Notre Dame Football: Virginia Tech Hokies Q&A with Gobbler Country

Well folks, it was a fun two-week bye for your Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, but now they get back to playing football this Saturday with an afternoon tilt against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Notre Dame Stadium.

Last year, the undefeated Irish went into Blacksburg to play the 24th-ranked hosts, weathered the initial storm of “Enter Sandman” and a too-close-for-comfort first half in Lane Stadium, and then EXPLODED to rout the Hokies 45-23 the week after crushing the Stanford Cardinal in a similar fashion.

This year, things are a bit different. The Irish are 5-2 and already out of the College Football Playoff picture, and Virginia Tech is not ranked, with losses to Boston College and Duke having given them an identical 5-2 record.

So, how will things go in South Bend, with the Irish coming off the most embarrassing loss for the program in a long time and the Hokies looking to pull off a monumental upset for coach Justin Fuente?

Well, I spoke to John Schneider and Bryan Manning over at Gobbler Country, our Virginia Tech sister site here at SB Nation. They provided some excellent insight into this Hokie team, the QB situation, play-makers on both sides of the ball to watch out for, and more. Check out what they had to say below, and arm yourselves with knowledge prior to this weekend!

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1. Last year was not good for Virginia Tech, but the Hokies appear to be bouncing back a bit in 2019 and are 5-2 to start the season. How do you expect the remainder of the season to play out for the Hokies, and what is this team’s ceiling?

Bryan Manning: Last year was the toughest season at Virginia Tech since 1992. Yet, the Hokies somehow found a way to continue their bowl streak. This year, things began in a similar manner. An embarrassing home loss to Duke had many Hokie fans calling for Justin Fuente’s head. Things have calmed in recent weeks, but there are still concerns about this team and staff.

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As for this season, I could see this team going 9-3 or finishing 6-6. This team, with only one senior starter, can be so up and down. However, the bigger issues could be on defense. Despite having the legendary Bud Foster in his final season as defensive coordinator, the Hokies have struggled on that side of the ball. The offense has found a spark with the quarterback change. The Hokies have several talented playmakers on offense and a young and talented offensive line. But this group is still learning to play at this level.

2. It’s year 4 of Justin Fuente after he took over in 2016 for the legend, Frank Beamer. What are your personal thoughts, as well as the general thoughts/feelings of the fan base, as to whether Fuente is the right guy to take Virginia Tech back to the top of the ACC?

Bryan Manning: This is a tough question and most answers would tend to trend more negatively toward Fuente. Coaching-wise, Fuente brought most of his Memphis assistants with him. He inherited Foster, which was once seen as a coup, however, that arrangement appears to have had its ups and downs recently.

Fans struggle with this staff because of its lack of success on the recruiting trail. That could be a bit deceiving as the Hokies did have solid classes in each of the last two years as they had to restock the cupboard after losing a ton of talented upperclassmen. This recruiting class, though, is ranked in the 70s and has fans restless.

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Fuente isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. His buyout answers that question. And I don’t think he should be on the hot seat. I do think he will need to tweak the coaching staff in the offseason outside of Foster’s departure and hire someone outside of his comfort zone. The recruiting struggles have tended to be more on the defensive side of the ball and the hope is a strong hire can re-energize that side of the ball.

3. Who will be taking the majority of snaps at QB for the Hokies on Saturday? It looks like both Ryan Willis and Hendon Hooker have seen plenty of PT this year, so if both should be expected to play, what does each guy do well and how can the Irish defense contain each guy?

Bryan Manning: It should not be Ryan Willis. Period. He is not very good. The Hokies win the opener over Boston College if anyone other than Willis plays.

Hooker was injured in the North Carolina game, which opened the door for freshman Quincy Patterson. And he kicked the door down. In my opinion, I think the Hokies should take it easy with Hooker this week and let Patterson have the start and have Hooker ready for the ACC stretch run the following week.

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Either way, I expect either Hooker and/or Patterson and not Willis, barring injury, of course. The Irish would have a field day with Willis under center. I do think Hooker or Patterson can cause more problems for their defense, although they have yet to face a defense quite like this.

GC Managing Editor’s note: Bryan and I have a slight disagreement on the general quality of Ryan Willis’s skills. The problem is that Ryan Willis’s skill set and Brad Cornelsen’s offensive scheme and play calling are a complete mismatch. Cornelsen couldn’t call Willis’s pet toad ugly. Willis is a pocket QB who needs fast developing intermediate pass routes and a solid power ‘I’ run game to be successful. The Read/Option - RPO offense offers exactly ZERO of that. Willis can run but doesn’t like to and would rather not under most circumstances. He’s a skill trip back to Sean Glennon... and eventually Tyrod Taylor had the answer there. Look for either Hendon Hooker or Quincy Patterson to start. That will depend on Hooker’s health.

4. RB Deshawn McClease appears to be a pretty damn good running back, but Virginia Tech is just 53rd in the country in rushing offense. How do you think this Virginia Tech offensive line and running game will perform against a Notre Dame defense that is typically very stout, but just got absolutely gashed by Michigan on Saturday evening?

Bryan Manning: I think they struggle running the football unless Patterson or Hooker can open things up. The Hokies are not going to be able to line up any back and just run down Notre Dame’s throats. This offensive line features two true freshmen as starters and a redshirt freshman at right tackle, and sophomores at left tackle and left guard. Make no mistake, these are some talented kids — however, the unit lacks experience and these kids are still learning to play together.

To have success against the Irish front seven, the Hokies need either Hooker or Patterson to open things up. Back to McClease, if the QBs can open things up, he can burn you. He is a talented back who can do a number of things well and continues to improve each week. Freshman Keshawn King is the one to watch. He is a true game-breaker.

As a whole, Tech just hasn’t put all of the pieces together yet for a strong running game for a variety of reasons.

5. Who are the big playmakers to know among the Virginia Tech receivers, and do you think they will find success against the Irish this weekend?

Bryan Manning: The Hokies have real talent at wide receiver and tight end. You should familiarize yourselves with the names of Damon Hazelton, Tre Turner, Hezekiah Grimsley and Tayvion Robinson at wide receiver.

Hazelton and Turner have NFL futures, Grimsley is a tough, shifty slot guy who can beat you in a number of ways, while Robinson is a supremely talented true freshman. At tight end, the Hokies have two studs in junior Dalton Keene (who will also line up in the backfield) and sophomore James Mitchell. Keene and Mitchell are both versatile and should be featured heavily in Tech’s offensive game plan each week.

Any of these guys could cause problems for the Fighting Irish. As a whole, this is the most talented group on the Virginia Tech roster.

6. Which position groups are strengths and which are weaknesses on the Virginia Tech defense, and who are the X-factors who will need to bring their A-games in order to upset the Irish on Saturday?

John Schneider: Let’s go with the strengths first. The entire offense is complete this season, but the shining players are the new, rapidly gelling offensive line, the entire receiver corps 2-deep including the tight ends, and a new (old) outlook on the quarterback position with either Hendon Hooker or Quincy Patterson at the helm.

Oh? You asked about Defense. Well, the best Defense is keeping your offense off the field. So, #LPD has re-founded itself after some struggles this season. It’s not perfect, but it’s learning fast. The improvement of the defensive backs has been plain to see, Farley is becoming a shutdown corner, and Chamarri Conner is an entirely new kind of Whip/Rover crossover that OCs can’t get a handle on.

Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images

The linebackers are three solid players between Rayshard Ashby, Dax Hollifield, and Alan Tisdale. The issues that rear their heads as trouble spots are the interior defensive linemen who are a bit on the small side, and very inexperienced.

7. Notre Dame has a sophomore RB named C’Borius Flemister. What are the best/funniest/most ridiculous names on the Hokies roster, and do any of them measure up to my guy C’Bo?

John Schneider: Nope... not biting. No one really has a publicly known goofy nickname, and no parent wants their child’s name ridiculed. Maybe the Hokie Bird has an idea.. next time I see him (her) I’ll ask.

8. Dance-off between Brian Kelly and Justin Fuente - what song(s) does each coach dance to, who has the better stage presence and charisma, and who ultimately wins?

John Schneider: I don’t think Fuente dances. At least not unless his wife is with him and it’s a wedding... Frank did a mean dab... but something tells me that Justin Fuente would rather eat sand than dance in public.

9. Pick at least 5 Hokies players/coaches and tell me what their costume should be for Halloween this year, and why.

John Schneider: There are lots of goofballs on the team, but hazarding a guess on Halloween costumes... gee I don’t even dress up in Halloween costumes but I’m an old man. I’d dress as Santa Claus... and I’m an old Fighting Gobbler.. does that count?

Hendon Hooker might show with a Randall Cunningham jersey on... Eagles or Vikings would be the question.

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10. Prediction time: give me the final score for Virginia Tech at ND, who wins, and your reasoning why.

John Schneider: I honestly haven’t a clue. You’ll have to wait for our predictions article to come out on Friday. I am still digesting the ridiculous Irish complete meltdown against Michigan. That’s the team I want the reinvigorated Hokies to face.

If the other Notre Dame guys show up.. well then that’s a bit tougher. Pride is a sin, extreme pride is gravely sinful... I don’t want to spend that much time in the Confessional on Saturday, I’ll miss the game.

The wise guys say y’all will win in a walk.. but then they said Michigan would lose and we’d beat Dook... The wiseguys aren’t so smart this season.

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I want to give a huge shout-out to John and Bryan for answering my questions, and encourage you all to head over to Gobbler Country for their coverage leading up to this game — including what will probably be some very disappointing answers from myself in their Q&A piece later in the week.

Furthermore, make sure you follow them on their official Twitter, as well as toss John and Bryan some follows to ensure you get all that good Twitter content leading up to this match-up.

That’s all I’ve got for now, folks — tune in Friday for my typical preview, which will probably have a much more depressing and pessimistic tone than it has in a while!!!!