While wide receiver may be the spot of greatest excitement on offense for Virginia Tech fans entering the 2023 season, Tech has a talented 1-2 RB punch of redshirt sophomore Malachi Thomas and NC A&T transfer Bhayshul Tuten that earned plenty of buzz this spring.
Since then, Thomas and Tuten have continued to impress the Hokies' coaching staff. That includes head coach Brent Pry who had high praise for what Thomas and Tuten each bring to the table, and how they have performed during fall camp.
"Obviously with a healthy Malachi Thomas, I really saw some things out of him this camp that I haven’t seen out of him since I’ve been here. Some cuts and some acceleration," Pry said. "And then with the addition of Bhayshul and what he brings, the balance, the vision, the explosiveness, good ball skills for both those guys."
Offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen has also taken notice of what Thomas and Tuten have continued to do on the field beyond fall camp. That has him excited for the 1-2 punch that they can offer the Hokies while he also shared insights on the role those guys will likely take on when discussing Tech's run game as a whole.
"I think both guys have shown so far in spring, right, it’s still early in camp, that we can have a 1-2 punch, which I think is important. We had a Rolodex of guys going through, different skill set levels. I think we’ve settled on guys that are very similar in what we want to ask them to do from a majority gun run standpoint. So that’s certainly brought consistency, being able to read those runs over and over, that helps the offensive line set up blocks," Bowen said.
Beyond the big picture buzz, there are individual things that both Thomas and Tuten are doing well so far this offseason. All of this starts with Thomas who is back to being healthy after injuries limited him to 3 games last season.
The redshirt sophomore RB from Georgia continues to bring a lot of toughness and savvy football intelligence to read plays well and maximize every run as Bowen described.
"I think what I’ve been able to see in spring and then into camp is a healthy version of Malachi, which you saw that last spring and then obviously had the injury early in camp. But Malachi, from his skill set, I think you’ve got a really smart, savvy running back, he reads plays well, he can pack a load with him. We saw that at times last year. He can make a muddy four into a five or a six, and I think that’s what you saw there," Bowen said.
Thomas has also started to show of the some explosiveness that injuries took away from him last season.
"I think the big thing with Malachi, going back to his health, is I’ve just been impressed with his burst. When he sees things, being able to hit the hole and burst through," Bowen said.
While Thomas is the steady workhorse who maximizes every touch he gets and has a good amount of explosiveness, Bhayshul Tuten is a big play machine who can burn past guys and break plenty of tackles.
"And then Bhayshul, he can do those things as well, but a little quickness and explosion and an ability to make guys miss," Bowen said.
Overall, the spring hype about a dynamic 1-2 RB punch of Malachi Thomas and Bhayshul Tuten has only grown as Thomas returns to 100% health looking like his old self and then some, and Tuten continues to prove to be a big play machine.
