Virginia Tech & Iowa State Football 2015 – Better, worse or about the same?

VIRGINIA TECH OFFENSE

I expect Michael Brewer to again be the QB in 2015, and all indications are that he could develop in his second year as a starter.

Brewer will be playing behind a huge offensive line, but they will be less experienced after losing three players who started all 13 games last year.

The Hokies have a stable of six running backs. But they have no idea what the depth chart looks like. Trey Edmunds and JC Coleman, who is gutsy, but very undersized, will probably split carries for most of the season.

VIRGINIA TECH DEFENSE

But good news, Bud Foster has reupped and the front four will be 7 deep with experience. The linebacker corps will be the same as usual with Bud favoring lighter, quicker players.

The secondary will have great play makers once again led by Kendall Fuller, a bona fide Thorpe candidate and probable All-American. The other corners got valuable experience with Brandon Facyson having to shut it down in his injury marred sophomore campaign. Look for him to return strong, as will Luther Maddy up front.

Overall this will be a very fast and experienced defense.

BUYING OR SELLING?

This looks like a 9-4 or 10-3 team if they remain healthy. Depending on how those W’s and L’s are distributed, VT could once again sniff the top 25, and maybe sneak another coastal title into Beamer s legacy.

Charles Workman of Gobbler Country provided the information for our Virginia Tech Football 2015 Spring recap. For more Virginia Tech football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Charles & Gobbler Country on Twitter @GobblerCountry.

IOWA STATE OFFENSE

Better. Senior quarterback Sam Richardson returns with most of his targets from 2014 still running routes. Allen Lazard looks to build off a strong freshman campaign at receiver, Quenton Bundrage comes back from ACL surgery, and D’Vario Montgomery (a high school teammate of Richardson’s) looks to be the big bodied possession receiver in the middle of the field.

The departure of center Tom Farniok causes concern at the line but the other four starters are all experienced and provide a solid foundation up front.

Running back is the most inexperienced position on this side of the ball, but with an experienced line up front they should find some yardage to keep defenses honest.

IOWA STATE DEFENSE

Same. At worst this defense should be as bad as last year’s but the coaching staff paid a lot of attention to the heart of the line and brought in two JCUO defensive tackles to bolster the middle.

Starting MIKE linebacker Jevohn Miller is gone, and in his place Jordan Harris, a JUCO who redshirted last season.

The defensive backfield is experienced and led by safety Kamari Cotton-Moya, but it will be the play up front that determines whether or not this defense can tread water from last season.

BUYING OR SELLING?

Buying, to a point. Buying in a sense that it’s pretty easy to improve from two wins, but selling because the expectations of a bowl game are too steep. Iowa State should be improved from 2014 but that improvement likely doesn’t translate to a postseason bid.

Instead I see the Cyclones going 5-7 in 2015 and keeping Paul Rhoads’ hot seat just below boiling.

Dan Becker of Wide Right, Natty Lite provided the information for our Iowa State Football 2015 Spring recap. For more Iowa State football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Dan on Twitter @WRNLKnowDan.