Scouting Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech is one win away at 5-5 from becoming bowl eligible with a home game against NC State on Saturday, and at Virginia coming up.
The Hokies started the season off rough with non-conference losses to Purdue, at Rutgers and at Rutgers.
Virginia Tech has rebound and defeated the weaker teams in the ACC — Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Syracuse and Boston College. Along the way, the Hokies have learned their identity — tough defense and physical running game.
NC State plays at Virginia Tech at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on the ACC Network.
Five Virginia Tech players to watch
Sophomore quarterback Kyron Drones
Drones has been able to beat out incumbent quarterback Grant Wells, who started two years at Marshall and last year at Virginia Tech. The 6-2, 231-pounder from Pearland, Texas, has gone 126-of-212 passing for 1,524 yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions. He has added 130 carries for 541 yards and four touchdowns, with two games of over 80 yards. He threw for 219 yards and two scores in the 48-22 win over Boston College, and he had 20 carries for 135 yards on the ground. He was a Rivals.com three-star prospect.
Sophomore linebacker Keli Lawson
The rangy 6-4, 220-pounder from Stephens City (Va.) Sherando leads Virginia Tech with 72 carries, four passes defended, 1.5 sacks, one interception and one forced fumble. He topped double digits in tackles in three straight non-conference games. He had 14 tackles against Purdue on Sept. 9, and also had 12 tackles and an interception against Marshall on Sept. 23. He was a Rivals.com three-star prospect.
Junior defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland
The Florida transfer has become a sack-master for Virginia Tech. Powell-Ryland leads Virginia Tech with nine sacks, plus 32 tackles and three forced fumbles. He decimated Wake Forest for four sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in a 30-13 win over Wake Forest. He also had two sacks against Syracuse and Old Dominion. The Chesapeake (Va.) Indian River High product was a Rivals.com three-star prospect.
Junior running back Bhayshul Tuten
The North Carolina A&T transfer has proven that he can handle the rigors of the ACC. The 5-11, 200-pounder leads VT with 137 carries for 613 yards and seven touchdowns, plus 24 catches for 218 yards and two scores. He has rushed for over yards against both Pittsburgh and Syracuse. Tuten also has 13 kickoff returns for 326 yards and a 99-yard touchdown against Florida State. Tuten had 208 carries for 1,363 yards and 13 touchdowns, and 31 catches for 342 yards and four scores for North Carolina A&T last year.
Sophomore tight end Dae’Quan Wright
Tight end Dae’Quan Wright has NFL size at 6-4 and 234 pounds, and was once projected as a receiver coming out of Perry (Ga.) High. The Rivals.com three-star prospect has 21 catches for 260 yards this season. Wright caught four passes for 77 yards vs. Purdue and he caught four passes for 58 yards last Saturday against Boston College.
What to watch for from Virginia Tech
1. Kryon Drones solidifies QB spot? Grant Wells started the first two games against Old Dominion and Purdue, and he threw for 494 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Marshall transfer was average starting for the 3-8 Hokies in 2022. He threw for 243 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for two scores in the 22-21 loss at NC State on Oct. 27, 2022.
After 13 games with Wells, the Hokies turned the offense over to Kyron Drones. He is a gifted runner on the read-option and made the offense more run-oriented. He has had 20-plus carries in three games, and at least 11 carries in seven of the eight games he has played in.
Drones threw for 321 yards and two scores, and rushed 15 times for 59 yards in the 30-13 win vs. Wake Forest on Oct. 14. He has thrown for over 219 yards in three of the eight games he has played in.
2. Virginia Tech has solid defensive line. Virginia Tech has 31 sacks and six interceptions this season.
The strength of defense resides in the trenches. Junior defensive ends Antwaun Powell-Ryland and Cole Nelson and senior defensive tackles Norell Pollard and Mario Kendricks lead the way.
Powell-Ryland has nine sacks, backup defensive end C.J. McCray has 3.5 sacks and backup defensive tackle Pheldarius Payne has three sacks. Payne had verbally committed to NC State out of junior college, but eventually flipped to Nebraska and has settled in at Virginia Tech. Kendricks was another player that NCSU recruited.
3. Beamer Ball lives on? Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry was a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech from 1995-97, and then was hired by Western Carolina from 1998-01. He worked his way up the coaching ladder the hard way before getting intertwined with Penn State coach James Franklin.
He took over a Virginia Tech program in shambles, and went 3-8 last year, but is slowly building the program back. Legendary former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer used special teams for an advantage. Sure enough, VT recovered a big onside kick last Saturday against Boston College.
Freshman kicker John Love has emerged this season and has gone 18 of 20 with a long of 46. Virginia Tech is averaging 22.0 yards on kick returns and 14.3 yards on punt returns this season.
Punt returner Tucker Holloway is averaging 17.1 yards on 14 punt returns, and Bhayshul Tuten is averaging 25.1 yards on 13 kick returns with a 99-yard touchdown against Florida State.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. NC State senior quarterback Brennan Armstrong slid into what has been working for the Wolfpack in winning the last three games.
Armstrong rushed 15 times for 96 yards and a touchdown, and went 12-of-17 passing for 113 yards and a score in a 26-6 win over Wake Forest.
Armstrong has started against Virginia Tech twice while playing at Virginia. UVA and Armstrong lost 33-15 to VT on Dec. 12, 2020. Armstrong went 25-of-46 passing for 259 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He added 15 carries for 23 yards.
Virginia Tech defeated Virginia 29-24 on Nov. 27, 2021. Armstrong went 30-of-46 passing for 400 yards, one touchdown and one interception, plus eight carries for 12 yards and two scores.
The NC State version of Armstrong might only throw 25 passes Saturday, if the Wolfpack play with the lead. Armstrong threw over 30 passes in three of his first five starts.
2. NC State redshirt junior left tackle Anthony Belton and redshirt freshman right tackle Jacarrius Peak will get tested against Virginia Tech.
Junior defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland is an equal opportunity pass-rusher, lining up at either side of the defensive line. The 6-3, 242-pounder is relentless, quick off the ball and has a few tricks up his sleeve in getting nine sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles this season.
The Florida transfer weighs 94 pounds less than 6-6, 336-pound Belton, who has given up three sacks, but has 36 pancakes and nine “Raleigh Railroad’s” for a sustained block.
The 6-4, 285-pound Peak moved into the starting lineup for the Clemson game, and has only allowed one sack in the last three games. He had eight pancakes against Wake Forest.
The last time NC State played a feared pass-rusher was Miami freshman defensive end Rueben Bain, and held him without a sack.
3. NC State has made an art form in shutting down opposing rushing attacks.
The Wolfpack can look to some of Virginia Tech’s past losses to learn what can or can’t happen against the Hokies.
Louisville supplied the blueprint in the Cardinals’ 34-3 win Nov. 4. Virginia Tech ended up throwing for 72 yards and rushed 28 times for 68 yards in being held to three points against Louisville.
Florida State topped Virginia Tech on 39-17, with the passing game struggling (104 yards), but the Hokies did run the ball well. VT had 35 carries for 209 yards and one touchdown.
NC State topped Louisville 48-41, but the Thundering Herd did defeat the Hokies 24-17 on Sept. 23. Virginia Tech slowed down dual-threat quarterback Cam Fancher, who rushed eight times for 14 yards.
Virginia Tech managed 159 passing yards and 184 rushing yards and two scores in the loss with quarterback Kyron Drones in the mix making things happen.
Three numbers of note
6 Years Virginia Tech won the expired Coastal Division, with the last one coming in 2016 under then coach Justin Fuente.
7 Top 10 finishes by Virginia Tech since 1995, which is the year the Hokies broke through with quarterback Jim Druckenmiller and defensive end Cornell Brown and went 10-2 and finished No. 10.
24 Years since Virginia Tech played for the national title and finished second in final The Associated Press poll in 1999.
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