ACC championship

[Biggin]

Thomas is a huge dude, a lot like Bray at UT. He is like 6'6 IIRC. Or Cam Newton, since Thomas is athletic and can move.
Clayton is in the Vick/TT mold, an athletic spread QB with not a lot of size.
Thomas was a TE in high school, his size is great.

I wonder how VT will adjust their offense now, neither player is T. Taylor and possesses his skills.
If its Thomas, will they go more read-option? Zone read plays, motion handoffs, etc..

[1inStripes]

I would think they would be more pro style with Thomas.

[gcdevil22]

Thomas is 6'6 240 and will likely be the starter...he has the arm to make all the throws, and is athletic enough (4.54 40) to be a dual-threat...the thing for him will be how he handles reading defenses and seeing the field, as he only played one year of QB in high school

I think he has the poise to be a good one in time...he came in cold off the bench against UNC and delivered a 30 yard pass completion over the middle of the field that was an absolute rocket and led the drive to a TD

I don't think the offense will change all that much, besides VT will probably rely more on the run and play action passes early on in the year (at least) so he doesn't have to win a game on his own like Tyrod could

They'll also likely do to him what they did to Tyrod and Mike/Marcus Vick...give him one read with a checkdown and very little motioning before the snap so he can concentrate on where the ball will need to go...this'll make the offense a lot easier to scout, but it will lessen the burden on Thomas' shoulders to have to win the game rather than manage it

I think he'll do fine next year and turn into a great QB in the later stages of his career...he has all the tools

[gcdevil22]

FWIW, Thomas' competition won't come from Clayton...I think we've likely seen the last of him

Ricardo Young is more in the mold of the undersized QB VT fans are used to...he'll be a r-Fr next year with 2 springs under his belt having enrolled early last winter

Mark Leal is 6'3 190 out of Delray Beach, FL and is another one with a strong arm...he and Young should have a good battle for the backup spot

Lafonte Thorougood just committed a couple days ago and his first look will be at QB, though I can see with his skill set and a logjam at QB that he might be moved to WR or defense...he is 6'4 200

it seems as though VT will also steal 4* QB Marquise Williams from UNC...some are reporting he has already enrolled at VT for next semester...if so it'll be pretty big as he was compared favorably to Christian LeMay by those in the Charlotte area

VT is pretty set at QB for a while, but they'll be very green next year

[GC-1]

Thomas is a huge dude, a lot like Bray at UT. He is like 6'6 IIRC. Or Cam Newton, since Thomas is athletic and can move.
Clayton is in the Vick/TT mold, an athletic spread QB with not a lot of size.
Thomas was a TE in high school, his size is great.

I wonder how VT will adjust their offense now, neither player is T. Taylor and possesses his skills.
If its Thomas, will they go more read-option? Zone read plays, motion handoffs, etc..

Believe it or not, Thomas has never played TE. He was a WR in High School and moved to QB his Jr. season due to injured starter. Rivals pegged him as a TE. Thomas may be 6-6 240+ but he runs a 4.55 40 and has a 43" vertical. He has a strong arm but is he accurate?

Like 22 said, Clayton will probably end up a career backup due to Young and Leal and now Thourogood and possibly Williams.

I don't know if Williams will go pro or not since his injury probably really hurt his draft stock. I do see Evans going though. Tech only has 8 seniors in the 2 deep but the big one is Tyrod.

[1inStripes]

Thomas is a freak of an athlete.

[Biggin]

Believe it or not, Thomas has never played TE. He was a WR in High School and moved to QB his Jr. season due to injured starter. Rivals pegged him as a TE. Thomas may be 6-6 240+ but he runs a 4.55 40 and has a 43" vertical. He has a strong arm but is he accurate?

Like 22 said, Clayton will probably end up a career backup due to Young and Leal and now Thourogood and possibly Williams.

I don't know if Williams will go pro or not since his injury probably really hurt his draft stock. I do see Evans going though. Tech only has 8 seniors in the 2 deep but the big one is Tyrod.

**** dude, 6'6 240 is a TE lol, a TE playing WR lol

Like I said Thomas is super athletic and has great feet, I would expect a lot of what Drew said, one read throws and run if he is covered.
or go routes when no safety over the top, let him drop back and use that cannon arm.

His inexperience at QB was why I figured to see the zone-read a lot, especially early. Let him just read the DE and make the run decision.
Its way too early, and Thomas does not have all the natural gifts he has, but I could see VT going the way Auburn has, using LT as Cam. He has comparable size and speed, and IIRC Thomas is a long strider as well. Let him use his speed and size as a FB/RB as well as a QB.

The year after, Thomas will be a terror, but early he will struggle against the more complex defenses of FSU or BC. You can easily confuse a kid who has not played much QB with different pre-snap looks and reads.
hell even NFL QBs get confused, so its gonna have some growing pains in the VT offense.

Williams is better off staying another year, his draft stock has honestly plummeted. Ingram's in the same boat, but his stock did not fall as much a RW's did.

[gcdevil22]

Evans has a 4-year old kid and a wife, so he is going to the league regardless of his draft status so he can make a better life for his family...which I don't blame him one bit and hope he does extremely well in the pros

Williams just wants to get to the NFL as quickly as possible...if he had been eligible last year, he would've gone...maybe an impending lockout will deter him...if so, Williams, Wilson and Oglesby is the same RB rotation VT had last year...all just 2 years more experienced haha

I could see Wilson sticking it out all 4 years, especially if Williams returns next year, as he has never been the feature back (which is unreal to think of)

[Biggin]

If Williams stays, any possibility Wilson transfers?

[gcdevil22]

no way, he is all about VT...he wanted to red-shirt this year b/c he thought it would be best for VT a couple years down the road if he were to stay for 5 years