Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 254 pounds, new Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas can’t escape comparison to Cam Newton. Saturday against visiting Appalachian State, Thomas will begin to answer the Cam question. Excitement began to build last fall in Blacksburg, Va., when Thomas lined up at wideout against Wake Forest and made a leaping touchdown catch of a jump ball in the end zone. Then in the spring, Thomas wowed coaches and teammates with his strong right arm, ending speculation about who would succeed Tyrod Taylor.
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“This is going to be a franchise quarterback for an NFL team someday,” gushed senior wide receiver Jarrett Boykin.
But all this might be too much too soon for Thomas, considering his lack of experience and that he struggled last year as a garbage-time backup, completing 12 of 26 passes for 107 yards.
As a runner, Thomas is said to lack the breakaway speed of Newton and is better equipped to bowl over tacklers. As a passer, Thomas has a big arm, but his accuracy on deep balls has been sketchy.
As for Virginia Tech’s notoriously unimaginative pro-style offense, it bears little resemblance to the spread Newton thrived in last year, which was tweaked to put him in space and take advantage of his extraordinary dual-threat skills.
On the positive side, however, Mike O’Cain will be calling plays for Virginia Tech this year instead of much-criticized Bryan Stinespring, who remains offensive coordinator in name only.
When Thomas came to Virginia Tech from Brookville High in nearby Lynchburg, Va., he was rated the nation’s No. 1 prospect at tight end (SuperPrep), even though he earned Virginia AA player of the year honors as a quarterback in his senior season.
The Hokies viewed Thomas the same way it saw former tight end Greg Boone, a 6-3, 280-pounder who arrived in Blacksburg as a standout high school quarterback.
But that was before Newton showed that a successful signal-caller could come in extra large, and perhaps unfortunately spawned a succession of players ill-suited to measure up.
– Kevin Dunleavy
