We are officially just 18 days away from a jam-packed Lane Stadium when the Virginia Tech Hokies host the North Carolina Tar Heels to kickoff the 2021 college football season.
With the Hokies deep into fall camp, a lot is going on in Blacksburg.
Here are some of the top news items from the last few days surrounding the Hokies:
Emmanuel Belmar medically retires
The senior defensive end was forced to medically retire recently, offering another hit to Virginia Tech’s depth at defensive end. The Hokies lost Justin Beadles, Robert Wooten and Alec Bryant — all 2020 signees — already this offseason, when all left the program.
Belmar’s case is different. A former linebacker, Belmar transitioned to defensive end and became a starter for the Hokies. And a good one. He suffered a concussion last October and never fully recovered.
“I feel for Emmanuel, because he was a very hard-nosed, tough football player for us for several years. He just couldn’t overcome the injury part,” Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said, per Michael Niziolek of The Roanoke Times. “We’ve encouraged him to be around as much as he’d like, as much as emotionally he can handle, because he has been an instrumental part of our team and our culture and our work ethic.”
Belmar would start games in four different seasons for the Hokies. He made 29 career starts and finished with 81 tackles, 14 of which were for loss and nine sacks.
We wish nothing but the best to Emmanuel.
Hokies land a scholarship kicker
The Hokies landed four-star cornerback Cam Johnson on Saturday, which was the big news of the day.
However, the Hokies also lander another pretty good prospect in kicker John Love. Love is considered an elite kicking prospect and was offered a full scholarship by the Hokies. When Tech offers a full ride to a specialist, it usually works out pretty well.
Kohl’s Kicking considers Love, a five-star kicker, per 247Sports. No, he isn’t a five-star prospect by the recruiting industry, but he is considered perhaps the top kicking prospect in the country for 2022. Those types of players usually play early in their careers.
Love is from Spartanburg, South Carolina. I love this move.
Beer selections at Lane Stadium
As you all may know, there will be beer at Lane Stadium this fall. Virginia Tech’s official website gave us the beer choices for this fall.
- Fightin’ Hokies Lager
- Devil’s Backbone IPA
- Bud Light
- Coors Light
- Miller Lite
- Michelob Ultra
- Blue Moon
- White Claw Black Cherry
So, what do you think about those choices, Hokies?