2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Belk Bowl, L 30–37 vs. Kentucky
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Record	8–5 (5–3 ACC)
Head coach	Justin Fuente (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Brad Cornelsen (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Bud Foster (25th season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Uniform
Seasons ←  2018 2020  →

2019 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 2 Clemson xy$^		8	–	0					14	–	1
Louisville		5	–	3					8	–	5
Wake Forest		4	–	4					8	–	5
Florida State		4	–	4					6	–	7
Boston College		4	–	4					6	–	7
Syracuse		2	–	6					5	–	7
NC State		1	–	7					4	–	8
Coastal Division
Virginia x		6	–	2					9	–	5
Virginia Tech		5	–	3					8	–	5
Miami (FL)		4	–	4					6	–	7
Pittsburgh		4	–	4					8	–	5
North Carolina		4	–	4					7	–	6
Duke		3	–	5					5	–	7
Georgia Tech		2	–	6					3	–	9
Championship: Clemson 62, Virginia 17
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Tech during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hokies were led by fourth-year head coach Justin Fuente and played their home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. They competed as members of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Hokies lost to arch rival Virginia for the first time since 2003. The loss cost the Hokies the Coastal Division and a trip to the Orange Bowl.

On August 1, 2019, defensive coordinator Bud Foster announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season. ^[1] At the time of his retirement, Foster had been an assistant at Virginia Tech for 33 seasons, making him the longest serving assistant coach at the same school. ^[2]

Preseason

Preseason media poll

In the preseason ACC media poll, Virginia Tech was predicted to finish in third in the Coastal Division. ^[3]

Schedule

In non-conference play, Virginia Tech played home games against Old Dominion of Conference USA, Furman of the Southern Conference, and Rhode Island of the Colonial Athletic Association, as well as a road game against Notre Dame, a football independent. In ACC play, the Hokies will play the other members of the Coastal Division as well as Boston College and Wake Forest from the Atlantic Division.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	4:00 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	ACCN	L 28–35	35,213
September 7	12:00 p.m.	Old Dominion *		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPNU	W 31–17	57,282
September 14	12:00 p.m.	No. 16 (FCS) Furman *		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	W 24–17	52,314
September 27	7:00 p.m.	Duke		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	L 10–45	59,537
October 5	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (FL)		Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 42–35	53,183
October 12	4:00 p.m.	Rhode Island *		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	W 34–17	51,716
October 19	3:30 p.m.	North Carolina		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCRSN	W 43–41 6OT	65,632
November 2	2:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Notre Dame *		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	L 20–21	77,622
November 9	3:30 p.m.	No. 19 Wake Forest		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	W 36–17	65,632
November 16	3:30 p.m.	at Georgia Tech		Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	ACCRSN	W 45–0	43,263
November 23	3:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN2	W 28–0	55,936
November 29	12:00 p.m.	at Virginia	No. 24	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ABC	L 30–39	52,619
December 31	12:00 p.m.	vs. Kentucky *		Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina (Belk Bowl)	ESPN	L 30–37	44,138
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Source: ^[4]

Personnel

2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 2 Hendon Hooker  So QB 3 Braxton Burmeister  So QB 4 Quincy Patterson II  Fr QB 5 Ryan Willis  Sr WR 6 Hezekiah Grimsley Jr QB 6 Trevor Jackson Fr WR 8 Phil Patterson  Jr WR 9 Luke Bussel Fr WR 11 Tré Turner So QB 12 Knox Kadum Fr RB 13 Jalen Holston Jr WR 14 Damon Hazelton  Jr WR 16 Darryle Simmons  Fr RB 24 Terius Wheatley  So TE 29 Dalton Keene  (C) Jr RB 30 Caleb Steward  Fr RB 33 DeShawn McClease  Jr WR 34 Tink Boyd  Fr RB 35 Keshawn King Fr RB 37 Carter Rivenburg Fr RB 38 Nashaun Overton So RB 39 Tahj Gary Fr WR 40 Travis Williams  Fr TE 41 Ty Eller Jr TE 42 Cole Blaker  So RB 43 Cole Beck  Fr RB 44 J'Wan Evans Fr WR 45 Jacob Van Landingham  Fr RB 46 Malik Bell  Fr WR 47 John Ransom Fr WR 48 Nikia Peerman Fr WR 49 William Kakavitsas Fr OL 50 Will Pritchard Fr OL 51 Gene Kastelburg  So OL 52 Austin Cannon  Jr G 54 Lecitus Smith  So OL 58 Walker Culver  Fr OL 60 Silas Dzansi  So OL 61 Bryan Hudson Fr OL 61 Gabe Sesco Fr OL 66 Louis Mihota  Fr G 71 T. J. Jackson  Jr OL 72 Jesse Hanson Fr OL 74 Doug Nester Fr OL 75 Zachariah Hoyt  Jr OL 76 Brock Hoffman Jr OT 77 Christian Darrisaw So OL 79 Tyrell Smith (C)  Sr WR 80 Kaleb Smith  Fr TE 82 James Mitchell So WR 83 Tayvion Robinson Fr WR 85 Jaden Payoute Fr TE 86 Nick Gallo Fr WR 87 Jacob Pinckney Fr WR 88 Elijah Bowick Fr TE 89 Drake Deiluiis  So TE 90 Sam Brooks Fr WR 94 Conner Dusenbury Fr OT 95 Luke Tenuta  Fr WR 97 Keondré Banks  Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 1 Reggie Floyd (C) Sr DB 2 Jeremy Webb  Jr DB 3 Caleb Farley  So LB 4 Dax Hollifield So DL 5 Jarrod Hewitt  (C)  Jr DB 7 Devon Hunter  So DL 8 Emmanuel Belmar  Jr DB 9 Khalil Ladler  Jr DB 12 Nadir Thompson  Fr DL 13 Zion Debose  So LB 15 Keshon Artis So DB 17 Divine Deablo  Jr DB 18 Tyree Rodgers  Jr DB 19 J. R. Walker Fr DB 20 Ny'Quee Hawkins Fr DB 22 Chamarri Conner So LB 23 Rayshard Ashby Jr DB 26 Jovonn Quillen Sr DB 27 Armani Chatman  Fr DB 28 Jermaine Waller So DB 29 Ishmiel Seisay  Sr DB 30 Tyler Matheny  Fr DB 31 Nasir Peoples  Fr DB 32 Hunter Green  Fr LB 34 Alan Tisdale  Fr LB 35 Matt Johnson Fr DL 36 DaShawn Crawford Jr DB 37 Brion Murray So LB 38 Amaré Barno Jr LB 40 Ben Skinner Fr DL 41 Jaylen Griffin  So LB 43 Michael Peterson Fr LB 44 Dylan Rivers Jr DL 45 TyJuan Garbutt  So DL 46 Eli Adams  Fr LB 47 Dean Ferguson Fr LB 48 Daniel Griffith  Jr DB 49 Ed Robinson Fr LB 50 Tré Maxwell Fr DL 53 Aiden Brown  So DL 58 Josh Fuga Fr DL 90 Jaevon Becton  Fr DL 92 Jaden Cunningham Jr DL 93 Mario Kendricks Fr DL 94 Nigel Simmons  Fr DL 96 Norell Pollard Fr DL 99 Maxx Philpott Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class LS 64 Sam DeLuke  Fr LS 85 C. J. Scott Fr P 91 Oscar Bradburn Jr K 92 Mark Applegate Fr K 93 Brian Johnson  Jr K 96 John Parker Romo Jr LS 97 Oscar Shadley So K 98 Caleb Quick  Fr LS 99 Justin Pollock Fr	Head coach Justin Fuente Coordinators/assistant coaches Zohn Burden (RB) Brad Cornelsen (OC/QB) Bud Foster (Assoc. HC/DC/LB) Justin Hamilton (S) Ben Hilgart (Str + Cond) Jerry Kill (Spec. Asst.) Adam Lechtenberg (Ast. HC/Exec. Dir. of Play Dev.) Brian Mitchell (CB) James Shibest (ST/TE) John Tezzi (Recruiting) Vance Vice (OL) Charley Wiles (DL) Jafar Williams (WR) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

At Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	7	7	7	7	28
Eagles	7	21	0	7	35

See also: 2019 Boston College Eagles football team

Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
Monarchs	3	0	7	7	17
Hokies	10	7	7	7	31

See also: 2019 Old Dominion Monarchs football team

Furman

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 (FCS) Paladins	0	14	0	3	17
Hokies	3	0	14	7	24

See also: 2019 Furman Paladins football team

Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Devils	0	21	10	14	45
Hokies	3	0	7	0	10

See also: 2019 Duke Blue Devils football team

At Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	21	7	0	14	42
Hurricanes	0	7	7	21	35

See also: 2019 Miami Hurricanes football team

Rhode Island

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	6	11	0	17
Hokies	10	7	7	10	34

See also: 2019 Rhode Island Rams football team

North Carolina

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	4OT	5OT	6OT	Total
Tar Heels	10	7	7	7	3	7	0	0	0	0	41
Hokies	7	14	0	10	3	7	0	0	0	2	43

See also: 2019 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Starting with the 2019 season, every overtime period starting with the fifth overtime consists solely of one two-point attempt per team from the three yard line.

At Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	7	7	3	3	20
No. 16 Fighting Irish	7	7	0	7	21

See also: 2019 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

After poor performances against USC and Michigan, Notre Dame stepped up defensively against Virginia Tech. The hokies were held to their lowest total yards game since 2015 and lowest yards per play since 2016 in what was billed as "one of the best group effort performances" ever seen by Sports Illustrated sportswriter Bryan Driskell. ^[5] Yet, Notre Dame still needed a late touchdown to win the game by a final score 21-20 and Notre Dame extended their home winning streak to 16 games. ^[6]

Wake Forest

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Demon Deacons	3	7	7	0	17
Hokies	3	3	17	13	36

See also: 2019 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

At Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	14	17	14	0	45
Yellow Jackets	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2019 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0
Hokies	14	7	0	7	28

See also: 2019 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

At Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Hokies	3	3	21	3	30
Cavaliers	13	0	7	19	39

See also: 2019 Virginia Cavaliers football team

vs Kentucky (Belk Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	10	7	10	3	30
Wildcats	7	7	10	13	37

See also: 2019 Kentucky Wildcats football team and 2019 Belk Bowl

Honorary #25 Beamer Jersey

Since the start of the 2016 season, during the week before each game, Head Coach Justin Fuente selects an outstanding player to wear the #25 jersey in honor of former head coach, Frank Beamer, who wore #25 as a player for Virginia Tech. The jersey represents hard work, toughness, good sportsmanship and being a exemplary teammate. At first, the distinction was intended strictly for special teams players, but has since been expanded to include all team members.

The players honored in the 2019 season are: ^[7]

Game	Opponent	Player(s)
Game 1	Boston College	Tyree Rodgers
Game 2	Old Dominion	Divine Deablo (2)
Game 3	Furman	Dylan Rivers
Game 4	Duke	Oscar Bradburn (3)
Game 5	Miami	Jarrod Hewitt
Game 6	Rhode Island	Devon Hunter
Game 7	North Carolina	Rayshard Ashby
Game 8	Notre Dame	Armani Chatman
Game 9	Wake Forest	Divine Deablo (3)
Game 10	Georgia Tech	Khalil Ladler (2)
Game 11	Pittsburgh	James Mitchell
Game 12	Virginia	Dalton Keene (2) & Rayshard Ashby (2)
Belk Bowl	Kentucky	Brian Johnson

Rankings

Further information: 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	25	23	RV	—
Coaches	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	RV	RV
CFP	Not released										—	—	—	24	—	—	Not released

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2020 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
3	101	Dalton Keene	TE	New England Patriots

References

1. Niziolek, Mike (August 1, 2019). "Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster to step down". Roanoke Times . Retrieved December 11, 2023.
2. "Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster to step down after season". TribLIVE.com. Associated Press. August 1, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
3. "Clemson Favored to Continue ACC Football Championship Run". theACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
4. "2019 Virginia Tech Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
5. Driskell, Bryan (November 4, 2019). "Grades: Notre Dame Defense vs. Virginia Tech". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved November 6, 2019.
6. Berardino, Mike (November 2, 2019). "No. 16 Notre Dame needs late touchdown to get past Virginia Tech". USA Today . Retrieved November 6, 2019.
7. "Brian Johnson to wear Beamer No. 25 jersey for Belk Bowl". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved December 29, 2019.