The Virginia Tech defense is breaking in a fresh group of linebackers this season, and it’s a unit that has multiple first-time starters with very few in-game snaps. Experience is important to excel in both the Mike and Backer positions in Bud Foster's defense. The Mike, the inside linebacker position, is truly the "quarterback" of the defense and can be viewed as an extension of Foster himself on the field. He prefers a guy there that he can trust to run his defense, make the right calls, and make the right reads, which is why rotating his linebackers has been almost non-existent during his tenure.