Following a 22-point loss at Florida State last week, Virginia Tech bounced back in a big way this week with a dominant 30-13 victory over Wake Forest. There were plenty of standouts on offense and defense, but two players stood above the rest to be this week's Hokies of the Game.
Offensive Hokie of the Game: Kyron Drones
Kyron Drones has had his ups and downs since taking over as Virginia Tech's starting quarterback but on the week where he was officially named QB1, the Baylor transfer delivered his best performance as a Hokie.
Drones was 20-29 for 321 yards and 2 touchdowns plus a game-high 59 rushing yards playing well within the structure of Tech's offense while also making some great decisions about when to keep it, when to hand it off or pitch it, and when to look for a passing option on the RPO. He also made some great scrambles and pocket escapes while progressing through his receivers effectively to find an open target.
There's no doubt that Drones still has room to grow as a passer but we saw much of what he can do when he's firing on all cylinders. Tech also gave him plenty of easy underneath throws to get him going as well, but Drones deserves credit for some of the down-field throws he made going 5-8 for 162 yards on throws of more than 10 yards.
Going forward, it's become even clearer that Kyron Drones is QB1, as he proved to be a true dual-threat playmaker tonight and not just a dynamic runner who can make some of the easier throws and reads.
Jaylin Lane had another big night with a 75-yard touchdown highlight a big game during which he had 3 catches for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. Stephen Gosnell was a reliable target all night with a team-high 6 catches for 75 yards while Bhayshul Tuten was productive with 30 rushing yards and a touchdown plus 4 catches for 37 yards.
Defensive Hokie of the Game: Keonta Jenkins
On a day where Virginia Tech's defense made lots of big time plays, no player was bigger than STAR LB Keonta Jenkins.
The Florida native put on a show in this game leading the Hokies with 2 forced fumbles plus 12 tackles including 2 tackles for loss with 1 sack plus a QB hurry. Jenkins was all over the field making plays in the backfield defending the run, blitzing the quarterback effectively, and being solid in pass coverage.
In a matchup where Tech could have leaned on their nickel package, Jenkins forced Tech to stick with their base defense which minimized the impact of losing Dorian Strong to injury for much of the second half. Jenkins was steady last year, but has shown signs of taking the next steps this season with 3.5 tackles for loss just in his past four games. Don't be surprised if we see more big plays from Jenkins going forward.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland also received plenty of consideration with 6 tackles including 4.5 for loss with 4 sacks plus a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. APR had a great night and would be the choice most weeks but with it being so tight, the fact that Jenkins made more plays throughout the game compared to APR being steady before dominating the final drive with 3 sacks, led to Jenkins being the split choice.
Derrick Canteen had his ups and downs, but was a playmaker overall in this game with a spectacular interception plus a pair of pass breakups. Jorden McDonald had his best game as a Hokie with 4 tackles including 2.0 for loss plus his first career sack while Keli Lawson had 5 tackles including 1.5 for loss with 1 sack plus a forced fumble and a pass breakup.
