Virginia Tech Football: ESPN makes 2023 ACC picks

It’s hard to believe, but the 2023 Virginia Tech football season is just eight days away when they begin the season at home against Old Dominion at Lane Stadium in a non-conference game.

As the Hokies look to improve on their 3-8 record from 2022, they will do so with a roster that had some additions from the transfer portal. Second-year coach Brent Pry hit the portal hard and he is hoping to see them make an impact in 2023. ESPN came out with their ACC predictions and like the ones made by CBS, they are throwing shade at them for the upcoming season.

ESPN panel has Virginia Tech  struggling again in 2023

CBS Sports picked the Hokies to finish near the bottom of the conference standings and ESPN is not too far off in their predictions. Andrea Adelson and David Hale are in agreement, as are most of the college football experts, that Clemson and Florida State are going to be the class of the ACC. You get no argument here with that.

As far as Virginia Tech goes, Adelson picked them to finish 12th out of 14 teams and Hale picked them to finish 13th. Adelson has Georgia Tech and Virginia below the Hokies, while Hale has them just ahead of Virginia. Both picked Boston College, the Hokies only ACC win last season, to finish higher.

With what happened last season and the outlook for this season, it’s hardly surprising that Tech is picked in the spots they are. Quarterback Grant Wells is going to need a bounce-back season, but he does have three new wide receivers that Pry added through the transfer portal.

Not to be outdone, the defense is going to need to have a better 2023, which is not an understatement. They need to force more turnovers and their linebackers and cornerbacks need to develop, especially in their four non-conference games ahead of conference play. It would not be surprising to see Tech improve on their win total and come close, if not, become Bowl-eligible at the end of the season.