Virginia Tech Football: Grant Wells joins elite company in win over ODU

One question entering the 2023 season for the Virginia Tech Hokies football team was how would quarterback Grant Wells play after a tough 2022 season? It was good on Saturday night in the 36-17 season-opening win over Old Dominion, but it could have been better.

Despite his first-half struggles, the senior bounced back in the second half and put together a strong 30 minutes to help his team pull away from the Monarchs to get revenge for last season’s loss. His performance might have gone unnoticed nationally, but he was in the same breath as some of the top QBs in the nation.

Wells joins elite quarterback company with performance

Just how good was Wells’ performance in terms of numbers against Old Dominion? According to ESPN, Wells finished with the 18th-best performance in the country for Week 1 with an 88.0 quarterback rating (QBR). Right above him 17th on the list with an 88.3 rating was early-season Heisman Trophy favorite Caleb Williams of USC. Below Wells at No. 19 was John Rhys Plumlee of the University of Central Florida with an 87.4 QBR and North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye who had an 87.0 QBR after leading the Tar Heels over South Carolina in convincing fashion.

The performance from Wells was good, but not his best, which may yet come. He was 17-for-29 for 251 yards passing with two touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. Early in the game, he missed some receivers who were open with either a long throw or coming up short of them. He did make a nice throw to wide receiver Ali Jennings in the second quarter to the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

https://twitter.com/HokiesFB/status/1698145554503463405

Make no mistake about it, Jennings, Jaylin Lane, and Da’Quan Felton are going to be big additions as playmakers on the outside for the Hokies. Running back Bhayshul Tuten is only going to get better this season and add an element to the offense that will open up the passing game for Virginia Tech. Wells was also missing tight end Nick Gallo who missed the game with an injury.

https://twitter.com/HokiesFB/status/1698157389298405840

It’s just one game, but the returns for Wells in 2023 are encouraging. His next opportunity is Saturday against Purdue at home and it’s going to be a defense that was torched by Fresno State. The chance is there to improve from last week’s performance.