Virginia Tech could be triple trouble at quarterback for Carolina.

The only silver lining of a COVID outbreak on a football team is the coach must use whichever players are healthy and, in the process, could wind up building depth for when the infected return.

The Tar Heels may be facing that situation Saturday with the Hokies, who have won their first two games with more than 20 players in each quarantined and out of action. That turned out pretty well for coach Justin Fuente, whose team could be all healthy for UNC.

Not only will it possess an awesome running game behind Kansas transfer Khalil Herbert, who is averaging 12-plus yards a carry. Running that multiple offense could be any one of three guys, all with different experiences and talent.

As a red-shirt sophomore last season, Hendon Hooker took over early in the schedule and threw for 1555 yards and 13 touchdowns, with only two interceptions. He was designated by Fuente as the returning starter until Hooker tested positive for COVID before the first game, which had to be postponed two weeks against N.C. State.

Senior Braxton Burmeister stepped in and directed a lethal run-pass-option attack in the rescheduled home win over the Wolfpack and road victory at Duke. Hooker has been cleared to play, but Fuentes is being cagey with not naming his starter, a tactic that a lot of coaches are using to keep the opponents guessing until Saturday morning.

And the Hokies have a third option at quarterback, a third-stringer who is quite familiar to Mack Brown’s team. In the Tar Heels’ six-overtime loss last year in Blacksburg, Quincy Patterson played most of overtime, and the junior built like a tight end was tough to stop and scored the winning 2-point conversion in the sixth extra period.

So who will play at quarterback in Kenan Stadium, and how many faces for the Hokies who have not been seen on tape this season by Brown and his staff?

It’s one of many problems facing Carolina, which is due to beat Virginia Tech after heartbreaking losses the last two years. But this season, the pandemic has turned the law of averages upside down.

 

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