Hokies Football: Wyatt Teller Has Earned Starting Spot After Strong Game Against Boston College

Before the start of fall practice, many Hokie fans saw Wyatt Teller as Virginia Tech's best offensive lineman and as someone who had the potential to be an All-ACC player for the next couple of seasons. However, many were surprised to see that Teller was behind Colt Pettit at the left guard spot with most knowing that based on talent, Teller was the most talented. Quickly, it became clear that while Pettit wasn't as good as Teller; Pettit was a much more disciplined player with Teller having a serious issue with personal fouls. After the first two games, having Teller not be the starter made sense as a punishment for the way-too-high amount of penalty yards that he was costing the Hokies on offense with personal fouls. On Saturday, Teller played a lot more discipline and did not get a single personal foul in what was a strong performance for the redshirt junior guard. While Teller wasn't announced at the starter, he was listed after the game as the Saturday and after his strong performance on Saturday, there should no longer be any controversy regarding the starting left guard. Wyatt Teller should unquestionably be the starting left guard. Teller had multiple pancakes on Saturday and while he wasn't perfect, he was fairly consistent throughout the game. The Hokies' offensive line also seemed a lot stronger on the interior around the left guard and center spots this week with Teller getting most of the left guard reps compared to Pettit getting most of the left guard reps against Tennessee. Another good thing for the Hokies is that Teller already has a lot of good chemistry with the other offensive line starters as Yosuah Nijman took some reps with the first team offense last season at left tackle while Teller is definitely used to playing with Jonathan McLaughlin and Augie Conte. Vance Vice's policy of having the first and second team offensive lines getting reps with different players should also help Teller's chemistry with whoever the center is whether it be Eric Gallo or Kyle Chung. Teller should know that his starting spot and significant playing time is still not a guarantee if his discipline becomes an issue again and causes the Hokies to get multiple, unnecessary personal fouls. However, Teller has proven once again that he is the best left guard when he is not giving defenses free sets of 15 yards. Wyatt Teller has fought hard and earned his starting left guard spot back with improved on-field discipline.