Hokie High: The Top 10 Virginia Tech Quarterbacks of All-Time

To kick off the 2010 college football season, I wanted to renew my acquaintance with Virginia Tech’s program. For me, the years with Sean Glennon were sort of a turd in the punch bowl as far as my appreciation of the team.

Additionally, players like Ike Whitaker and Cory Holt haven’t exactly lived up to the hype that came with their signing. Until Tyrod Taylor’s performance last season, I feared he’d fall into the same group.

Led by Taylor, the Hokies are the preseason favorite to win the ACC. As with every year, if they run the table (especially including a defeat of Boise State to open the season), they’re in contention for the BCS National Championship.

But it hasn’t always been that way.

In honor of the Hokies’ current stature, a ranking of those who, other than head coach Frank Beamer himself and Bruce Smith, have done the most to get VT respect as a national program. These are the top 10 quarterbacks in Virginia Tech Hokies history (with a couple of “bonus” mentions to open).

One small note: in circumstances where I was unable to locate a picture for a player, I used the Hokie Bird instead.  In those cases, not only was that player not the Hokie Bird, but Virginia Tech was probably known as the VPI Fighting Gobblers at the time.

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12. Dishonorable Mention: Marcus Vick

I considered going with a last name, first initial format just for the purposes of this slide, but it would have to be a heck of a list for Michael Vick to be anywhere outside of the top five.

At any rate, Marcus Vick makes this list for a couple of reasons. The first is that he’s Michael’s little brother. That one is essentially the same reason he was highly-recruited for college.

The second reason? He holds the Hokies career record for traffic arrests with nine. At least I hope that’s the record.

Marcus had flashes of brilliance during his brief career, but ultimately he had too much difficulty staying on the field to be considered among Tech’s true elites.

11. Dishonorable Mention: Grant Noel

I remember Grant Noel well. He was the guy I was stuck watching during my freshman year when Michael Vick jumped ship for the NFL.

And could he have a larger pair of shoes to fill?

When you look at it that way, Noel never had a realistic shot at succeeding as Virginia Tech’s starting quarterback. He was an immobile, drop-back passer on a run-oriented offense.

In the 2001 season, Noel was 146-254 for 1,826 yards with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Four of those interceptions and a fumble were against the top-ranked and eventual national champion Miami Hurricanes. In spite of Noel, the Hokies barely missed an upset in a 26-24 loss against the rival ‘Canes.

That loss earned Noel the eternal ire of Virginia Tech fans everywhere.

10. Steve Casey

Steve Casey was Virginia Tech’s quarterback from 1978-81. Over that span, he compiled 4,299 yards on 342-647 passing and 29 TD to 40 interceptions.

In the 1980 season, Casey led VT to an 8-4 record with a bowl game loss to No. 20 Miami. That was Tech’s first bowl game since 1968.

Other than these stats, there is an absolute dearth of information on Casey.

I could tell you his occupation, the names of his wife and kids, etc., but I can’t find anything else of consequence regarding his career at Tech (including a photo).

Regardless, he makes the list because he passed for the sixth-most yards in Hokie history.

9. Sean Glennon

In a virtual tie with Grant Noel, Sean Glennon is perhaps my least-favorite Hokie in memory.

He sulked and threatened to transfer when he lost the starting job to Tyrod Taylor. I was unable to locate the specific quote after an extensive search, but I’ll paraphrase what I remember Glennon saying publicly. He said something to the extent of that if he couldn’t start at Tech, he wanted to transfer to somewhere where he could start and increase his NFL stock.

Sounds like a formula for success for me. Maybe if you don’t get drafted by the NFL, you could transfer to the CFL and play there.

He showed up to play in cupcake games and underperformed in big games (the sole exception being the 2007 ACC championship game against Boston College).

Glennon is best known for making an offense that featured four future NFL draft picks at wide receiver look mediocre. His 4,867 career passing yards (good for fifth on the Hokies’ all time list) are the only reason he squeaks on to this list.

8. Bob Schweickert

Bob Schweickert was the Michael Vick of the, get this, VPI Fighting Gobblers. He led a tandem running attack with fullback Sonny Utz. That two-headed monster was known as “Mr. Outside” (Schweickert) and “Mr. Inside” (Utz).

They combined for 6,000 total yards of offense in three seasons.

The Fighting Gobblers won the 1963 Southern Conference championship and also defeated Florida State. As contemporary Tech fans are aware, beating the Seminoles is no mean feat.

Also on Schweickert’s resume? Punting duties. He punted 112 times for 4,233 yards over his career.

So that’s college football in the 1960s for you.

Schweickert accumulated eerily similar rushing and passing yards (1,723 for the former, 1,725 for the latter) along with 40 touchdowns over his career, one of which was a punt return.

Imagine, if you will, the outrage if Tyrod Taylor was kicking and returning punts.

For more on Schweickert, I highly recommend the following article:

http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/091509aaa.html.

7. Tyrod Taylor

The incumbent starter for the Hokies, Tyrod Taylor has been a solid, if not incredible, dual-threat quarterback for the past three years. 2010 has the potential to be his best season ever, so it’s quite likely he could work his way into the top tier of this list.

At this point, it’s too soon to call him great. But take this for example. Through Taylor’s freshman and sophomore years, he compiled 1,167 rushing yards. Michael Vick over his first two years? 1,216.

Last season, Taylor’s passing game progressed significantly. After throwing for slightly more than 2,000 yards in his first two seasons combined, Taylor passed for 2,311 yards last season alone. He also improved on subpar TD-Int ratios in the previous years, going for 13 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions.

With the two-headed monster of Ryan Williams and Darren Evans in the backfield, Taylor can continue polishing his passing game. If the Hokies find themselves atop BCS rankings, and assuming Taylor compiles the requisite stats, contention for the Heisman Trophy isn’t out of the question.

So let’s not close the book on this one just yet.

6. Jim Druckenmiller

As with many successful college quarterbacks, Jim Druckenmiller didn’t quite pan out in the NFL. As the Hokies starter, however, he won two Big East championships and was instrumental in the Hokies gaining national prominence as a football program.

In case you don’t remember back that far, here’s a little perspective. The University of Virginia football program was actually relevant. (No way I made it through all 10 slides without mocking the Cavs.)

I actually credit him with being the origin of my time as a Hokie fan. At 12 years old, I knew him as the guy who went to Northampton High School (about 20 minutes from my hometown in eastern Pennsylvania) and then went to the same college as my father.

I remember stories that Druckenmiller was bench pressing in the same range as his offensive line. I remember the sense of excitement the Lehigh Valley had about one of their own at the top of the college ranks. I especially remember the level of excitement about his being a first-round pick in the NFL draft.

Over two years as a starter, Druckenmiller also led the Hokies to their first top ten ranking (AP and USA Today polls in 1995). He also defeated No. 9 Texas in the 1995 Sugar Bowl, easily the Hokies biggest bowl win to that point.

His stats as a starter were 293-542 (54.1%) with 4,174 yards and 31-16 TD-Int.

5. Maurice DeShazo

As I mentioned earlier, I came in to Hokie Nation on the Druckenmiller bandwagon. As such, I completely missed Maurice DeShazo.

I mean, the guy doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page.

I caught his name as Druckenmiller’s predecessor on that very website, but it wasn’t until I stumbled upon the VT record book from 2004 (as a PDF file linked below) that I found any information whatsoever on DeShazo.

And he would have been a sinful omission, for sure.

DeShazo has the fourth-highest career passing yard total of any Tech QB (5,720) and second-highest total for passing TD (47). He also compiled the second-most total yards of any Hokie with 6,105.

He also rushed for another nine touchdowns over four seasons.

I had to compile rushing statistics for myself and, as I stated, didn’t actually watch DeShazo play, but it would appear that he was an underrated scrambler. His career rushing yard total (394) is deceptive because he had multiple seasons where he lost more than 100 yards.

Breaking him down statistically, DeShazo had an excellent, and underrated, career with the Hokies. He made bowl games in the 1993 and 1994 seasons, defeating Indiana in the ‘93 Independence Bowl and losing to the Peyton Manning-led Tennessee Volunteers in the ‘94 Gator Bowl.

The record book I mentioned can be found here: http://www.hokiesports.com/football/2004MG/records.pdf

4. Will Furrer

One of the more talented quarterbacks in Virginia Tech history was Will Furrer. He started for the Hokies as a freshman and, while his win-loss totals fail to impress, he helped a budding coach in his process toward building a perennial bowl team.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Frank Beamer?

The Hokies never made a bowl game with Furrer at the helm, but they did achieve their first Top 25 ranking under Beamer in 1990 with Furrer at the helm.

Furrer spent about five seasons as an NFL quarterback (he was drafted in the fourth round of the 1992 Draft). He also spent two years with the Amsterdam Admirals of the NFL Europa.

Furrer’s career stats as a Hokie were 494-920 (53.7%) for 5,915 yards and 43 TD.

3. Don Strock

The greatest pure passer in Hokie (or Fighting Gobbler, as it were) history would have to be Don Strock. In his 1972 season, Strock averaged 288.2 total yards per game, passing for 3,243 yards over the course of that season.

The one knock on Strock (rhyme intended) would be his fairly depressing 29-41 TD-Int ratio. On the other hand, he is one of only two Hokies to pass for more than 6,000 yards (6,009) for his career.

Though you could make an argument for Michael Vick, Strock has been the most successful quarterback in NFL terms to date. For this reason, he is one of the more recognizable quarterback names associated with Virginia Tech (along with Vick).

As the majority of the quarterbacks on this list played in a different era from Strock, it is difficult to place him in context. Without this sense of context, third on this list seems about the highest you could argue for on a list based on his performance in college.

2. Bryan Randall

It may seem strange to see Bryan Randall ranked this high, but hear me out.

Randall, who started for the Hokies in each remaining season of my time in school, remains one of my favorite Hokies. He was a solid all-around quarterback and he didn’t make the kind of gut wrenching errors that made me dislike many of the players preceding him on this ranking.

In my opinion, he is the most underrated quarterback by far in Hokies history.

He still holds the Big East single-game record for passing yards (504) from an exciting overtime thriller against Syracuse in 2002. He helped the Hokies win their first ACC title (and second BCS Bowl Game) in their first season in the ACC.

His career stats as a Hokie (three-season starter): 490-833 (58.8%) for 6,508 yards with 48 TD and 31 Int. He was also an underrated quarterback on the ground, with 1,526 rushing yards and 11 rushing TD over his career.

Incidentally, this makes Randall the Hokies’ career leader in passing yards and passing TD.

1. Michael Vick

Before the moralists reading this (if there are any) get started, this is a top 10 ranking of quarterbacks, not a popularity contest. The obligatory disclaimer: I love dogs. I don’t condone what Michael Vick did.

In the interests of full disclosure, Vick was so exciting a player in 1999 and 2000 that he played a factor in my decision on where to attend college.

Yes, really.

His career stats aren’t the stuff of legend. Stats have been useful up to this point, but at some point this does turn into an opinion-based article. To the naysayers I ask, what other player (much less quarterback) has led the Hokies to the verge of a national championship? How about an undefeated regular season?

Vick’s legacy nowadays is tarnished. I understand that. But his contributions to the school go well beyond two seasons and a title runner-up.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but Virginia Tech is now routinely in the top ten in preseason rankings. If you followed the team in the 1990s, this was inconceivable. You could draw a line from the 1999 Sugar Bowl to the Hokies joining the ACC in 2004.

We should all be aware that Frank Beamer has engineered the program’s success, but Michael Vick was the man that catapulted the Hokies into consideration as an elite national power.

For that reason, and because he brought Hokie fans to unprecedented heights of football success in 1999 (and it was an excellent championship game), Vick remains the greatest all-time quarterback at Virginia Tech.