BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech's offensive line combination had a familiar look from the end of spring practice throughout most of training camp. Even with Tomas Rimac and Montavious Cunningham having previous starting experience at left guard and right tackle, respectively, they were becoming comfortable at new positions on the right side of the offensive line.
Both are projected to start at positions they manned at their previous schools.
The Hokies' starting offensive line will have the same five players but three in new spots when they take on No. 13 South Carolina in Sunday's season opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Rimac is moving back to left guard, Cunningham is shifting out to right tackle and Layth Ghannam is moving from left to right guard. Left tackle Johnny Garrett and center Kyle Altuner are staying at their spots.
Enjoying your free access? Help support the local journalism you love. Subscribe
"They've been working. All spring and all summer, we've been working guys at different (spots)," offensive line coach Matt Moore said. "Rimac's played three years at guard. Had to make sure he got enough reps at tackle in case we needed him. It's constantly moving around who's going to be where. You know, Monty was the backup tackle last year and got a lot of reps there, so I feel good about where we are."
Moore allowed Rimac and Cunningham to get ample reps at tackle and guard, respectively, to create depth on the offensive line. Rimac was a multi-year starter at left guard at West Virginia, while Cunningham spent two seasons playing right tackle at Georgia State.
The starting five is set, and guard Brody Meadows will be the sixth lineman utilized in the rotation.
"I feel comfortable around them," quarterback Kyron Drones said. "They've been working their tail off all year -- spring, summer, then going into fall camp -- so I'm comfortable with that O-line and I can't wait to see what they do in this game."
Hokies coach Brent Pry ruled out Auburn transfer Jaden Muskrat for Sunday's game because of an undisclosed injury. Pry said he's hopeful Muskrat will be available for the Week 2 matchup at home against Vanderbilt.
"We've got a bunch of younger guys that we need to have come on," Pry said. "And they're getting better. They're just not where they need to be quite yet."
Backup center Tommy Ricard played limited snaps in three games last season and backup right tackle Hannes Hammer (North Cross School) has played in one game over his two seasons with the program.
The other backups (Aidan Lynch and Lucas Austin) have not played a snap in college.
"We're never going to be where I want to be. It's getting better, but we're still a work in progress. We're still a work in progress," Moore said. "How you do out here on the grass with a little bit of music playing compared to how you do in a Mercedes-Benz with 80,000 people and all the pressure, we just don't know. That's what we've got to figure out."
The Hokies' new-look offensive line is being thrown into the fire in the opener against the Gamecocks and defensive end Dylan Stewart.
Stewart was named to the preseason Associated Press All-America first team after being a unanimous Freshman All-American last season. He tallied 10.5 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks in making 11 starts for South Carolina.
"He's twitchy. Really explosive, does a great job with brushing the edge and then coming back inside," Moore said of Stewart. "He's a guy you've got to know where he is on the field at all times. It's not hard to watch film and figure out that what a lot of guys did last year. You've got to know where he is. You've got to figure out a way to make him really work to get to the quarterback. You can't let him get going."
Stewart was part of a dynamic South Carolina defensive line last season that featured Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner Kyle Kennard, Tonka Hemingway and T.J. Sanders.
The quartet helped the Gamecocks tie for 10th in the nation with 41 sacks. (Virginia Tech was tied for 18th with 37 sacks.)
Kennard, Hemingway and Sanders are with NFL teams, which means the Hokies and other teams on the Gamecocks' schedule this season will focus on stopping Stewart.
"Defensively, everybody talks about Stewart, and rightfully so. You have to have a plan for him," Pry said. "But on the other side (with Bryan Thomas Jr.), that guy's a pretty good player, too. You've got to worry about him."
If the offensive line can keep Drones clean in the pocket, it will allow the quarterback time to find weaknesses in a South Carolina defense that has changes at linebacker and in the secondary.
The Gamecocks will have two new starters at linebacker, and star safety Nick Emmanwori is in the NFL.
"Just we can create a lot of matchups," Drones said. "Other than that, we know what type of offense we run. They don't really know what to look for from us right now. So at the same time, just going out there, executing and then there's going to be a lot of in-game adjustments."
Drones has a new-look wide receiving corps with transfers Donavon Greene (Wake Forest), Cam Seldon (Tennessee) and Isaiah Spencer (Jackson State) joining Ayden Greene, Tucker Holloway and Takye Heath in the rotation.
N.C. State transfer Brandon Cisse is expected to start at one cornerback and returning starter Judge Collier is slated to be at the other cornerback spot.
"They're a solid group back there," Spencer said of South Carolina's secondary. "We just have to be ready to make plays when it's time to make plays."
Nickelback Jalon Kilgore is expected to take over as the playmaker in South Carolina's secondary. Kilgore was named to the preseason AP All-America second team and he tied for the SEC lead with five interceptions last season.
"I think their safety, that guy's one of the best I've seen since I've been at Tech on film," Pry said of Kilgore. "It's going to be one of the better teams we've seen, period. So I can't say enough about what we're up against with this group. It's a quality group."
Damien Sordelett (540) 981-3124
SEASON OPENER
Va. Tech vs. No. 13 South Carolina
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
Sunday, 3 p.m., ESPN
Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Damien Sordelett Author email Follow Damien Sordelett Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today