10 Virginia Tech Hokies That Will Excel in 2009

These are in my opinion the 10 Hokie football players that will excell like they havent in the past on the gridiron.

Now I feel that alot of players will play great this year but some will step up and lead the team and maybe win games.

There were alot of young players on this team last year and alot of them contributed in major ways mainly at the skill positions, where VT boasted a sophomore quaterback, freshman starting tailback, and freshman wideouts across the board.

There are some familiar faces on this list and some that are new to the program or at least the playing field.

Tyrod Taylor

Prior to this year Taylor has gone into spring workouts and fall practice expecting to red-shirt then after the first week of the season he was thrust into playing.

That situation caused him to not get the time to work with the first team receivers to develop chemistry and timing with them. This season will be different and in my opinion that difference will show early and often.

That timing and chemistry will pay off and he will show his critics the passer that he can and will be. Finally this year this is Tyrod's team no worries about red-shirting or playing time.

This year he will emerge as a leader on and off the field. I think that we will see some times this season where he just goes out and wills the team to a win.

Stephan Virgil

After the departure of Macho Harris alot of people are wondering who will replace him. Hokies fans know that there is a talented replacement there in Stephan Virgil. He proved last year that he has a nose for the ball and also produced some hard hits.

If you watched the game against UNC and saw the return capability he has. With those skills pretty soon one of his ints will go back all the way.

The only question is if he can lead like Macho, I dont know about off the field but on I know he can.

We will just have to wait till next year to answer the rest of that question.

Barquell Rivers

With two linebackers from last years team graduating there are two holes to fill there. One of those will be filled by Barquell Rivers.

He already made quite an impression with a strong impression in the Orange Bowl. Most memerable being the goal line stand where he lead the charge stopping Tony Pike on 4th down.

He impressed coaches all year long but proved his worth to fans on the biggest stage of the year when it really counted.

Ryan Williams

Anyone who has watched video on this kid can tell that he is special some of the plays that he made in highschool were amazing.

All of the coaches and team mates rave about him. After a redshirt year to learn the offense and get stronger his potential is almost limitless. You add him to Darren Evans and this very well may be "The Untouchables 2".

Darren and Ryan have complementing styles Evans is a downhill bruising runner with a little burst of speed. While Williams is a shifty homerun threat with loads of acceleration and top end speed to run away from just about anyone on the field.

This could add up to a great combination that should have anyone in Blacksburg excited.

Jarrett Boykin

Boykin came on last season as the big play guy. He has great size being that he is 6'2" and has plenty of speed, but one of his biggest advantages is his hands they are absolutely huge.

That will allow him to win alot of jump balls and make some incredible catches. I look forward to having him and Danny Coale on the field together all season long.

Jason Worilds

I know I know, He played great last year but remember that was with a seperated shoulder. This year he will be healthy and the leader of that d-line. If he can recover from his injury and surgery fully he should be a beast this year.

The fact that Alabama is replacing two of their best o-linemen and a QB that is not good news when you have your first game against a Bud Foster defense with a sack loving end like Worilds lining up on the other side of the ball.

Worilds could start the year with a very good game on a huge stage.

Kam Chancellor

Kam's second year at his new position should be great. He showed that he had trouble adjusting at the begining of the season last year but as the recieving corps did he came on and played great on the big stage in the Orange Bowl.

If he continues that as he should after another spring at the position this could be a career defining year for him at the safety position.

Nekos Brown

Another player on the d-line that should have a great year is Nekos Brown, he has shown flashes of great talent when he has been in the game but like Brett Warren and Purnell Sturdivant last year he has just been in the shadow of two very good players.

With Orion Martin graduating Nekos will get his chance to shine. He has good fundamentals and good speed off the edge.

If he can consistently produce like he has shown in flashes there will not be much if any drop off from Martin, which is very hard to say because Martin was a very consistent performer.

Logan Thomas

I'm not exactly sure where he will play and how he will be worked into the offense but this kid is athleticly amazing.

He is 6'6" and runs a 4.6 40 yard dash with that kind of speed and height he would be a deadly red zone wide reciever which is where i think we would benefit the team the most.

Now he will get time at QB in the spring just to see if he has the potential to be a viable option at backup if something should happen to Taylor but I seriously doubt he will see any playing time there.

Fact is with that type of speed and size there will be very few corners that could even hope to compete. If you line him up in the slot in the red zone and run a corner route all Tyrod will have to do is throw it up, Thomas' height and overall phsyical stature will give him an advantage over about any corner or safety in the game.

I cant wait to see how he is used and how he produces.

Bryan Stinespring

I know that im going to catch alot of heat for this one after the last three years. But I honestly think that this is the year that our offense breaks out.

The level of talent on the offense is outstanding and the chemistry that they will have will be much better than in the past couple years.

Having a dual QB system can really mess up the continuity of an offense and doesn't really let timing develop fully in practice or games. That is over, this is Taylor's team and they all know it.

Stinespring showed some great play calling in the last two games of the season. I know we've seen that before and nothing improved but the next season we still had a dual qb system holding the offense back.

That is gone and this is the time for our offense and Stinespring to show the world what they can do.