2025 Fall Camp Notebook: Hokies Start Preparations for South Carolina

The wait is almost over Hokie Nation. This weekend, college football returns to our televisions with a great Week 0 card featuring a ranked matchup and Stanford opening the ACC's season with a trip to Hawaii. It will be a fantastic appetizer for the main course to come next weekend. The Hokies will have a lot on their plate to open the season with #13 South Carolina. The team is now putting the finishing touches on camp, and turning their eyes to the Gamecocks. Here are my top takeaways from a rainy day at practice. 

Stewart Highlights Injury Updates

• The most significant development from our small peek at practice was RB Terion Stewart had his left foot in a boot. Pry considers him day-to-day
• WR/RB Cam Seldon was back and participating today. Seemed to be full go after being out with a minor injury last week.
• WR Tayke Heath did not go through drills today, Pry says it is a "minor tweak." Does not seem like anything serious. Pry said a big emphasis this week is getting everyone to gameday healthy.
• WR Chanz Wiggins is doubtful for week one, but Pry said he's making good progress.
• WR Keylen Adams was in the training room today.
• OL Brody Meadows is "in good shape" according to Pry after being in a boot last week. 

An Intense Routes On Air Period

Routes on air is a practice staple for football teams across the country. It gives the QBs and WRs a chance to rep certain route combinations and get in sync before they face defensive pressure. In previous practices, it has mostly been treated as a warmup period, but today, the intensity was ramped up. Brent Pry started the day with the offense, trying to fire up Philip Montgomery's unit. As they went to routes on air, Pry had a message for the receivers. 

WR Coach Fontel Mines was also coaching hard during this period, preaching attention to detail especially after the catch. He told multiple guys to make sure the ball was tucked in their outside arm to help avoid fumbles. He also emphasized turning up the field rather than running out of bounds on the sideline. 

As you can see in the video above, the offense was working on stacked formations. Tech could use those stacked WRs to create some space against a South Carolina defense that likes to sit their corners at the line of scrimmage.

As always, it is difficult to project depth charts based on these drills, but Ayden and Donavon Greene remain at the front of the pack. Cam Seldon, Tucker Holloway, Micah Matthews, Isaiah Spencer, and Devin Alves also saw work in the top groups. 

The Hokies Are Gearing Up for South Carolina

We have officially reached the point of fall camp where the team splits into the two-deep and the scout team to start more specific game planning. VT was heading into inside run against the South Carolina scout team as the media was ushered off the field. So while we didn't get to see any of these team vs. scout periods, the Hokies have definitely shifted their focus away from base install and towards the Gamecocks. Pry spoke on those preparations after practice. 

Marcellous Hawkins On Battling Through Adversity

Marcellous Hawkins had an unusual road to Blacksburg. He came out of Putnam City High School as a quarterback with only Division 2 offers. He landed at Central Missouri because he wanted to play runningback because he "always wanted the ball in his hands." Hawkins shined in 2023, rushing for over 1000 yards and 18 touchdowns. Injuries hampered his 2024 campaign, as he only appeared in three games. You don't often see players jump from D2 to the Power 4, especially coming off an injury, but Hawkins says he trusts God's timing. This is reflected in his tattoos, one of which reads "Lost time is never found again." Hawkins says that phrase inspired him during his trials and tribulations, and inspired him to never give up. Now, he is competing to be one of the Hokies' feature backs in 2025, and if he can keep making plays like this, VT may have found a hidden gem in the transfer portal. 

Isaiah Cash and the VT Football 4x100 team

Pry praised Sam Houston transfer Isaiah Cash for his versatility. Saying "He's lined up at corner, he's lined up at two safety spots, and he's lined up at nickel." Says Cash is smart, experienced, and brings a good build and instincts. Added that Cash "Isn't going to go out there and blow you away in summer conditioning and testing, but when you put the pads on, he elevates."

When we spoke to Cash, he reflected on his time as a track star, saying he misses the sport all the time, but wanted to focus on football. We did have to ask him about who would make the cut for the Football 4x100 team. 

Clearing Out the Notebook

Couple of last minute thoughts from Coach Pry:

• He highlighted Jaden Muskratt and Brody Meadows as vital depth pieces up front. Says their experience makes them stand out. Pry added that the redshirt freshman and Hannes Hammer are coming along, but have not reached the level of Muskratt and Meadows yet.
• The backup QB battle continues. Pry said that Pop Watson is still a little ahead of transfer Garrett Rangel. Says Pop has cut down on his mistakes and is handling pressure better. On Rangel, Pry said "every practice, Garrett does something with his arm talent that you go man! Really nice throw." Says it will be a week-to-week competition entering the season. 

That's all for now from the notebook, we'll be back out at practice on Friday but in the meantime check out the latest from the Sons, including a conversation with Doug Bowman on the recent Board of Visitors meeting that is drawing major reactions from Hokie Nation. On a more upbeat note, also check out the Dads of Sunday pod that came out on Monday. Awesome stuff from the guys that will get every fan feeling nostalgic.