The news of Tyrod Taylor being redshirted this season was greeted with mostly cheers and nods of approval. This means that Tyrod will theoretically have three full seasons as the undisputed starter for the Hokies. I wrote in an earlier blog post (April 21, 2008) that sitting Taylor would give a very young offense a year to mature and learn the system, while allowing T-Mobile the opportunity to continue taking snaps with the first team and practicing with the guys with whom he’ll spend the next four years.

Not many people are mentioning the downside of redshirting Taylor this season … so I will. Recruiting. Virginia Tech is looking at the 2009 season with one viable quarterback - Tyrod Taylor. Sure, they’ll have other players on the ‘09 roster with “QB” next to their position:

• Jeff Beyer (6′ 4″ | Sr.)
• Joseph “JuJu” Clayton (6′ 0″ | r-Fr.)
• Austin Decker (6′ 0″ | r-Fr.)

The pickings are slim next year. So far, no high school QBs have verbally committed to the Hokies in either the ‘09 or ‘10 recruiting classes.

You’d think that would be a great recruiting tool, but when you tell a prospective QB like 4-star recruit Kevin Newsome, who de-committed to Michigan last week, that he’ll possibly have to wait until 2012 to play, well, that can put a serious damper on the sales pitch.

When Newsome, who is from the Commonwealth and playing his senior year at Hargrave Military Academy, told Michigan that he was backing out of his verbal commitment, Hokie fans got a little excited. Virginia Tech was the first Division I program to offer Newsome a scholarship. There are rumblings out of Newsome’s old school that he was reconsidering the Hokies. Following the recent news of Tyrod Taylor’s redshirting in ‘08, I’d be surprised if the Hokies are still in Newsome’s top five.

If Newsome were to come to Tech, he could redshirt in ‘09 and assuming Tyrod stays healthy and plays out the remaining three years of his eligibility, Newsome could take the reigns of in 2012 as a redshirt Junior. But a kid with his talent probably won’t be willing to sit on the bench for two years (three if you count the redshirt year).

But, there is another possible sales pitch they could give Newsome. They could tell him that if Tyrod lives up to his potential, he’ll play a maximum of two more years at Tech before bolting for the NFL. That means Newsome will only sit on the bench for one redshirt year, which they’d want him to do anyway, and then another year backing up Taylor. Once T-Mobile leaves for the pros, Newsome will take over with three full years of elibibility.

If the Hokies can land Newsome, that would be a major coup for the program. It would give Tech a solid QB for the next 5-6 years. And with the youth on the offensive, particularly with the RBs and WRs, the offense could return to its juggernaut, ground and pound dominance. Ah, those were the days.

Until then, GO HOKIES! See you in Charlotte everyone!