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2013 Virginia Football Roster Profile: Miles Gooch

We're close. Just 17 days until BYU comes to town. Two and a half weeks. Junior WR Miles Gooch wears #17, so today is his day. He made his first reception last year, and it was a 7 yard TD. That is still his only reception though. Gooch has size and speed, which makes him an intriguing prospect at WR. He's still learning the position, and the Hoos have a lot of talent at WR, so Gooch still may not see much playing time.

By Paul Guttman
Miles Gooch has the ability to go past, around or through opposing DBs.
Miles Gooch has the ability to go past, around or through opposing DBs.
USA TODAY Sports

Position: WR
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 220
Hometown: Decatur, Ga
High School: Towers HS
Year: RS Junior

Miles Gooch was a very interesting prospect coming out of Georgia. He was a high 3 star Athlete from ESPN, a 3 star dual threat QB from Rivals and a 2 star QB from Scout. ESPN ranked him 37th among athletes in 2010. Despite those rankings, his only offers were from Toledo, Western Kentucky and Virginia. So disrespect to those other two schools, but I imagine the choice was an easy one. Playing in the ACC seems preferable to the MAC or Sun Belt.

Gooch came in as a QB, and was given a chance to stick there, but it was always a long shot. Gooch has great size and athleticism, but his mechanics as a QB were awkward and unconventional. Some thought he would move to LB, but he preferred to stay on offense and moved to WR. At WR, he was understandable raw, but his size and speed were undeniable. He's a 4.5ish guy, which is impressive at his size. But learning the ins and outs of being a WR have held him back.

Gooch played mostly special teams during his redshirt freshman season, then last year moved into the WR rotation. He had just 1 catch, but it was a TD in the win over Miami. He also continued to play special teams. He did get significant playing time at WR, but often was used on running plays or as a decoy.

Gooch is still learning how to use his size and speed to get open. Being fast isn't enough at this level, and Gooch needs to work on route running. He's become a solid blocking WR, which is a testament to his work ethic (and his impressive size/strength). If he can develop the route running aspects to the same degree, he could become a big weapon. It's been some time since the Hoos have had a big, dynamic WR, and Gooch could be that.

He's probably the 4th or 5th WR at this point (behind Smith, Jennings, Terrell and maybe Scott), but could move either up or down. Younger guys like Canaan Severin and Adrian Gamble are more advanced at the position and will continue to push for playing time. Gooch has more size than any of those guys, which could give him a leg up.

Against a team with smaller DBs, Gooch could provide a big matchup advantage. But he has to use to properly use that size, something which is still a work in progress.

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