There was plenty of talk after the UNC game about whether Tech should still look to redshirt Dae'Quan Wright and Mansoor Delane after Wright looked good in his debut while Delane showed plenty of promise in what was his defensive debut for the Hokies.
Well, both players got even more opportunities against Pittsburgh to show if Tech should still shut them down after 4 games to redshirt them or let them go with the answer to that question being clear.
Let them play.
Yes, I'm someone who is all for trying to preserve redshirts at all costs when a guy isn't a starter from the get-go or a primary backup like a Braelin Moore for example (even if Moore didn't receive much playing time till this past week). It's why I wrote earlier in the season about my frustration regarding Bryce Duke burning a redshirt despite the fact that he's appeared in multiple games to only be the secondary kick return guy for Tech.
But this is a case where Wright and Delane have both showed that Tech is a clearly better football team with each of them playing, and with 6 games still to go, it's not worth shutting them down before an important November stretch against a weaker schedule that may give Tech a chance to still reach a bowl game this season.
Let's start with Dae'Quan Wright who led Tech in receptions against UNC and was tied for second this past week with Malachi Thomas. His 9 receptions already have him tied for fifth on the team tied with Stephen Gosnell and ahead of guys like Jadan Blue and Connor Blumrick despite only playing in two games against the toughest opposition Tech has faced this season.
While a lot of his catches have been checkdowns similar to Nick Gallo, Wright has looked like a bigger threat to have an explosive play off those for a double-digit gain and is averaging almost 1.5 yards per reception (8.7 to 7.3). This is also a guy who didn't arrive on campus till the summer yet within a few months, he's found his footing and been Tech's most dangerous receiving threat at TE against the two best teams they've played so far this season.
Wright's potential as this jumbo WR who could be developed into a TE is showing along with the reality that recruiting services are better at spotting talent as shown by his four-star rating by some prior to his arrival. His play against quality ACC competition has shown that has ready for major reps and to be the top receiving if not top overall TE for the Hokies going forward.
Meanwhile, Mansoor Delane was also not an early enrollee just like Dae'Quan Wright yet it didn't take long for him to impress the Tech coaching staff once he did arrive even while not being 100%.
Now healthy with a few months in the Tech system, Delane is living up to some of the hype as we saw early against Pitt when he came in on the third defensive possession after Brion Murray struggled on the second one. Delane seemed to help steady things some on that drive and help the Tech pass defense find their rhythm after struggling on Pitt's second drive which was also the first time Kedon Slovis threw it.
Delane has put up some solid numbers defensively with 6 tackles including 1.5 for loss while he's only had 1 pass thrown his way the past 2 games per Pro Football Focus with his coverage specific grade being just over 65 over those 2 games. While that's not spectacular, that's still solid and an improvement over what Tech has seen at times at CB especially in man coverage without Dorian Strong.
The future is now for the Hokies and with half the season still remaining, it's time to abandon any thoughts of redshirting Dae'Quan Wright and Mansoor Delane, and let them play out the season as the significant contributors they've proven themselves capable of being for this team.
