	Fr
RB	`44`	J'Wan Evans	Fr
WR	`45`	Jacob Van Landingham	Fr
RB	`46`	Malik Bell	Fr
WR	`47`	John Ransom	Fr
WR	`48`	Nikia Peerman	Fr
WR	`49`	William Kakavitsas	Fr
OL	`50`	Will Pritchard	Fr
OL	`51`	Gene Kastelburg	So
OL	`52`	Austin Cannon	Jr
G	`54`	Lecitus Smith	So
OL	`58`	Walker Culver	Fr
OL	`60`	Silas Dzansi	So
OL	`61`	Bryan Hudson	Fr
OL	`61`	Gabe Sesco	Fr
OL	`66`	Louis Mihota	Fr
G	`71`	T. J. Jackson	Jr
OL	`72`	Jesse Hanson	Fr
OL	`74`	Doug Nester	Fr
OL	`75`	Zachariah Hoyt	Jr
OL	`76`	Brock Hoffman	Jr
OT	`77`	Christian Darrisaw	So
OL	`79`	Tyrell Smith (C)	Sr
WR	`80`	Kaleb Smith	Fr
TE	`82`	James Mitchell	So
WR	`83`	Tayvion Robinson	Fr
WR	`85`	Jaden Payoute	Fr
TE	`86`	Nick Gallo	Fr
WR	`87`	Jacob Pinckney	Fr
WR	`88`	Elijah Bowick	Fr
TE	`89`	Drake Deiluiis	So
TE	`90`	Sam Brooks	Fr
WR	`94`	Conner Dusenbury	Fr
OT	`95`	Luke Tenuta	Fr
WR	`97`	Keondré Banks	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`1`	Reggie Floyd (C)	Sr
DB	`2`	Jeremy Webb	Jr
DB	`3`	Caleb Farley	So
LB	`4`	Dax Hollifield	So
DL	`5`	Jarrod Hewitt (C)	Jr
DB	`7`	Devon Hunter	So
DL	`8`	Emmanuel Belmar	Jr
DB	`9`	Khalil Ladler	Jr
DB	`12`	Nadir Thompson	Fr
DL	`13`	Zion Debose	So
LB	`15`	Keshon Artis	So
DB	`17`	Divine Deablo	Jr
DB	`18`	Tyree Rodgers	Jr
DB	`19`	J. R. Walker	Fr
DB	`20`	Ny'Quee Hawkins	Fr
DB	`22`	Chamarri Conner	So
LB	`23`	Rayshard Ashby	Jr
DB	`26`	Jovonn Quillen	Sr
DB	`27`	Armani Chatman	Fr
DB	`28`	Jermaine Waller	So
DB	`29`	Ishmiel Seisay	Sr
DB	`30`	Tyler Matheny	Fr
DB	`31`	Nasir Peoples	Fr
DB	`32`	Hunter Green	Fr
LB	`34`	Alan Tisdale	Fr
LB	`35`	Matt Johnson	Fr
DL	`36`	DaShawn Crawford	Jr
DB	`37`	Brion Murray	So
LB	`38`	Amaré Barno	Jr
LB	`40`	Ben Skinner	Fr
DL	`41`	Jaylen Griffin	So
LB	`43`	Michael Peterson	Fr
LB	`44`	Dylan Rivers	Jr
DL	`45`	TyJuan Garbutt	So
DL	`46`	Eli Adams	Fr
LB	`47`	Dean Ferguson	Fr
LB	`48`	Daniel Griffith	Jr
DB	`49`	Ed Robinson	Fr
LB	`50`	Tré Maxwell	Fr
DL	`53`	Aiden Brown	So
DL	`58`	Josh Fuga	Fr
DL	`90`	Jaevon Becton	Fr
DL	`92`	Jaden Cunningham	Jr
DL	`93`	Mario Kendricks	Fr
DL	`94`	Nigel Simmons	Fr
DL	`96`	Norell Pollard	Fr
DL	`99`	Maxx Philpott	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LS	`64`	Sam DeLuke	Fr
LS	`85`	C. J. Scott	Fr
P	`91`	Oscar Bradburn	Jr
K	`92`	Mark Applegate	Fr
K	`93`	Brian Johnson	Jr
K	`96`	John Parker Romo	Jr
LS	`97`	Oscar Shadley	So
K	`98`	Caleb Quick	Fr
LS	`99`	Justin Pollock	Fr

Head coach

Justin Fuente

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Zohn Burden (RB)
Brad Cornelsen (OC/QB)
Bud Foster (Assoc. HC/DC/LB)
Justin Hamilton (S)
Ben Hilgart (Str + Cond)
Jerry Kill (Spec. Asst.)
Adam Lechtenberg (Ast. HC/Exec. Dir. of Play Dev.)
Brian Mitchell (CB)
James Shibest (ST/TE)
John Tezzi (Recruiting)
Vance Vice (OL)
Charley Wiles (DL)
Jafar Williams (WR)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

At Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	7	7	7	7	28
Eagles	7	21	0	7	35

Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
Monarchs	3	0	7	7	17
Hokies	10	7	7	7	31

Furman

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 (FCS) Paladins	0	14	0	3	17
Hokies	3	0	14	7	24

Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Devils	0	21	10	14	45
Hokies	3	0	7	0	10

At Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	21	7	0	14	42
Hurricanes	0	7	7	21	35

Rhode Island

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	6	11	0	17
Hokies	10	7	7	10	34

North Carolina

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	4OT	5OT	6OT	Total
Tar Heels	10	7	7	7	3	7	0	0	0	0	41
Hokies	7	14	0	10	3	7	0	0	0	2	43

Starting with the 2019 season, every overtime period starting with the fifth overtime consists solely of one two-point attempt per team from the three yard line.

At Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	7	7	3	3	20
No. 16 Fighting Irish	7	7	0	7	21

After poor performances against USC and Michigan, Notre Dame stepped up defensively against Virginia Tech. The hokies were held to their lowest total yards game since 2015 and lowest yards per play since 2016 in what was billed as "one of the best group effort performances" ever seen by Sports Illustrated sportswriter Bryan Driskell.^[3] Yet, Notre Dame still needed a late touchdown to win the game by a final score 21-20 and Notre Dame extended their home winning streak to 16 games.^[4]

Wake Forest

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Demon Deacons	3	7	7	0	17
Hokies	3	3	17	13	36

At Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	14	17	14	0	45
Yellow Jackets	0	0	0	0	0

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0
Hokies	14	7	0	7	28

At Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Hokies	3	3	21	3	30
Cavaliers	13	0	7	19	39

vs Kentucky (Belk Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	10	7	10	3	30
Wildcats	7	7	10	13	37

Honorary #25 Beamer Jersey

Since the start of the 2016 season, during the week before each game, Head Coach Justin Fuente selects an outstanding player to wear the #25 jersey in honor of former head coach, Frank Beamer, who wore #25 as a player for Virginia Tech. The jersey represents hard work, toughness, good sportsmanship and being a exemplary teammate. At first, the distinction was intended strictly for special teams players, but has since been expanded to include all team members.

The players honored in the 2019 season are:^[5]

Game	Opponent	Player(s)
Game 1	Boston College	Tyree Rodgers
Game 2	Old Dominion	Divine Deablo (2)
Game 3	Furman	Dylan Rivers
Game 4	Duke	Oscar Bradburn (3)
Game 5	Miami	Jarrod Hewitt
Game 6	Rhode Island	Devon Hunter
Game 7	North Carolina	Rayshard Ashby
Game 8	Notre Dame	Armani Chatman
Game 9	Wake Forest	Divine Deablo (3)
Game 10	Georgia Tech	Khalil Ladler (2)
Game 11	Pittsburgh	James Mitchell
Game 12	Virginia	Dalton Keene (2) & Rayshard Ashby (2)
Belk Bowl	Kentucky	Brian Johnson

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	25	23	RV	—
Coaches	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	RV	RV
CFP	Not released										—	—	—	24	—	—	Not released

Players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
3	101	Dalton Keene	TE	New England Patriots

References

^ "Clemson Favored to Continue ACC Football Championship Run". theACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
^ "2019 Virginia Tech Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
^ Driskell, Bryan (November 4, 2019). "Grades: Notre Dame Defense vs. Virginia Tech". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
^ Berardino, Mike (November 2, 2019). "No. 16 Notre Dame needs late touchdown to get past Virginia Tech". USA Today. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
^ "Brian Johnson to wear Beamer No. 25 jersey for Belk Bowl". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved December 29, 2019.

[1] "Clemson Favored to Continue ACC Football Championship Run". theACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.

[2] "2019 Virginia Tech Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 23, 2019.

[3] Driskell, Bryan (November 4, 2019). "Grades: Notre Dame Defense vs. Virginia Tech". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 6, 2019.

[4] Berardino, Mike (November 2, 2019). "No. 16 Notre Dame needs late touchdown to get past Virginia Tech". USA Today. Retrieved November 6, 2019.

[5] "Brian Johnson to wear Beamer No. 25 jersey for Belk Bowl". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved December 29, 2019.

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