Hokies must parlay lessons learned in 2019 into 2020 success

The 2019 season was not a banner one on the gridiron for Virginia Tech. A young Hokies team struggled early and limped late en route to an 8-5 record.

After the year, a second-annual wave of Transfer Portal departures - and a flirtation with Baylor for head coach Justin Fuente - didn't exactly assuage fears that this program still has a ways to get if it wants to return to its historical levels. A lack of results on the field, a lack of tranquility off it in the times since, and a group of reinforcements that ranked dead last in the ACC in Rivals.com Team Recruiting rankings: not traditionally a recipe for success!

However, there's reason to believe that the Hokies will use the struggle of 2020 to turn the corner as a program.