It was a rock fight in Blacksburg, but Virginia Tech did what they needed to do with their defense leading them to a comfortable 21-6 victory over Georgia Tech. The defense was full of standout performers while the offense had a couple as well with two Hokies doing enough to earn Hokie of the Game honors.
Offensive Hokie of the Game: Kyron Drones
This was one of the more debated decisions among our TLP staff this year but when you don't something positive that may have never been done before, it's hard to argue especially on a day when the offense had lots of struggles.
Kyron Drones became the first player since at least 1985, if ever to have a passing, rushing, and receiving touchdown in the same game. On this day, Drones was 16-27 for 128 yards and one passing touchdowns plus six rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, and a six-yard touchdown reception with a loss of eight on a catch of his own pass after it was deflected right to him.
This wasn't always the prettiest performance from Drones but outside of a fumble that he recovered after Parker Clements was blown by on, Drones did what he needed to do in this rock fight and never put the football in danger. While this wasn't his best performance of the year, he did enough for the Hokies to get the job done.
Benji Gosnell was my personal pick for this honor with a team-high five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown, proving to once again he can be a focal point of this passing attack. Bhayshul Tuten had a quieter day with 79 rushing yards on 17 carries plus two catches for five receiving yards in what was his first game this season without a touchdown.
Defensive Hokie of the Game: Keonta Jenkins
There were plenty of standout performers on this defense, but no one was bigger in this game than the move who has star in his starting position title, Keonta Jenkins.
The Jacksonville native was a major playmaker in this game with a team-high 10 tackles including two for loss plus a QB hurry. He also made some big plays in big moments with a big fourth down tackle for loss inside the red zone on a bend but don't break day for the Hokies' defense.
Jenkins has played at an All-ACC level for the past year and a half, with this performance being an example of why he's a man to watch whenever he takes the field for Tech's defense. Going forward, don't be surprised to see more big plays in big moments from Jenkins.
Wilfried Pene got bumped back into a co-starter role at DT this week and delivered with five tackles including one sack plus a pass breakup. Antwaun Powell-Ryland didn't have a sack in this game but he did have three tackles plus three QB hurries. Jaden Keller had eight tackles and a pass breakup in his start while Caleb Woodson had seven tackles, two QB hurries, and one pass breakup. Jaylen Jones added six tackles and an interception while Keli Lawson had three tackles, an interception, and a pass breakup.
