BLACKSBURG (WSLS-10 SPORTS)- The Blacksburg football team finished 6-5 in coach Thad Well's first year at the helm of the program and earned a berth into the playoffs. This year, the team is young, but hungry for more.
"We knew that coming in we had a lot of young guys, so we have some really good talent out here but there are a lot of young guys too and even guys that are experienced are still young guys. We don't have a lot of guys graduating this year,"Â says second year coach Thad Wells.
At the quarterback position, the same name will be behind center. Well, last name, Grant Johnston is taking over the reins for older brother Isaac Johnston. Who signed to play football at Concord University.
"I just hope to do as good as him, because he did a really good job and my dad is pretty good too. So I kind of have a lot of pressure but it's all good," says sophomore quarterback Grant Johnston.
Grant and Issac's dad is "pretty good" to say the least. Chad Johnston who is the Bruins QB's coach, is a former West Virginia University quarterback.
"It's a family legacy going on here so, it's real nice to have a brother come in for a brother and their dad being coach, it's just great," explains senior defensive lineman Brad Shelton.
Johnston will lead the Bruins who plan to build on last year's success and, with a full year under Coach Wells, this Blacksburg team may be a threat.
"We expect to see competitors. We expect to see fighters. You can't always control the outcome of the game, but you can control how hard you fight. And we expect to see some guys who are ready to fight this year and we're looking forward to it," says coach Wells.
Blacksburg will host Giles for their season opener August 26th.