You can bet the UVA football team will lean heavily on senior running back Perry Jones this season.
Thursday Jones was one of 49 guys named to the Paul Hornung Award watch list.
That award is given annually to the most versatile player in college football.
Last season Jones accounted for 22% of Virginia's all-purpose yards.
He led the 'Hoos with over 900 rushing yards.
Jones ranked third on the team with over 500 receiving yards.
He scored 8 touchdowns, five rushing and three receiving.
Jones even threw a touchdown pass last year in Virginia's big win at Miami.
He has lofty goals for the upcoming season.
"Me and my backup Kevin Parks have talked about how important our rushing attack is to the offense," says Jones. "Ultimately our goal is to have over two thousand yards rushing. It's something to shoot for, that's the type of mindset we have going into the season. In my mind we're more than capable of doing that."
The USA Today coaches poll was released Thursday.
Virginia tech is ranked 20th.
LSU is #1, and Alabama #2.
The Hokies have been picked to win the ACC's Coastal Division this year.
Tech has three guys named Preseason All-ACC, and that doesn't even include quarterback Logan Thomas, who is considered a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Virginia received 9 votes for the Top 25.
