The 20 most interesting Virginia Tech stats entering the 2020 season (2024)

BLACKSBURG, Va. — It seems like the only numbers that matter at Virginia Tech right now are COVID-19 related. The Hokies need to see a dip in positive tests and the number of quarantined players for their season to have a chance to get underway.

Tech took a step in the right direction Wednesday, resuming practice after a four-day pause because of COVID-19 issues within the program. The Hokies didn’t work out in pads, though a good portion of the team was on the practice field for the first time since last week, necessary progress if they’re going to play their first game at home against NC State on Sept. 26.

There are more interesting numbers to look at that pertain to football, however, which we’ll hopefully see soon. Here are 20 stats to consider about Virginia Tech as the 2020 season nears.

9.6 — Hendon Hooker’s yards per attempt on 162 passes last year. Though that came in a limited number of games, it’s still the highest single-season mark for a Hokies quarterback under Justin Fuente. Ryan Willis averaged 7.7 yards per attempt last year and 7.4 in 2018. Josh Jackson averaged 7.6 in 2017 and Jerod Evans averaged 8.4 in 2016. The last Hokies quarterback to finish a season north of 9.0 yards per attempt was Tyrod Taylor at 9.5 in 2009. Before that? Michael Vick at a ridiculous 12.0 in 1999.

69.9 — Hooker’s “on-target percentage,” according to Sports Info Solutions, which ranked him 11th out of 19 ACC players who attempted 100 or more passes last season. Willis was actually sixth at 73.9 percent, suggesting Hooker, despite completing 61.1 percent of his passes and having a pass efficiency rating that would have ranked second in the ACC to Trevor Lawrence had he qualified, could be more precise with his passes in Year 2 as the starter.

197.8 — Hooker’s passer rating while under pressure, according to Sports Info Solutions, which put him No. 1 in the ACC. He completed 25 of 43 passes for 479 yards, with six touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s a small sample size — he had only the 16th-most pass attempts in the ACC while under pressure — but it’s a sign of good nerves for someone who didn’t make his first start until last October.

2.5 and 12.3 — Yards after contact and broken tackle percentage by Hokies running backs last year, which ranked 13th and 14th in the ACC, respectively, according to Sports Info Solutions. Virginia Tech hasn’t ranked better than 10th in yards after contact by running backs since Fuente took over and only once ranked higher than ninth in broken tackle percentage (seventh in 2018 at 18.3 percent). It’s no wonder the Hokies overhauled their running back room this offseason.

88.7 and 9.3 — The good and the bad of the Hokies’ pass-catchers last year. Tech was third in the ACC in its on-target catch rate at 88.7 percent, according to Sports Info Solutions, though the Hokies were 10th in the league in drop rate at 9.3 percent. Damon Hazelton, who transferred to Missouri in the winter, was tied for second in the ACC with eight drops. Tre Turner had five.

16.3 — Turner’s yards per catch, which ranked eighth in the ACC, right behind Hazelton at 17.0. That’s two consecutive seasons Turner has been north of 16, following up a 2018 season when he was fourth in the ACC at 20.6. The last time Virginia Tech had a receiver who did that in two consecutive seasons was Marcus Davis in 2011 at 17.0 and 2012 at 18.7. The last Hokies receiver to do it in three consecutive seasons (while catching at least 15 passes a year) was Bryan Still from 1993-95, when he averaged 17.3, 21.7 and 19.6 yards per catch. There’s a reason Tech fans call him Big Play Tre.

15 — Fumbles lost by the Hokies in 2019, worst in the ACC. That’s a figure that’s swung wildly during Fuente’s time. Tech lost an almost comical 18 fumbles in 2016, including nine in the first two games, which was second to last in the league. But the Hokies had only five in 2017 and six in 2018, which ranked second in the ACC both years.

522 — Receiving yards by tight ends in the final 10 games of 2019, once Hooker took over as the starter (and that was even with Dalton Keene moonlighting at running back). That was on 38 targets and 31 receptions and produced six receiving touchdowns between Keene and James Mitchell. In the first four games, tight ends were targeted 17 times, with 11 catches for only 79 yards and one touchdown.

+3 and -7 — The difference in turnover margin in the Hokies’ eight wins compared to their five losses. Tech committed nine turnovers and forced 12 in victories and committed 14 turnovers and forced seven in defeats. That’s typical of Fuente’s time in Blacksburg, where in 33 wins the Hokies are plus-32 in turnover margin (+0.94 per game) and in 20 losses they are -28 (-.1.40 per game), more than a two turnover per game swing between the two. Tech’s overall turnover margin per game last year was -0.31, which was tied for 90th nationally.

113 — College games started by the Hokies’ returning offensive linemen, with 24 each by Christian Darrisaw, Tech’s starting left tackle the past two years, and Brock Hoffman, who was a two-year starter at Coastal Carolina before having to sit out last season as a transfer. The Hokies have seven offensive linemen who have started nine or more games in their career and 10 who started at least once, depth that should come in handy in a season in which COVID-19 cases and contact tracing may force teams to dig into their bench.

2 — Teams last year that finished in the top 15 nationally in both red zone offense and defense: Georgia and Virginia Tech. The Hokies ranked sixth nationally in red zone offense, scoring points 94.5 percent of the time. That included 37 touchdowns on 55 trips, a 67.2 percent rate that ranked 38th nationally. In three of Fuente’s four years, the Hokies have been a top-30 offense in the red zone, with a blip in 2017 when they fell to 103rd. Tech was 13th nationally in red zone defense last season, allowing points just 73.8 percent of the time.

13.24 — Tech’s missed/broken tackle percentage on defense last year, according to Sports Info Solutions, which ranked sixth in the ACC. That might not sound like much, but it was a stark improvement from 2018, when the Hokies were last in the league at 14.58. When the Hokies had all that NFL talent in 2017 on what was a top-five scoring defense, they had a missed tackle percentage of 12.08.

37.9 — The Hokies’ pressure rate on defense last year, according to Sports Info Solutions, only slightly above the FBS average of 36 percent. That’s defined as a sack, hurry or QB knockdown as a percentage of drop-backs. Tech has been fairly average there in three of the past four years, only excelling in 2017 (44.6 percent). The SIS data only goes back four years, but a cruder calculation shows how infrequently the Hokies are getting after the passer compared to their heyday. Tech had a sack rate (sacks divided by pass attempts plus sacks) of 7.9 percent in 2019. From 1997-99, the Hokies had a sack rate of at least 10 percent every season, peaking at 14.4 percent in the BCS runner-up year of 1999, the highest number in any season under Bud Foster.

2-and-5 — It was a tale of two defenses at times last year for the Hokies, who posted shutouts in back-to-back weeks against Georgia Tech and Pitt but also allowed 30 or more points five times in ACC play (Boston College, Duke, Miami, North Carolina and Virginia). Tech also allowed 30 or more points to five ACC opponents in its brutal 2018 season. In the 14 years it was in the league before that, it had never happened more than four times in a season in conference play. In fact, in a seven-year stretch from 2004-10, the Hokies allowed an ACC opponent to reach 30 points just four times total (Georgia Tech in 2006, Florida State in 2008 and NC State and Florida State in 2010).

3.16 — Rushing yards allowed per carry on first down by the Hokies’ defense in 2019, which ranked second in the ACC behind Miami at 2.85. Foster’s goal was always to get opponents behind the sticks and force them into being one-dimensional by having to pass in certain situations.

5.35 — On the flip side, Tech was last in the ACC on third-down runs, allowing an average of 5.35 yards per carry. Opponents moved the chains 35 times on third-down runs against the Hokies, the third-most allowed in the conference. Most troubling? On third-and-7-to-9 yards to go — a considerable distance — the Hokies allowed six first-down runs on 21 opportunities, including four that went for touchdowns. All four were by quarterbacks, including Ian Book’s game-winner at Notre Dame and a 61-yard run by Lynn Bowden Jr. in the Belk Bowl. Nobody else in the league allowed more than one touchdown run in those situations.

225 — Tackles the past two seasons by Rayshard Ashby, tops on the team by a significant margin. There are only four Hokies in the ACC era who have made more than 260 tackles in a three-year span: Jack Tyler (261 from 2011-13), Xavier Adibi (266 from 2005-07), Andrew Motuapuaka (279 from 2015-17) and Vince Hall (340 from 2005-07). Ashby would need 116 tackles to top Hall on that list, a big number in what could be an abbreviated season but one that’s still within reach.

46.3 — Completion percentage to receivers split out wide by Hokies opponents last year, 11 percentage points lower than when they targeted slot receivers. Tech also allowed 7.0 yards per attempt to receivers lined up wide. Both figures, according to Sports Info Solutions, put the Hokies in the top four in the ACC, though with potential first-rounder Caleb Farley opting out, Tech might have a hard time duplicating those numbers with its cornerbacks again.

4 — ACC teams last year that had players ranked in the top six in the league in both punting average and field goal percentage: Wake Forest, NC State, Duke and Virginia Tech. Only the Wolfpack and Hokies return both of those kickers, with Tech boasting punter Oscar Bradburn (46.5 average, third ACC) and kicker Brian Johnson (82.6 field goal percentage, sixth). Bradburn improved his punting average by 3.9 yards last season. After a slow start, Johnson made his final 12 field goal attempts, including a 47-yarder at UVa and a career-long 54-yarder in the Belk Bowl against Kentucky.

14.2 — Tayvion Robinson’s punt return average on 13 attempts, a figure that would have ranked sixth nationally and second in the ACC had he qualified statistically. (It requires 1.2 punt returns per game played and participation in at least 75 percent of a team’s games, meaning Robinson needed to maintain that average on three more returns to qualify.) Robinson didn’t take over punt return duties until the Wake Forest game on Nov. 9. On his 13 returns, he had seven that went for 10 or more yards, with four going for 20 or more. In the first eight games, the Hokies had one return that went more than 10 yards.

Statistical data provided by Sports Info Solutions

(Top photo of Hendon Hooker: Lee Luther Jr / USA Today)