1) I’ve got a couple of questions regarding Virginia Tech quarterbacks this week, so I thought I’d include them both.

If a QB needs help with mechanics, be it throwing or footwork, can Bowen competently do that?  Or would they have a specialist come help with that who may not be an assigned coach?  Just wondering because it seems like a stretch for Bowen to do that very detailed coaching. – Mark from Pittsburgh

Elephant in the room: what does crystal ball say about the QB situation? Who wins the job and how is he successfully coached by a guy who has never done that? – Maroon Effect

Chris Coleman: I almost always have a take on anything Virginia Tech sports related, and I’ll tell you when I do. But in this particular case, I don’t have a take on Tyler Bowen as a QB coach. There are examples of guys like Bowen working out at a new position, sometimes brilliantly, and there are other examples of guys not working out. This week, I went over some guys who have worked out, but on the other side of the coin, Zohn Burden had never coached running backs until Justin Fuente put him in that role, and it didn’t work out. Now, he’s back to being a wide receivers coach at Duke.

So, I have no idea whether or not Bowen will work out as a quarterbacks coach. It sounds odd to say, but I’m not worried about it. I think I’d normally be worried about it. If the Hokies were coming off a good year offensively and this move had been made, then maybe that’s the thing I’d focus on. We’ve all got to be worried about something, right? However, in my case, I’m so worried about Bowen as the offensive coordinator that I really can’t look past that to be worried about Bowen as the quarterbacks coach. I’ve only got so much room in my brain for worry, and right now it’s 100% dedicated to Bowen’s coordinating ability. If he’s not good enough there, it won’t matter what kind of quarterbacks coach he is.

Can he teach the fundamentals? I really don’t know. We’ll find out. But like I said, even if he teaches them flawlessly, I think if the Virginia Tech offense appears as uncoordinated as it did last year, then the strengths and weaknesses of Tech’s position coaches won’t matter all that much.

In terms of specialists, no, Tech can’t hire a specialist to coach the QBs. Only the full-time assistants can do on-field coaching. However, many college quarterbacks these days have their own specialized coaches during the offseason, and it’s entirely possible that’s the case with Drones. Part of the job of a college QB coach these days is to make sure what he’s teaching doesn’t conflict with what the QB is learning from his specialist in the offseason, and that can be tough to balance sometimes.

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