Virginia Tech heads into the 2020 football season with three quarterbacks with starting experience at the Power 5 level, which is something that very few – if any – programs around the country can say. Hendon Hooker is the returning starter, but redshirt junior Braxton Burmeister has experience from his days at Oregon, and redshirt sophomore Quincy Patterson has a start under his belt from last year’s Notre Dame game, plus the second half comeback against UNC, as well as late-game action in Tech’s 45-0 victory at Georgia Tech.
All we have to do is go back a little over a decade to the 2009 season to see how things have changed. That year Tyrod Taylor was a junior starter for the Hokies, but behind him was career backup Ju-Ju Clayton and true freshman Logan Thomas, who redshirted that year. An injury to Taylor in 2009 would have been a disaster for Tech. These days the Hokies are better equipped to handle injuries at the quarterback position ... or missed games due to COVID-19 issues.