With Virginia Tech still having three open scholarships, head coach Justin Fuente decided to award a scholarship to senior kickoff specialist John Parker Romo.
College career has been quite the ride:
— John Parker Romo (@Romo_HKA) August 23, 2020
2016 UCA Scholarship
2017 Train with @HKA_Tanalski
2018 Tulsa Walk on
2019 Virginia Tech Walk on
Today... Virginia Tech Scholarship
Thank you @CoachFuente @CoachShibestVT @CoachBurnhamVT #BetOnYourself
Romo earned this scholarship after taking over as Tech's kickoff specialist in 2019 after transferring from Tulsa. Romo was impressive last season with 46 touchbacks on 69 kickoffs averaging 64.1 yards per kickoff.
He also has served as Tech's backup punter and had 8 punts last year against Notre Dame including 2 that landed inside the 20.
Adding Romo on scholarship means that the Hokies still have 2 open scholarships that they could use on another last minute grad transfer addition should they choose to do so while not affecting potential 2021 numbers. It also wouldn't be surprising to see the Hokies also reward a couple other senior walk-ons with a scholarship since it would also not affect future scholarship numbers.
Of course, the recent NCAA ruling that preserves eligibility for all fall sports athletes regardless of whether they compete or not this year seems likely to follow the spring sport legislation that meant returning seniors did not count against the scholarship limit should they choose to return to the same program.
Congrats to John Parker Romo on earning a scholarship for his final season at Virginia Tech.
