WR Deon Newsome Has Been Suspended for the Military Bowl

Oct 16, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies wide receiver Deon Newsome (20) returns a kick-off against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh won 21-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

This week, there has been some confusion on why Deon Newsome has not been seen practicing with the team especially with the Military Bowl only a few days away. The Hokies have used Newsome a decent amount this season especially on the jet sweep, and on kick returns.

It did not make any sense why Newsome had not been practicing with the team until Shane Beamer made an announcement about Newsome’s status for the Military Bowl.

#Hokies announce WR Deon Newsome did not make the trip to the @MilitaryBowl. He has been suspended for a violation of team rules.
— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) December 23, 2014

Losing Newsome is disappointing as while the redshirt freshman wide receiver only had 7 catches, Newsome was effective on the jet sweep with 19 carries for 93 rushing yards and an average of 4.9 yards per carry.

Newsome is one of the Hokies’ fastest players and that helped make him the best fit to be the primary reciver used on the jet sweep. However, it seems very likely that this decision was made before the last couple of days especially since the Hokies have been giving a surprise player reps at wide receiver to likely run the jet sweep with him.

#Hokies OC Scot Loeffler declines comment on status of WRs Josh Stanford and Deon Newsome for bowl game. Greg Stroman worked at WR today.
— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) December 22, 2014

It now makes a lot more sense why Stroman was working at wide receiver though the Hokies will need to use him on a couple of pass plays to prove that it isn’t going to always be a jet sweep to him or a run play to someone else when he is on the offensive side of the field.

Of course, the Hokies could scrap the plan to use Stroman at wide receiver though his tremendous speed and acceleration should make him a very intersting player on jet sweeps. If Stroman’s hands are good enough, Scot Loeffler might also try to see if he can use him on a few screen plays though many fans would probably be frustrated to see that if it is the same ineffective screen plays that Loeffler called most of the season.