Darren Evans Goes Down: Virginia Tech's BCS Hopes Next?

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Say it ain’t so, Blacksburg.

Virginia Tech got some of the worst news it could have imagined Tuesday afternoon, the kind of news that pits stomachs, blocks throats, and cripples seasons.

Sophomore running back Darren Evans, Virginia Tech’s leading rusher last season as a true freshman, went down in Tuesday’s practice with a torn left ACL, an injury that will require surgery and most likely keep Evans out for the entire season.

You hate to hear these types of things, especially when training camp is young and hopes are high.

Not only was Evans looking to build on a tremendous freshman season that saw him rush for 1,265 yards, 11 touchdowns, and earn Orange Bowl MVP honors, but the Hokies were looking to build on a 10-4 season, a BCS bowl win over Cincinnati, and a comfortable spot in the upper echelon of all major preseason rankings this year.

Virginia Tech hasn’t seen the National Championship Game since 1999, but head coach Frank Beamer did some of his best work last season, leading a young team to the ACC Title game where they put the hammer on Boston College. Beamer’s boys had lost to BC earlier in the season up in Chestnutt Hill.

With nine starters returning on offense and seven starters returning on defense, this year was supposed to be a step forward for the program, not a step back or a step to the side. Many people believed that Virginia Tech would repeat as ACC Champs—with Georgia Tech coming into the conversation—and even contend for the BCS National Title game by knocking off the big guns on their schedule.

The USA Today’s preseason coaches’ poll had Virginia Tech ranked No. 7 to open the fall, while college football guru Phil Steele, author of philsteele.com and the most comprehensive college football preview magazine on newsstands, Phil Steele’s 2009 College Football Preview, had the Hokies lurking quietly at No. 11 as a potential title contender.

Does Evans’ injury mean all is lost in Blacksburg this season? Of course not, it just makes the future that much murkier. Evans was the star of Va. Tech’s backfield, but he wasn’t the only viable rusher in fall practice.

Redshirt freshman Ryan Williams impressed the coaches in spring practice and was already slotted to get his share of carries this year before Evans got hurt.

But now Williams may be thrust into the starting job and asked to follow the same path as Evans did in ’08, going from fresh meat to alpha dog on the Hokies’ depth chart.

Redshirt sophomore Josh Oglesby was listed second behind Evans on the preseason depth chart and will see some of the workload, but is not a lock to start. And then there’s senior Kenny Williams Jr., the No. 1 running back on last year’s depth chart before going down with a torn Achilles, an injury that is still getting the best of him. 

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