Virginia Tech kicker John Love has been one of the most reliable pieces of the Hokies' special teams unit throughout his career, but following a difficult stretch over the last two games, his starting job could be in jeopardy.
Head coach James Franklin announced during Monday's press conference that Virginia Tech will hold an open competition at kicker this week, with Love looking to regain his consistency ahead of Saturday's home matchup against Georgia Tech.
Love has missed each of his last three field-goal attempts, including two that Franklin described as high-percentage opportunities — both from less than 40 yards. His recent struggles have come at a particularly difficult time for Virginia Tech, which has suffered consecutive narrow losses to Pitt and Cal.
"I think obviously, when you miss three field goals in a row and two that we think are makeable and high-percentage kicks for John, we gotta make sure that we're looking at every option possible," Franklin said.
While Love remains the starter for now, Franklin confirmed that Cole Byrd and Will Love, John's younger brother, will receive opportunities to compete for the position during practice this week.
The competition won't necessarily result in a change, but Franklin made it clear that the coaching staff will evaluate the position throughout the week before determining who will handle kicking duties against Georgia Tech.
"There's always competition, but obviously depending on how game production goes, you gotta make some decisions," Franklin said. "So we'll look at that all week long, and at the end of the week, based on this week's performance, we'll either stick with what we're doing based on the production in practice, or we'll make some changes."
Franklin also revealed a potential explanation for Love's recent inconsistency. According to the head coach, Love made adjustments to his kicking stance during the offseason and has discussed returning to his previous approach.
"He did talk a little bit about maybe he made some changes to his stance in the offseason, and he's going to go back to his original stance that he's used in the past," Franklin said.
Despite the struggles, Franklin emphasized that his confidence in Love hasn't diminished. He pointed to the veteran's experience and track record as reasons to believe he can work through the difficult stretch.
"John's got a long history here. We got a lot of confidence in him. I got a ton of respect for him," Franklin said. "I got all the confidence in John that he's going to bounce back."
That confidence extends beyond the coaching staff.
Tight end Benji Gosnell, who has served alongside Love as a team captain for the last two seasons, expressed his support for the kicker during his own media availability Monday.
Gosnell emphasized Love's leadership and mental toughness, noting that his teammates have not lost faith in him despite the recent misses.
"John knows the team's behind him," Gosnell said. "I've known John for five years now, and he has a great mindset. He has a very, very veteran mindset. I mean, there's a reason he's a captain."
Gosnell also pointed to Love's ability to maintain a short memory, an important quality for a kicker attempting to rebound from missed opportunities.
"He knows he's elite, so none of my faith has wavered at all in John, and that goes to the rest of the team," Gosnell said. "We have full faith in John."
For Virginia Tech, the kicking situation is just one of several areas Franklin hopes to address following the Hokies' back-to-back losses. With the margin for error narrowing, missed opportunities in the kicking game have become particularly costly.
Franklin acknowledged that while he wants to give Love every opportunity to return to form, the coaching staff must ultimately prioritize what gives Virginia Tech the best chance to win.
"We've got to do what's in the best interest of the entire team," Franklin said.
For now, Love will have the opportunity to prove himself throughout the week. Whether that results in him retaining his starting job or Virginia Tech making a change remains to be seen.
"He'll get every opportunity to be the guy that we know he is," Franklin said. "But on the same hand, we're gonna have to make hard decisions if hard decisions are called for at the end of the week."
