Photo Credit: Harley Taylor
Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente told the media today that redshirt sophomore safety Nasir Peoples will miss the 2020 season with an undisclosed, non-contact injury that is not related to COVID.
Justin Fuente announces the safety Nasir Peoples will be out for the season with an undisclosed injury (not COVID related) #Hokies
— Tim Thomas (@TimThomasTLP) September 2, 2020
Peoples was projected as a potential backup for the Hokies at either rover or the nickelback position for this upcoming season. This comes as Fuente told reporters that Peoples had been making "huge strides" this offseason.
Peoples played in 3 games in 2018 with 2 tackles including 0.5 for loss followed by playing in 12 games during the 2019 season.
One player who may slide into a larger role on the two-deep as a backup with Peoples out is true freshman Keonta Jenkins. Fuente has previously praised Jenkins as a player who has impressed among the true freshman so far and could be in line to receive some playing time this fall. Peoples' injury would seem to increase those odds of seeing Jenkins both on special teams and a limited defensive backup role.
We will have more as this story develops.