Benji Gosnell's college career started off rather slowly given the fact that he was coming off multiple knee injuries that forced him to redshirt in 2022. When a player goes through those type of injuries, you do wonder whether their ceiling might just be lowered a little bit given the wear and tear.
However, Gosnell started to show promise last year working in as a backup tight end. He showed plenty of versatility to be effective as a blocker and as a receiver, hauling in 12 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. The future was starting to look bright for Gosnell at that point but he was somewhat buried on the depth chart at the time.
That changed quickly though when Dae'Quan Wright decided to transfer to Ole Miss, opening the door for Gosnell to step into a larger role and show what he could do. Of course, his role didn't seem poised to be that big given the fact that the Hokies had a loaded wide receiver corps returning that was expected to take an overwhelming amount of the attention in the passing game, and understandably so.
That didn't stop Gosnell though, who is showing now why he was a four-star recruit in high school and developing into one of the most important parts of Virginia Tech's passing attack.
So far this season, Gosnell has 25 catches for 259 yards and two touchdowns, with Gosnell being tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns, second in receptions, and third in receiving yards. That isn't by accident either as Gosnell has the third-most targets (32) for the Hokies along with the most pass play snaps of any receiver this season per PFF. His 123 yards after catch also rank second on the team, showing that he's more than just a checkdown target but a threat to make a play with the ball in space.
He set the tone at the start of the season as well with four receptions for 61 yards against Vanderbilt. Since then, Gosnell has had at least four receptions in three more games, establishing himself as an important part of Tech's passing attack.
So why has Gosnell been able to take this big jump in 2024? Well in Brent Pry's perspective, it starts with the work that Gosnell put in with the strength and conditioning staff this offseason.
