The Virginia Tech Hokies are in the middle of their offseason workouts with Spring Practice not too far away and National Signing Day 2015 in the rearview mirror. The Hokies did not lose very many players from last season's team, but there will be some position battles this spring.
Probably the smallest position battle this spring will happen at the whip linebacker spot to see who replaces Derek Di Nardo who barely won the job originally. One player who looked like a contender to possibly contend for that spot or at least become a regular on special teams was Devin Vandyke.
However, unfortunate news broke about the football future of Vandyke.
Shame to hear news about end of Devin Vandyke’s #Hokies career. Seemed to have talent, never had chance to show it. http://t.co/tV99rWgA5c
— Alex Koma (@AlexKomaVT) February 19, 2015
Vandyke was seen as a guy with a lot of upside, but injuries and being redshirted prevented him from touching the field much over the last three years. Vandyke suffered a torn ACL during the Western Carolina game in 2013 while he only dressed for one game this past season.
The loss of Vandyke could mean that a guy like Raymon Minor will get some more playing time this spring at the whip linebacker position. The Hokies could also try Dahman McKinnon at the whip linebacker spot especially since he is smaller than normal for an inside linebacker, but has the speed to be a quality whip.
It seems most likely that the top two players battling for that spot will be Josh Trimble and Ronny Vandyke while Devin Vandyke would have been a top contender with them. Trimble and Ronny Vandyke will both be quality players, but having Devin Vandyke be there to compete would have been nice also.
Hopefully, Devin Vandyke is able to still have some role in the locker room on this team. If it goes well for Vandyke, he might just have a future as a coach.
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