Happy Wednesday Hokies! Megan Duffy saw her team pick up their first quality win of her tenure at Virginia Tech thanks to a 91-80 victory over Rutgers. This was due in large part to a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter that turned this from a back-and-forth battle to a comfortable victory. Next up for them is a Saturday matchup with Elon before they head down to Fort Myers, FL for a pair of games after Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, Wrestling will look to make the Hokies two for two against Rutgers when they take on the Scarlet Knights in the annual Moss Arts Center dual this Friday. Additionally, Football returns to the field looking to clinch bowl eligibility against Duke in a must-win if they want to improve on their record from last season. Women’s Soccer is gearing us for a West Coast trip to take on UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday while Men’s Basketball looks to bounce back from their loss to Penn State when they take on Jacksonville this evening.
The Midweek Rundown
Injury Questions Remain: During his weekly press conference, Brent Pry shared with reporters including our Tucker Terry that Kyron Drones, Bhayshul Tuten, and Malachi Thomas are all questionable for Saturday’s game against Duke. While the bye week certainly had to help them recover some, it remains concerning that the Hokies are still considering them questionable publicly, and I don’t believe it’s just coach speak either in this case from what I’ve heard. It’s also interesting to see Jeremiah Coney get a bump into the two-deep as a co-backup RB with Thomas, though Coney could be in line for a big role Saturday depending on the health of Tuten and Thomas.
Keylen Adams Breaks Into the Two-Deep: One of the most notable things about this week’s depth chart was the emergence of Keylen Adams in the two-deep as a backup, taking the spot of slot WR Takye Heath. There had been talk that Adams would start to get his chance once the redshirt was locked in, and that now seems likely against Duke, even with the depth the Hokies have at WR. Long term, this is an encouraging sign that Adams is going to be ready to push for a starting job in 2025 alongside Heath and Ayden Greene. Of course, it remains to be seen if the Hokies add a wide receiver from the transfer portal or not.
Five Hokies Receive Senior Bowl Invites: The Senior Bowl is being to extend invites with five Hokies receiving their invitations this week in RB Bhayshul Tuten, WRs Da’Quan Felton and Jaylin Lane, DT Aeneas Peebles, and CB Dorian Strong. The surprise omission is star DE Antwaun Powell-Ryland though that can always change. Strong is the only one of those five who could return to VT next season, though that is unlikely given that he’s already been in Blacksburg for five years.
Primetime for VT-UVA: For the first time on a Saturday this season, Virginia Tech will be playing under the lights as the ACC announced Monday that the Commonwealth Cup will be an 8pm kickoff on the ACC Network on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This will be the first time that the Commonwealth Cup has been played in Blacksburg in front of a full crowd since 2018 due to COVID in 2020 and the shooting at UVA that ended the Cavaliers’ season early in 2022.
Tim Sands Discusses Athlete Payments: The Roanoke Times’ Luke Weir has an interesting story with Virginia Tech President Tim Sands about how the university is preparing for the House Settlement and the direct athlete compensation that will come from it. Sands’ comments feel a little more newsworthy nowadays given the fact that he is the head of the NCAA’s D1 Council.
Back-to-Back Double-Doubles for Rose Micheaux: Rose Micheaux is starting to hit her stride under Megan Duffy with back-to-back double-doubles as she had 19 points and 11 rebounds against Coppin State this past weekend and followed that up with 16 points and 17 rebounds against Rutgers. The Rutgers game included her having nine offensive rebounds, matching the total that Rutgers had. She may only be 6’2’’ but Micheaux is showing she can be a force on the glass even when undersized. That’s helped Tech find a different edge at times as they did against Rutgers with 21 offensive rebounds as a team which they turned into 20 second chance points.
Caleb Farley Signs With Carolina: After falling out of favor in Tennessee, former Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley has found a new NFL home with the Carolina Panthers. He was promoted to the active roster for the Panthers over the weekend where he’ll look to make a splash for the struggling NFL franchise in his home state.
Two Hokies Part of Grey Cup Championship: Former Virginia Tech DTs Woody Baron and Jordan Williams became Grey Cup champions when the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 41-24 this past weekend for the CFL title. Baron finished the season on the CFL’s version of injured reserve while Williams was part of the practice squad.
NCAA Regional Victory: This fell a little under-the-radar from last week but Virginia Tech Cross Country’s George Couttie won the NCAA Southeast Regional Cross Country race last week. That victory helped the Hokies as a team earn an invite to the NCAA Championships coming up this Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin.
Top 15 in Men's Swimming & Diving: Virginia Tech Men’s Swimming & Diving team continues to be an ascendant program as the Hokies are currently ranked 13th in the country. The Hokies are among nine ACC programs ranked in the top 25 including six in the top 15.
