Glennon to start for Hokies; Taylor will redshirt

Sean Glennon today was named the starting quarterback for Virginia Tech, which will redshirt sophomore Tyrod Taylor.

Hokies head coach Frank Beamer said that the decision was made on Saturday and the two quarterbacks were told on Sunday. Beamer said Taylor was receptive to the plan.

Cory Holt will serve as Virginia Tech’s backup quarterback and has been getting second-team reps. However, should Glennon suffer a major injury early in the season, Taylor will be the guy.

When asked if there was a cutoff point on burning Taylor’s redshirt season, Beamer said they haven’t talked about it.

“In the end, I think everyone feels like for [the] long term, if we can get this thing done, this is a good plan,“ Beamer said.

This will leave Taylor with three years of eligibility as the starting quarterback.

“He’s only going to get better and better with more and more experience,“ Beamer said.

After splitting time last season, Glennon and Taylor competed for the job during the preseason, with neither separating himself from the other

Glennon was the starter for all of 2006. He completed 56.3 percent of his passes for 2,191 yards, 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He faced significant criticism after throwing three interceptions and losing a fumble in a Chick-fil-A Bowl loss to Georgia. Still, he began last season as the starter but was pulled in favor of Taylor in the second game, at Louisiana State.

Taylor, the jewel of Tech’s 2007 recruiting class, started the next five games: Ohio, William and Mary, North Carolina, Clemson and Duke. Glennon did not play significant snaps unit the Duke game, in which Taylor suffered a high-ankle sprain. When Taylor returned after missing two games—at home against Florida State—the Hokies debuted a two-quarterback rotation that they used for the season’s final five games, over which they went 4-1 and won the ACC championship.

Glennon finished the season completing 60.9 percent of his passes for 1,796 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. Taylor’s stats: 53.7 percent, 927 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. Taylor also is a threat to scramble—one reason why some people favor him over Glennon—and he ran 102 times last season for 429 yards.