Liberty @ Virginia Tech preview

Virginia Tech has a new head coach for the first time in nearly three decades - and fans should expect a much different look under Justin Fuente as the Hokies play their season opener Saturday afternoon against visiting Liberty. Frank Beamer is out after 29 seasons at the helm, and Fuente hasn’t wasted much time transforming what was one of the ACC’s most moribund offenses last season.

Fuente’s biggest offseason move: naming Jerod Evans the starting quarterback ahead of last year’s starter, Brenden Motley. But while Evans, a junior college transfer, will start against Liberty, Fuente isn’t promising that he’ll be around at the end. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Fuente said regarding Evans, Motley and freshman addition Josh Jackson. “We have a lot of development, a lot of coaching, a lot of mentoring left to do with all three.” Liberty is looking to improve on a fourth-place finish in the Big South last season, a step back from its first two seasons under coach Turner Hill.

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: None

ABOUT LIBERTY (2015: 6-5): The Flames won three consecutive conference titles between 2012 and 2014 - racking up an impressive 13-3 league record along the way - but stumbled to a 3-3 conference mark last season and might struggle to put up enough points to remain competitive this season. Hill is putting the offense in the hands of Stephon Masha, a dual-threat signal caller who will need to trust in an offensive line returning just two starters. Also gone is Big South Defensive Player of the Year Chima Uzowihe, who racked up a Big South-record 25 sacks over his collegiate career.

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (2015: 7-6): Evans may be under the microscope as the Hokies look to reclaim past glory, but he has a terrific supporting cast around him. Virginia Tech returns a 1,000-yard rusher in Travon McMillian, a skilled - and towering - tight end in Bucky Hodges and a dynamic wide receiver in Isaiah Ford, who established single-season school records in receptions (75), receiving yards (1,164) and touchdowns (11) in 2015. But Virginia Tech faces depth issues on the receiving corps, with little established talent behind Hodges and Ford.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Evans was the top-rated junior dual-threat JUCO quarterback in the nation after averaging 395.5 yards through the air with 38 touchdowns in eight games.

2. Fuente amassed a 26-23 record in four seasons with Memphis before joining Virginia Tech in the offseason.

3. Ford enters the season needing 54 catches, 1,012 yards and six touchdowns to establish Hokies career marks in each category.

PREDICTION: Virginia Tech 38, Liberty 7