4 Days Until Spring Practice: True Freshmen

Seven true freshmen enrolled at Virginia Tech in January.  They have taken part in winter workouts, they will get a leg up on their fellow true freshmen by going through spring practice, and some will compete for playing time come August.

I don’t think it’s any secret that true freshmen who enroll early put themselves in a better position to earn playing time than those who arrive in the summer.  Sure, guys like Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips were able to come in and start from day one despite not enrolling early, but those who get in that extra semester have an advantage in several areas…

1: Extra strength and conditioning time with Mike Gentry and his staff.
2: An early jump on learning the playbook.
3: An early jump on adjusting to the speed of the game.
4: Earlier adjustment to college life than the other freshmen.

All four of those things are very important.  Some guys can be slow to pick up the playbook.  Some aren’t physically strong enough.  It takes some folks time to adjust to the speed of the game.  For others, the jump from high school academics to college courses can be difficult.  Getting a head start in January can be very important to a player’s development, and it gives him a better chance to compete for early playing time.

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