Virginia Tech Football

Caleb Farley, the Virginia Tech cornerback who opted out of the 2020 college football season, says he has no regrets after making the "toughest decision" of his life.

"This was the toughest decision of my life. I live for football. But now that I've made the decision, I am totally at peace. I know I've done the right thing," Farley wrote for NBC Sports.

Farley is expected to be a first-round pick and was the first major collegiate star to opt out of the season over COVID-19 concerns.

A combination of unsafe conditions, including a lack of testing and teammates not wearing masks, led to Farley's decision:

"This year at Virginia Tech, at our workouts, I started having deep concerns about staying healthy. Guys were going home, going to Myrtle Beach, coming back to campus, and we weren't getting tested. We're all together, working out, close to each other, and you have no real idea who might have it, if anybody might have it. One day, I looked around, and we were like 100-deep in our indoor facility, no masks. My concern grew more and more.

"I started being really conflicted about playing. What this came down to is, I lost one parent. My dad is so important to me. Growing old with him means so much to me, more than football. I don't know what I would do if I contracted it and gave it to him, and he passed. I couldn't live with that. Part of me thought 'I put all my eggs into this basket since I was 6 years old...just suck it up and play. Try to stay safe.' But I couldn’t ignore all the doubts in my head."

Because college football players are not employees, NCAA teams have no recourse to punish players who make unsafe decisions. The players also do not have rights to demand safer working conditions, consistent testing and other measures that would potentially allow them to play the 2020 season without an outbreak.

A group of Pac-12 players are threatening to boycott the 2020 season if the conference does not adopt stringent safety protocols and revenue sharing, among other demands. It's unclear if players from other major conferences will make similar demands, but if anything, the pandemic has made it clear the level of value players provide to their schools. 

If changes aren't made to college football's structure soon, it's likely several stars will follow in Farley's footsteps. 

Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley will opt out of the 2020 season and instead train for the 2021 NFL draft, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

Here is former Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley’a announcement that he is opting out of the college football season to train and turn pro, sent to ESPN: pic.twitter.com/5j4FmQvGKy

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 29, 2020

"Though the competitor in me badly wants to play this season, I cannot ignore what's going on in my heart and I must make the decision that brings me the most peace," Farley said.

The redshirt junior also noted his mother died of an illness in 2018 and he "can not afford to lose another parent or loved on."

He joins Illinois running back Ra'Von Bonner among the first college football players to choose not to play this year. Over two dozen NFL players have already opted out for both voluntary reasons or being at high-risk of contracting COVID-19.

There have been several notable adjustments to the 2020 college football season due to the coronavirus, including canceled games and limited or no fans allowed at stadiums. The Pac-12 and Big Ten are both taking part in conference-only schedules.

The ACC announced Wednesday it has also altered its schedule with 10 conference games and one non-conference game.

Farley's decision will affect Virginia Tech, which will also now have to compete without one of its best players.

Farley is a two-year starter and is coming off a huge sophomore season where he was named first-team All-ACC. He matched up against some of the best receivers in the conference, totaling four interceptions and an ACC-high 16 passes defended.

Not only was he added to the Thorpe Award watch list for the best defensive backs in the country, but he also was ranked the No. 16 overall player in college football by 247Sports.

He will now skip the season and instead prepare for the draft, where he will hope to be a first-round pick. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller listed him as his top cornerback in the class going into the season.

Virginia Tech head football coach Justin Fuente will stay with the Hokies for the 2020 college football season after interviewing at Baylor as a potential replacement for Matt Rhule, who left the Bears to become head coach of the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

A Virginia Tech official confirmed the news Thursday to ESPN's Andrea Adelson, and Fuente posted a picture on Twitter of his VT staff:

2020 - Let’s go! pic.twitter.com/hSE2uNR2LB

— Justin Fuente (@CoachFuente) January 16, 2020

The 43-year-old Oklahoma native has posted a 33-20 record across four seasons with the Hokies since being hired in November 2015. Although the team has qualified for a bowl game in each of his four years, it's just 1-3 in those postseason contests, including three straight losses.

"The fact that we didn't come through in this game doesn't diminish my pride in them," Fuente told reporters after a 37-30 Belk Bowl loss to Kentucky on New Year's Eve. "My excitement for the direction of our program, my belief in what we're going to be."

Nevertheless, pressure is starting to mount on Fuente given the lack of bowl success and absence of high-profile victories on the recruiting trail. Virginia Tech currently ranks 13th in the 14-team ACC based on its commitments for the 2020 recruiting class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

His track record is strong, though. He was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2016, his first season with the Hokies, after guiding the program to a 10-4 record and a bowl win. He was also the 2014 AAC Coach of the Year after a 10-3 season with Memphis.

Fuente went 26-23 in four years with the Tigers, including 19-6 over the last two seasons, before accepting the VT job.

Meanwhile, the Baylor coaching search will continue.

Scott Roussel of FootballScoop reported other candidates include Louisiana Lafayette head coach Billy Napier, Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson, LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and Bears assistant coach Joey McGuire.

Baylor will want to make a decision in the near future, with 2020 national signing day on Feb. 5.

The NCAA denied Virginia Tech offensive lineman Brock Hoffman's appeal to immediately play for the Hokies after transferring from Coastal Carolina.

Hoffman, who tweeted the news, sought a medical hardship waiver to be closer his mother Stephanie. She had surgery to remove a non-cancerous brain tumor in 2017 and still has health issues.

The NCAA rejected the waiver in April before an appeal fell through in August, and the lineman provided his thoughts on the decision to make him wait until 2020.

2020 Loading...⏳ pic.twitter.com/qQpoG2woIf

— Brock (@BrockHoffman76) August 27, 2019

"First off I would like to thank the entire country for the overwhelming support on my case! We did what we could, but I was informed today that my appeal has been denied and that I will have to sit out the 2019 season. I will redshirt this season and have two years left to play at VT.

"I know it will be a long journey until the 2020 season, but I'm willing to take it to achieve greatness. The goal now is continue developing my body, perfecting my craft, and being a leader for my teammates. I will not let this bring me down!"

Hoffman's tweet notably included a picture of former Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth, who wore a "National Communists Against Athletes" shirt as a protest against the organization suspending him for the 1987 Orange Bowl for steroid usage.

Hoffman tweeted in April that the NCAA denied his waiver then because (a) Virginia Tech is outside a 100-mile radius from his home in Statesville, North Carolina, and (b) that the NCAA "stated that [his] mothers condition has gotten better since being at Coastal Carolina University."

Per Mike Niziolek of the Roanoke Times, "the NCAA added an 100-mile distance rule when it made changes to the medical hardship waiver process in 2012."

Hoffman also noted that his mother is suffering from "facial paralysis, hear loss and eye sight issues and will never 100% be the same."

Niziolek received the NCAA's reported perspective from a "person familiar with the NCAA process."

"The basis for the decision by the seven-person appeal's committee came down to the timing of Hoffman's transfer," Niziolek wrote. "Tech's compliance department wasn't informed of the specific voting tally."

He also provided more details.

"One of the requirements the NCAA added over the summer to the guidelines that impacted Hoffman stated student-athletes transferring because of an illness in the family 'must occur within or immediately after the academic year.'

"The appeals committee used those guidelines in debating the merits of Hoffman's appeal since it wasn't officially submitted until July."

Numerous people sided with Hoffman after news of his failed appeal broke, including ESPN college football color commentator Todd Blackledge, Chris Hummer of 247Sports and Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Ok, so I just read two consecutive reports on Twitter about CFB transfers. One says Brock Hoffman’s waiver is denied, and the other that Aubrey Solomon’s is granted. Can someone PLEASE explain to me the criteria used to make these decisions??@dennisdoddcbs @BruceFeldmanCFB

— Todd Blackledge (@Todd_Blackledge) August 27, 2019

We're never going to get full wavier stories due to FERPA rules. But man, it's a bad look for the NCAA that Brock Hoffman and Luke Ford, both of whom transferred because of sick family members, are sitting this year, while other high-profile examples are eligible. https://t.co/MZ4fbFJ69y

— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) August 27, 2019

In a million years you wouldn't be able to convince me that best interest of student athletes was served by NCAA's decision in Brock Hoffman case.
And if it's accurate they penalized him for trying to stick it out at CCU for 2 years before moving closer to home, that's abhorrent.

— Mike Barber (@StillMikeBarber) August 28, 2019

WCNC Sports Director Nick Carboni also wondered why Hoffman's appeal to play immediately was denied while some quarterbacks (the two biggest names being Ohio State's Justin Fields and Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts) are allowed to suit up right away:

Some context. Statesville's Brock Hoffman was 5 miles outside the 100 mile radius to get NCAA waiver. Meanwhile the QB carousel churns. Ridiculous.https://t.co/cgmwsBAHxU https://t.co/tt3oRefML0

— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) August 27, 2019

Hoffman will be eligible to play beginning Sept. 5, 2020, when the Hokies host Liberty.

The NCAA denied a medical hardship waiver request made by Virginia Tech offensive line transfer Brock Hoffman on Tuesday, meaning he is not eligible to play in 2019.

According to Mike Niziolek of the Roanoke Times, Hoffman applied for the waiver in March when he transferred from Coastal Carolina to Virginia Tech to be closer to his mother, who is suffering from "facial paralysis, hearing loss and impaired eyesight" after she underwent surgery to have a non-cancerous brain tumor removed in 2017.

Hoffman had no doubt that he would be eligible to play immediately at his new school: "I haven't gone a day thinking I wouldn't be eligible until today. I thought it was an open-and-shut case. I guess I was a little naive."

Hoffman filed an appeal, and an official decision will be handed down in one week.

"We understand there's a process that goes with this," Hokies head coach Justin Fuente said, per Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "We respect that process. I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that I was disappointed, for a lot of reasons."

The transfer allowed Hoffman to move closer to his home in Statesville, North Carolina, which cut his commute down from four hours to under two hours.

In its rejection of his waiver request, the NCAA noted that Hoffman is five miles outside the 100-mile radius required for medical hardship waivers and cited the fact that Hoffman's mother's condition has improved since the surgery.

Hoffman acknowledged the latter point but added, "She's never going to be 100 percent again." Hoffman also said, "I need to be there for her and I want to make it easier for her to come see me play."

Virginia Tech offensive line coach Vance Vice informed Hoffman on Tuesday that his waiver was denied. The decision irked Hoffman since other players have been granted immediate eligibility upon transferring for other reasons, including coaching changes: "It kind of gets on my nerves. They did the coaching change waiver and that stuff, I could have applied for that too, but I thought this was real, the medical hardship waiver literally fits my situation."

Coastal Carolina head coach Joe Moglia stepped down in January, meaning Hoffman could've applied for the coaching change waiver. Instead, he filed for a medical hardship waiver and did not hire an attorney since he felt the NCAA would approve his case.

If his appeal is denied, Hoffman will have to sit out the entire 2019 season before being eligible to play in 2020. He said that Vice has told him to "prepare like I'm going to be eligible."

Virginia Tech cornerback Dwayne "D.J." Crossen has been charged with a misdemeanor stemming from making an illicit video of another person.

Per Mike Gangloff and Mike Niziolek of The Roanoke Times, Crossen was formally charged with making a video of an unclothed woman without her consent and his arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

The school said in a statement released on Feb. 12 that Crossen has been suspended from the football program for an unspecified violation of team rules since September 2018. 

"He is subject to the policies set forth in the Virginia Tech Code of Student Conduct," Virginia Tech's statement said, via Joe Sirera of the News & Record. 

Gangloff and Niziolek added Crossen was also suspended by the university at the start of the 2019 calendar year, preventing him from attending classes and participating in any school activities. 

The report notes a woman accused Crossen of "making a video of her while she and Crossen engaged in consensual sex" last September, but she told investigators she said "no" when Crossen asked if he could record video. She also said she "received a message saying the video would be posted online."

Crossen committed to Virginia Tech in June 2017. He redshirted his first year with the team and appeared in two games last season against Florida State on Sept. 3 and William & Mary on Sept. 8 before being suspended. 

Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente remained positive in his message despite a rash of players transferring out of the program:

Statement from Head Coach Justin Fuente pic.twitter.com/8tQmZTsaPI

— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) January 23, 2019

"I respect the fact that each individual’s circumstances and situation are different. We will continue to support all our student-athletes and wish them best whether their future is at Virginia Tech or another institution," Fuente said in his statement. 

In the last two days, four offensive players have entered themselves in the transfer portal or announced their decisions to move on, per Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports. Quarterback Josh Jackson and running back Deshawn McClease have joined wide receiver Eric Kumah and tight end Chris Cunningham in looking for other schools.

All of them announced their decisions on Twitter, although Kumah was the only one who stated a reason, noting that receivers coach Holmon Wiggins was leaving the program. Per Adam Rittenberg of ESPN, the coach is headed to work in the same role at Alabama.

With 559 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last season, Kumah was the most productive of the four transfers in 2018.

McClease also had a strong year with 433 rushing yards on 96 carries, but he has been with the program for four seasons and he is still behind Steven Peoples on the depth chart.

Jackson is another player likely concerned with playing time after losing his starting job this past season. The quarterback started as a freshman and threw 20 touchdown passes with six rushing touchdowns, but Ryan Willis took over under center in 2018.

A transfer could allow him to find a new chance to become a starter.

Meanwhile, Cunningham scored seven touchdowns in the past three seasons but only caught 22 total passes at tight end. He could potentially be an impact player for a team that uses him all over the field.

While these could all be significant losses for an offense that was up and down last season, Fuente seems to understand the different circumstances leading to their exits.

Junior defensive end Trevon Hill was dismissed from the Virginia Tech football team Sunday.

According to ESPN.com's David M. Hale, Hokies head coach Justin Fuente said Hill was dismissed for "not upholding the high standards we have for our student-athletes."

The move occurred after Virginia Tech was shockingly upset 49-35 by Old Dominion.

Virginia Tech was ranked No. 13 in the nation entering the game, and the Monarchs were 29-point underdogs.

Hill leads the Hokies with 3.5 sacks this season, including 1.5 in Saturday's loss to Old Dominion.

The Virginia Beach, Virginia, native also has 11 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss on the campaign.

Hill finished 2017 with 46 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, a career-high 5.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one interception.

In his collegiate career, Hill has 11.5 sacks to his credit.

With Hill out of the picture, the leading candidate to start at defensive end across from junior Houshun Gaines is sophomore Emmanuel Belmar, who has just nine career tackles.

The Hokies will look to bounce back without Hill next week when they face the Duke Blue Devils in an ACC clash on the road.

In the wake of losing his mother, Caleb Farley turned toward his Virginia Tech Football team for strength and support. This season he is honoring his mother playing the sport she loved to watch him in.

Watch above to learn more about his story. 

   

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Virginia Tech quarterback Josh Jackson's academic issue has reportedly been resolved, and he is still a member of the team, according to Andy Bitter of the Roanoke Times.

Mike McDaniel of ESPN Blacksburg reported earlier this month that Jackson had been suspended indefinitely "pending an investigation into an academic issue."

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports later reported there was "no truth" to the report that Jackson had been suspended.

Jackson had a strong freshman season for the Hokies in 2017, as he completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 2,991 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He also did plenty of damage with his legs, rushing for 324 yards and six scores.

Virginia Tech was ranked as high as 12th in the AP poll last season, and it finished with a 9-4 mark.

Jackson wasn't overly hyped when he arrived at Virginia Tech, as 247Sports rated him a 3-star recruit. It also ranked him 426th in his class and 12th among dual-threat quarterbacks.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native turned heads as a redshirt freshman, however, and he will arguably the biggest key to the Hokies' success in 2018.

Bitter's report suggests the path is clear for Jackson to remain in his starting role, meaning he will likely be under center when Virginia Tech faces a tough road test against Florida State to open the regular season Sept. 3.