1) What position offensively and defensively is most inclined for a walk-on to join the team and contribute? – Stork

Chris Coleman: As a general rule, walk-ons aren’t quite as gifted athletically as their scholarship counterparts. I think it’s important to consider that. What positions require less athleticism but more of a head for the game?

Linebacker is certainly one of them. Jack Tyler was a fantastic mike linebacker for Virginia Tech and was a walk-on. Current walk-on George Ballance is closer to playing time as a position player than any other current walk-on on the Tech football team, and even got into the game for four snaps against Marshall. Cody Grimm was a walk-on whip, but to be fair, his athleticism was very underrated, particularly his acceleration. That’s why he became a starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played very intelligent football, but he could close on ball-carriers very quickly.

On the other side of the ball, I’d probably go with slot receiver. You don’t have to be a dynamic athlete to be a slot. Ideally, you’ve got good acceleration, but most importantly, you’ve got a good feel for the game and a good set of hands. Willie Byrn is the best example of this that I can think of. He caught 51 passes for the Hokies in 2013 and 47 in 2014.

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