To complement my “Better Know an Opponent” series, I’ve enlisted the help of some knowledgeable beat writers around the country who can help give a little more perspective about the teams the Hokies will be playing in 2013.

For Duke, I asked Laura Keeley of the News & Observer in Raleigh and Charlotte Observer to help me out. Follow her on Twitter here, get to her Bule Devils coverage here and read her blog here. 

If you missed the first part of my look at Duke, you can get to it here.

Now to the questions …

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AB: What does the departure of three-year starter Sean Renfree mean for this offense? Will it look the same under projected starter Anthony Boone?

LK: Duke is moving to more of a zone-read offense, which is quite the change in philosophy for head coach David Cutcliffe, who made his name thanks to two prolific drop-back passers (Peyton and Eli Manning). While Renfree could scramble if he needed to, he wasn’t a “running” quarterback, not by a long shot. Boone is, so there will be a lot more designed QB runs and option-type plays.

The Blue Devils will miss Renfree’s accuracy (.673 last season) and general offensive knowledge — he was an extremely smart guy. Boone has been in the system for a few years, as a redshirt junior, and led Duke to wins at Wake Forest and against Virginia last year. The accuracy, though, is a much bigger question mark.

AB: With receiver Conner Vernon gone and the running game coming off an uninspiring season, who are the play-makers in this offense and are there enough of them?

LK: Jamison Crowder, last year’s No. 2 WR (and he of the circus catch to win the game against North Carolina), will have to step into the No. 1 role. He’s undersized, listed at 5-foot-9 (that’s probably with shoes) and will have to prove he can handle the opposition’s best cover guy.

The coaching staff is really high on rising sophomore Max McCaffrey, saying the the spring that they are confident in his ability to be the No. 2 receiver. He’s got good bloodlines — his dad, Ed, was an All-American tight end at Stanford and had a 13-year NFL career. He caught two passes last year, both in the blowout at Florida State, but should be ready to handle a bigger role this year.

Tight end Braxton Deaver, who missed all of last year with a broken kneecap, is finally healthy. If he can stay that way, he could be a nice candidate for a breakout season. Also back on offense is Brandon Braxton, who played in the secondary last year after spending his first two years as a wide receiver.

As for the running backs, they’re all back from last year. Cutcliffe and Co. have never been able to establish a consistent run game in five years, so until proven otherwise, I’m not expecting a whole lot out of this group.

AB: Duke gave up an average of 280 yards on the ground in its final five games, all of which were losses. How much hope is there that the Blue Devils’ run defense, which ranked 101st nationally last year, will be better?

LK: The defensive line should be better. There were some fairly significant injuries along the line last season, but DEs Kenny Anunike and Justin Foxx, DE Sydney Sarmiento and NG Jamal Bruce are all back. Between them, they have a combined 68 starts, and there are capable backups, largely due to all of last year’s injuries.

Unlike with the running backs, where you can debate whether having the same group is a good or a bad thing, the experience on the defensive line is a definite plus. They should be better. And, for Duke to build on last year’s success they will have to be because…

AB: The secondary returns All-ACC corner Ross Cockrell but lost safeties Walt Canty and Jordon Byas and cornerback Lee Butler to graduation. Is the new group in for some growing pains? Who are the best candidates to emerge as reliable players?

The lull of the college football offseason is in full swing over the next month. I’ll try to fill that void on the blog by taking a look at all of Virginia Tech’s 2013 opponents and (hopefully) getting some insight from a beat writer who covers each team.

The next team up is Duke, which is coming off its first bowl appearance since the 1994 season.

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Who: Duke Blue Devils

When: Saturday, Oct. 26

Where: Lane Stadium in Blacksburg

Series history: Virginia Tech leads 13-7 (Last meeting: 2012 in Blacksburg, 41-20 Hokies win)

The coach: David Cutcliffe, sixth season, 21-40 at Duke; 65-69 in 11 years overall

Last year’s record: 6-7 (3-5 ACC, t-5th Coastal), lost Belk Bowl to 48-34 to Cincinnati

How they got there: The Blue Devils rode an easy early schedule, a fast start and a memorable upset win against North Carolina (one it nearly blew in the fourth quarter) to do something the team hadn’t since the 1994 season and get to a bowl game. For that, David Cutcliffe might get a statue in Durham. Not only was it the Blue Devils’ first bowl trip in 18 years, but it  was also just the second time since the ACC expanded to 12 teams that they won at least three league games. That’s how historically significant last season was. Things still didn’t end well for Duke, which lost five of six once the schedule ramped up. Perhaps epitomizing the Blue Devils’ black-and-white season was the Virginia Tech game, which they led 20-0 in the first quarter before giving up 41 straight points. In the Belk Bowl, the Blue Devils had a horrible final minute that somehow turned a sure victory into a 14-point loss. But this is Duke. And Duke doesn’t do things like get to bowl games often, so no matter how the season ended, it has to be considered a striking success.

By the numbers

• Rushing offense: 125.23 ypg (98th nationally, 8th ACC)
• Passing offense: 283.92 ypg (31st, 5th)
• Total offense: 409.15 ypg (55th, 7th)
• Scoring offense: 31.54 ppg (44th, 5th)
• Rushing defense: 201.54 ypg (101st, 10th)
• Passing defense: 267.62 ypg (101st, 11th)
• Total defense: 469.15 ypg (105th, 11th)
• Scoring defense:36.00 ppg (107th, 12th)
• Turnover margin: .15 (t-50th, 5th)

Offensive starters returning/lost: 6/5

Defensive starters returning/lost: 5/6

Biggest loss: QB Sean Renfree. I could have just as easily picked wide receiver Conner Vernon, who finished his career as the ACC’s all-time leader in receptions (283) and receiving yards (3,749), but the quarterback is so vital to Cutcliffe’s system that it has to be Renfree. A three-year starter, he threw for a career-best 3,113 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior. Finding somebody to run the show in his absence will be Duke’s priority this year.

Team linchpin: CB Ross Cockrell. Duke doesn’t have a ton of talent on defense, but Cockrell certainly stands out. As a junior he had 71 tackles and tied for a league-high with five interceptions, earning first-team All-ACC honors. He’s the lone returning starter in the secondary, so he’ll need to step up his game for the Blue Devils to make any kind of improvement back there.

Watch out for: WR Jamison Crowder. For most teams, somebody who caught 76 passes for 1,074 yards and eight touchdowns would be far and away the No. 1 receiver. Most teams don’t have Vernon. So Crowder’s stats had to settle for being about even with Vernon (they somehow finished with identical stats in receiving yards and touchdowns). The 5-foot-9, 175-pound Jamison will now be looked upon to be Duke’s primary receiving threat, which brings new challenges, but he certainly has the potential to thrive this year.

The 2013 schedule

• Aug. 31: vs. North Carolina Central
• Sept. 7: at Memphis
• Sept. 14: vs. Georgia Tech
• Sept. 21: vs. Pittsburgh
• Sept. 28: vs. Troy
• Oct. 12: vs. Navy
• Oct. 19: at Virginia
• Oct. 26: at Virginia Tech
• Nov. 9: vs. N.C. State
• Nov. 16: vs. Miami
• Nov. 23: at Wake Forest
• Nov. 30: at North Carolina

The buzz: Duke enters the season in a strange place — with expectations. Well, sort of. Even the most ardent Blue Devils fan would concede that getting back to a bowl game for a second straight year — something the school has never done — would be a major accomplishment. The schedule sets up so that six wins isn’t unrealistic, with a non-conference slate that includes North Carolina Central, Memphis, Troy and Navy (although the Midshipmen are a bowl team that are always a handful with that option offense). The conference portion actually gets significantly easier. Florida State and Clemson both rotate off, replaced by Pittsburgh (now a division opponent that the Blue Devils get at home) and N.C. State (a team Duke beat 49-28 in the teams’ last meeting in 2009). With Virginia and Wake Forest also on the schedule, six wins is actually a very reasonable goal.

Why they should be excited: When the Tennessee job came open, there was plenty of speculation that Cutcliffe, who made his name coaching Peyton Manning there under Phil Fulmer, might want to go back to his roots. But the 58-year-old stayed at Duke, where he’ll enter his sixth season, long enough to build some depth at a school that lacked it under his predecessors. For all of the Blue Devils’ success last year, they did it despite numerous injuries that ravaged the defense. That wouldn’t have been possible in the past. Duke has four offensive linemen back who have started a combined 105 games, making them one of the more experienced groups in the league. Renfree is gone, but Anthony Boone brings a dual-threat capability that could mean more option runs in Cutcliffe’s offense. With Renfree injured at times last year, Boone threw for 521 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 82 yards and two scores, so he’s shown flashes. Defensively, a line led by a hopefully-healthy, sixth-year senior Kenny Anunike figures to be the strongest unit.

Why they should worry: That stats last year still weren’t pretty, despite the win total. In ACC play, the Blue Devils were out-gained by 140.4 yards per game, a gap larger than that of even woeful Boston College. So there was some good fortune that came along with Duke’s 3-5 league record that might be due for a regression to the mean this year. The offense lost a lot of experience that will be tough to replace. So much of that success came from Renfree as a passer and Vernon as his go-to receiver. Expecting Boone-to-Crowder to be that productive might be a stretch. Duke’s running game lagged considerably and doesn’t appear to have any gamebreakers in the fold. But the biggest concerns are on defense, where the Blue Devils ranked in the bottom 25 in the country in all the major categories. The back seven only has one entrenched starter back (Cockrell). For a team last seen giving up 338 passing yards and 48 points to Cincinnati, that has to be disconcerting.

The more you know: Cutcliffe has won 21 games in five years at Duke. That’s more than any of the previous seven coaches reached, including Steve Spurrier, who was 20-13-1 in three years in Durham. You have to go back to Mike McGee (1971-78) to find a Duke football coach with more wins with the school (37).

Previous entries

• Alabama: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• Western Carolina: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• East Carolina: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• Marshall: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• Georgia Tech: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• North Carolina: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• Pittsburgh: Team overview | Ask a beat writer

The Hokies have had better recruiting weeks than this.

After 2014′s No. 1 recruit, Woodbridge defensive end Da’Shawn Hand, eliminated Virginia Tech from consideration earlier this week, the Hokies missed out on two highly-touted quarterbacks who committed Friday.

Jacob Park of Goose Creek, S.C. (right), committed to Georgia early Friday evening, not long before David Cornwell of Norman, Okla. (left), tweeted that he had committed to Alabama.

Cornwell is the No. 3 pro-style quarterback, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings. Park comes in at No. 9.

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Virginia Tech had shown interest in both. Recruiting analysts considered the Hokies as a reasonable choice for Park until recently, when Georgia made a strong push. Cornwell was in Blacksburg for a visit this week but had always been considered an Alabama lean by the recruiting services.

Their decisions came a week after another quarterback target, Mason Rudolph of Charlotte, picked Oklahoma State over LSU and Virginia Tech.

Adding this to the Hand news and Durham, N.C., safety Kalen McCain switching his commitment from Virginia Tech to N.C. State and it’s safe to say this is a week of recruiting news the Hokies would rather forget.

Tech currently has nine commitments in 2014.

It’ll be interesting to see what direction the Hokies and new offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler go with regards to quarterbacks in this class. Woodbridge’s Travon McMillian is a 6-foot, 185-pound dual-threat quarterback who has committed, although it’s unclear if he’ll ultimately end up there in college.

247 Sports recruiting analyst J.C. Shurburtt wrote that the Hokies could turn their attention toward Andrew Ford, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound prospect from Camp Hill, Pa.

Next year’s quarterback roster in Blacksburg, post-Logan Thomas, is shaping up to be Mark Leal, Trey Gresh, Brenden Motley, Carlis Parker, Bucky Hodges and walk-ons Brian Rody and Connor Jessop. Already, Parker has taken some reps as a wide receiver.

To complement my “Better Know an Opponent” series, I’ve enlisted the help of some knowledgeable beat writers around the country who can help give a little more perspective about the teams the Hokies will be playing in 2013.

For Pittsburgh, I asked Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to help me out. Follow him on Twitter here, get to his Panthers coverage here and read his blog here. 

If you missed the first part of my look at Pittsburgh, you can get to it here.

Now to the questions …

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AB: With Tino Sunseri gone, is former Rutgers/Arizona quarterback Tom Savage secure as the projected starter or is Chad Voytik’s big spring game a sign that there’s going to be a competition this fall?

SW: I would say that Savage is fairly secure as the projected starter come opening day, even if Paul Chryst won’t come out and say it. Savage is a big quarterback with a strong arm that should allow the Panthers to take advantage of the deep ball in a way that they really haven’t been able to in recent years. Just from watching spring practice, the velocity and distance Savage was able to get on his throws was very impressive. He did seem to have some issues with coverage recognition even as spring progressed, probably a sign of rust since he hasn’t seen game action in two years.

If anything, I think the fact that Savage played so little in the spring game (compared to Voytik) is a sign that Chryst is just very confident that he knows what he has in the fifth-year senior, and wanted to let the younger guy get some time under the lights. That said, Voytik was very impressive when he got his opportunity. He’s a smaller than Savage, but much more mobile. While I don’t think he’ll be the starter on opening day, he provides a very solid alternative if Savage is injured or struggles (something Pitt really hasn’t had in recent years), and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Voytik as a multi-year starter down the road.

Even as we get into fall camp, Chryst won’t be in a rush to name a starting quarterback, but when he does, it will likely be Savage.

AB: Former top recruit Rushel Shell was expected to take the reins from Ray Graham at tailback, but he transferred this offseason after going through some unspecified issues. How does Pitt going about filling that void?

SW: I think the Shell transfer came as a pretty big surprise to everyone, even many of the players I spoke to after it happened. He was poised to take over as the workhorse back in a run-first system with a coach who has a history of producing big-time running backs. While it sounds like there was some drama going on behind the scenes, it was a surprising decision, to say the least.

To replace Shell, Pitt will turn to junior Isaac Bennett and redshirt sophomore Malcolm Crockett. Those two will likely split the lion’s share of the carries, though Bennett will probably be the starter. Both were part of Todd Graham‘s only full recruiting class at Pitt in 2011, and neither has a ton of game experience (they combined for 41 carries last season). Pitt only has one running back coming in this recruiting class (James Conner), and he’s a guy most schools were recruiting as a defensive end. Originally, he almost certainly would have redshirted this season, but now I think he’ll probably be forced into playing as a true freshman.

AB: Coach Paul Chryst’s teams at Wisconsin were known for the play of their offensive line. Last year’s group at Pitt was decent at run blocking but struggled at protecting the passer. Is this year’s line closer to what Chryst has in mind up front?

SW: The offensive line is a bit of a question mark heading into the season. Each of the five positions will have a starter who didn’t play there last season. Matt Rotheram and Cory King, Pitt’s tackles last season, are both moving inside to guard, probably a natural position move for the both of them (King was actually originally recruited as a guard and only played outside last year as a necessity). Redshirt freshmen Adam Bisnowaty and Gabe Roberts will likely start at left tackle and center, respectively. The staff is very high on Bisnowaty, who put on over 30 pounds of weight during his redshirt year last season and could end up being a four-year starter along the offensive line.

The biggest question mark is at right tackle. During the spring, it was a rotation of Juantez Hollins, who was suspended for all of last season, and TJ Clemmings, a converted defensive end. Neither one seemed to lock down the job, so I would expect true freshman Dorian Johnson, a local five-star prospect [and former Hokies target], to compete for that spot right away when he gets to campus.

On a whole, I think this offensive line could be a little bit better than last year’s, just by the level of talent and guys playing their natural positions. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see some communication problems crop up, especially early, with a group that hasn’t played together before.

AB: The Panthers return eight starters from a defense that finished last season ranked 17th in total yards. Is the defense good enough to carry an offense in transition? And will it look any different under first-year coordinator Matt House?

SW: I think the defense, especially in the secondary, should be strong enough to keep Pitt in a lot of games. One of the common denominators in the Panthers’ best performances last year (the win over Virginia Tech and the triple-overtime loss to Notre Dame) was that they got a lot of key interceptions at crucial points to cut short any momentum. Cornerbacks K’Waun Williams and Lafayette Pitts are both supremely talented and can lock down receivers in one-on-one matchups that allow the safeties to freelance a little bit and go for some big plays.

Pitt doesn’t have a ton of depth up front, but a lot of that can be mitigated by defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who’s probably the best player on the roster. The biggest key for Pitt stopping the run and getting pressure on quarterbacks this year is how they’re able to match up Donald against opposing offensive lines, whether it’s getting him in one-on-ones or sending him to draw double-teams that leave other guys wide-open.

Under House, the biggest difference is you’re going to see a little bit more variation in terms of formations and playcalls on defense. With Dave Huxtable last year, Pitt pretty much lined up in a straight 4-3 alignment, occasionally going to a nickel or dime look against spread teams. Just watching during spring, they’ve used some different formations, getting a few more linebackers on the field for blitzes, for example. House will also mix in some zone coverage schemes, where Huxtable was strictly man-to-man.

AB: Chryst, now entering his second season at Pitt, brings some stability to a program in desperate need of it. How much do you think that continuity helps this program as it heads into the ACC? Can this year’s Panthers aspire to something higher than the ACC”s BBVA Compass Bowl equivalent?

SW: First off, I’m going to go ahead and assume that the ACC equivalent of the BBVA Compass Bowl is the AdvoCare V100 Bowl, in terms of its obscure sponsor, selection position (seventh) and location (Shreveport, La.).

I do think the continuity is a major factor heading into this season for Pitt. Just knowing little things like offseason routines, terminology and practice schedules can free up more time for practice and fine-tuning things. For the first time in three seasons, the Panthers don’t have to waste any time learning a new coaching staff’s routine and expectations.

That said, I think anything more than a 7-5 record and, yes, perhaps a trip to Shreveport, is the best-case scenario for Pitt this year. They’re thin at a number of positions (running back, wide receiver, offensive line and defensive line) where one injury could be disastrous. I think Chryst is making progress towards molding this team into what he would like, but there’s still a long way to go and the schedule isn’t doing him any favors this year. Pitt might be able to pull off an upset or two, but this will probably end up being a transition/rebuilding year as Chryst and the Panthers acclimate to their new conference.

Previous entries

• Alabama: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• Western Carolina: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• East Carolina: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• Marshall: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• Georgia Tech: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• North Carolina: Team overview | Ask a beat writer
• Pittsburgh: Team overview

CHRISTIANSBURG — Virginia Tech running back Michael Holmes was found guilty Thursday of a reduced charge of assault and battery, a misdemeanor, nearly two months after his arrest following a fight near downtown Blacksburg.

Holmes, who has been on an indefinite suspension from the football team since his arrest on a count of malicious wounding and two counts of simple assault, was sentenced to a 12-month suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay restitution to one of the victims totaling $13,403.

If Holmes fails to make the payments within a year, he will have to serve some or all of that jail sentence. Montgomery County District Court judge Gino Williams also ruled that he have no contact with the victims.

The simple assault charges against Holmes and assault and battery charges against three others involved in the fight April 21 were dropped by Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt.

“I wish none of it would have happened,” said Holmes, who spent two days in jail following the incident and was free on a $2,500 secured bond. “I think I defended myself, but I did too much. I have to suffer the consequences. I have to pay for my actions.”

“I think it’s reasonable,” said Jimmy Turk, Holmes’ lawyer. “I hate that he’s convicted of anything. I think he was defending himself.”

Holmes, who just turned 20 and would be a redshirt sophomore, said he hopes to be allowed back on the football team, where he finished the spring as a player in the mix for carries at tailback.

With the felony charge resolved, that’s a possibility. Any reinstatement decision would be made by Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver, who could not be reached for comment.

“If I can’t come back, I’ll try to move on to what’s next,” Holmes said.

Not everyone was pleased with the verdict, however, especially Richard Barnes, the father of Kierra Barnes and uncle of Antoine Barnes, who were involved in the incident.

“I don’t think he should ever be allowed to play football again,” said Richard Barnes, who claims Holmes punched his daughter in the face, an allegation Holmes denies. “He should have gotten more. He’s a danger to society. He’s done it once. He’ll do it again.”

In a press release from the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Pettitt said an independent witness provided details to clear up differing versions of what occurred in a downtown Blacksburg parking lot in the early morning hours of April 21, not long after Virginia Tech’s spring game.

The witness said a group including Holmes and his girlfriend Karoline Seekford were being followed by a group that included Holmes’ former girlfriend and Virginia Tech track athlete Ciara Simms, 20, and Kierra Barnes, 20.

After seeing Barnes argue with Holmes, the witness saw Simms strike Seekford. A fight ensued, with Barnes’ cousin, Antoine, joining in. According to the witness, Holmes hit Antoine Barnes and continued to strike him until he was on the ground.

Antoine Barnes suffered a broken cheekbone, bruised ribs and swollen eyes, which necessitated a trip to the hospital. The restitution payments to be made by Holmes in the next 12 months are to cover those hospital costs.

“Holmes was justified in coming to the defense of Seekford,” Pettitt wrote. “However he exceeded his right to come to her defense when he continued to hit Barnes after he was no longer attacking anyone.”

Assault and battery charges against Seekford, Simms and Kierra Barnes were dropped.

After the verdict, Kierra Barnes presented pictures to reporters of her and Antoine in the hospital with injuries. She said she has a broken nose that will require surgery next month and has filed a $25,000 civil suit against Holmes that will be heard in July.

She said Holmes hit her in the face. Holmes denies ever hitting either of the girls involved in the fight.

“It was a scruffle,” Holmes said. “It was kind of a blur, hard to tell how people got hurt.”