Sophomore LB Tavante Beckett broke into the two-deep as a true freshman and entering this fall, appeared to be the future at mike linebacker. Beckett showed lots of grit and toughness and emerged as a very good special teams player.
Today, Hokie fans received some disappointing news.
https://twitter.com/VT_Football/status/907334198884782080
LB Tavante Beckett has been suspended indefinitely from the Virginia Tech football team and all activities. Beckett had played in the first two games and has 6 tackles in 2016 while playing in all 14 games.
Beckett was listed as the backup mike linebacker before this suspension. Redshirt senior Sean Huelskamp will likely be the Hokies' backup mike as he previously was before injuries hampered him.
Virginia Tech has states that they have no further comment on this situation at this time.
Update 9/12
Bud Foster had some brief comments on Tavante Beckett's future and the Hokies' other options. https://twitter.com/normwood/status/907653500154335237 Bud Foster didn't say much on the status of Tavante Beckett, but it does appear that Beckett may have a path to returning to the team. The fact that Foster is planning on Beckett returning is an encouraging sign that there is a chance of Beckett returning. If Beckett does return, he immediately becomes the favorite again to replace Andrew Motuapuaka as the starting mike linebacker next season. https://twitter.com/RickyLaBlue/status/907652920405000192 Sean Huelskamp will be the Hokies' backup mike linebacker this week with Rayshard Ashby and Dylan Rivers both being able to fill in as well if the Hokies needed to. Rivers profiles more as the backer of the future while Ashby could have a great chance at earning the starting mike LB job next year if Beckett doesn't return.Update 9/13:
https://twitter.com/RickyLaBlue/status/907977630758121473 Tavante Beckett has been charged with a class 5 felony conspiracy to sell/distribute marijuana and a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge. Beckett has a court date scheduled for Setpember 22nd at 8:30am. Virginia Tech has no further statement than what they said on Monday. At this point, it's hard seeing Beckett returning to the football team given the felony charge in this case. This is disappointing news for the football program especially given Beckett's promising career. If there is any good news, it's that Beckett appears to be the only Hokie in legal trouble. [amazon_link asins='B01FZT3MQO,B0198KBYBQ,B004WNI9BS,B003KL5XCQ' template='ProductCarousel' store='techlunchpail-20' marketplace='US' link_id='e35a79b8-974e-11e7-b830-f309b3b5dcaa']Stay up with The Tech Lunch Pail for the latest on the Hokies via Facebook and Twitter plus subscribe to our email updates.
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