Collegiate Times

Wilson also managed to set his heights high for the season, raising expectations mid-interview.

“No, no, I want to average seven yards per carry and 11 touchdowns,” Wilson said.

While the players ooze with confidence, their coaches remain cautious coming into the season.

“The thing these young backs need especially is to get a lot of reps, and obviously they’re missing them right now,” Hite said.

“Yeah, heck yeah. We got (Wilson) who’s running for GW (High School) last year, and that’s a good program, but it’s not quite the same as running against Alabama in a packed house,” Beamer said.

If anyone is ready for the bright lights on Sept. 5, it’s Williams.

“Ryan, I still think he’s a special talent, he really is, and he makes plays, and he really thrives when the lights go on,” Hite said. “I’ve never seen a guy get so excited that if we’re in a scrimmage and there’s a thousand people in the stands or there’s sixty thousand people in the stands, he thrives on all of that.”

With all that freshman talent stockpiled at tailback and the fairly experienced Oglesby, one might ask, who will actually play?

“I know I want my backs to have success, and I had this situation back in 1984 or 1985, somewhere in there, that coming out, I always had the older guy in there, and then once we got into a position on the field I brought the young guys in and let them go,” Hite said. “And really, the young guys overcame, and once they got a few games under their belt, they ended up becoming the guys that were playing all the time. We’ll just have to wait and see how that goes right now.”

When the game against Alabama comes, the best back will play regardless of class.

“They’re going to be thrown into the fire, and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Hite said. “I think it’s got to be that way, and they’re going to have to be in early in that ball game in the first quarter, and again, I think they’ll be ready ... So, whoever’s hot is going to be the one who’s going to be in there, and if he wants to be in there, he better come out of the blocks right away, because there’s not enough plays in a game to wait around for somebody to get in a rhythm.”

Regardless of who eventually earns the bulk of the carries, the group as a whole appears to be up to the task of maintaining the excellence of the running back position established at Tech.

“The running back tradition at Virginia Tech has been outstanding over the years and I think they’re looking for the challenge,” Hite said.

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