Logan Thomas Hype-O-Meter [7/5/2011]

As summer rolls on more and more media and non-media types begin to notice LT3...

Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas is imposing like Cam, but can he play like him?

Yeah, he gets it. On the field, he looks like Cam Newton.

"I'm already hearing the comparisons," Logan Thomas says.

Here's the scary part: he may eventually play like Newton.

CBSSports.com College Football 100: 90-81

89. LOGAN THOMAS, quarterback, Virginia Tech. Since joining the ACC in 2004, the Hokies have won four conference championships and four Coastal Division titles. The league's expansion might have expected to highlight Florida State and Miami, but it has been the Hokies who have most often represented the conference on the national stage. But for the last four years of that run, the Hokies were had ACC Player of the Year Tyrod Taylor. Now Taylor is gone, and it's Thomas who's set to take his place.

The redshirt sophomore has already impressed coaches and teammates with his performance in spring practice, and the hopes are high for his first season as the Hokies starter. Standing at 6-foot-6, Thomas often looked like the big brother as Taylor tutored him throughout last season. With quarterbacks coach Mike O'Cain now assuming the play-calling duties, the offense will run through Thomas. Tech has many of the pieces in place to defend their ACC championship, but they'll need Thomas to settle in quickly to get it done. -- CP

The Next Cameron Newton?

Might there be a new Cam Newton on the horizon? If you look in Blacksburg, Virginia you might just find one.

A Cam Newton clone; Tressel's trouble

One of the most intriguing new starting quarterbacks this season will be the Virginia Tech Hokies' supersized Logan Thomas, a strong-armed 6-foot-6, 245-pound sophomore. He played sparingly last season, completing 12 of 26 passes for 107 yards and running six times for 22 yards in seven games, although he did connect on a big throw in a tough spot against the Miami Hurricanes when Tyrod Taylor was forced out of the game. Responding that way on the road in a situation like that certainly bodes well for his 2011 potential.

This guy has a very powerful arm, fantastic size and runs well. The buzz around him is big already. My friend and Hokies beat writer Kyle Tucker tells me that Thomas has been clocked at around 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash and sports a 40-inch vertical jump. Thomas also has size 19 feet, apparently. Tucker used the word "freak" to describe Thomas, and that description sounds about right.

The Doc's Up-and-Coming Team: Meet 2011's new offensive stars

At 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, Thomas already has the NFL's eye as a Josh Freeman clone, and — given dramatically better surroundings at Tech than Freeman ever enjoyed at Kansas State — may be coach Frank Beamer's last, best shot at a BCS championship over the next three years.

Who Will Be This Year's Surprise Team?

The ESPN April ranking has them at #19 but if you are looking for this year's Auburn it is Virginia Tech. They have two striking similarities to 2010 Auburn. The first is a QB that is 6'6" 245 lbs, is mobile and is a first year starter. Auburn had Cam Newton and VT has Logan Thomas. I am not projecting a similar season, but coach Beamer is very high on him.