The choice is in: after leaving Rice University, placekicker Zach Hoban will finish his college career at Virginia Tech.
The 6-0, 183-pounder out of West Orange, N.J. will head back toward the East Coast after playing his freshman year in Houston.
In his year as an Owl, Hoban took over as the team's kickoff specialist upon returning from an injury that cost him his first three games. He averaged 59.9 yards on 34 kicks - 14 of them going for touchbacks - for the 3-9 Owls. Opponents averaged 21.4 yards per return against the Owls' kickoff unit, though that dropped to 18.4 when Hoban assumed the duties. The Owls also gave up a single kickoff return touchdown on the season, which came before he stepped into the role.
Hoban was a scholarship player for the Owls (signed as a two-star player from Seton Hall Prep), but will at least begin his Hokie career as a preferred walk-on. Should he emerge as a contributor, the expectation - as has been the case throughout the Fuente era on special teams - is that he'd be placed on scholarship.
Hoban will have to sit out the 2020 season as a transfer, unless he is able to successfully appeal for immediate eligibility (or if the NCAA grants a blanket transfer waiver in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic).
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