Three Hokies Earn ACC Player of the Week Honors
By Izzy Post
With the renewal of the Black Diamond rivalry and Virginia Tech’s 31-24 win over No. 22 West Virginia, three Hokies earned ACC Player of the Week accolades.
Freshman Quarterback Josh Jackson earned Rookie of the Week in his debut at the position. Jackson posted 336 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. Jackson threw for 235 yards and rushed a total of 101 yards, making him the first quarterback to surpass 200 yards in the air and 100 yards on the ground since Logan Thomas in 2013. Jackson’s play of the game was a 46 yard rush that set up the go-ahead score with 6:30 left in the game in addition to a 5 yd touchdown run.
Senior Cam Phillips earned ACC Wide Receiver of the week for his career high performance against the Mountaineers. Phillips had 7 catches for 138 yards including a 28 yard reception to the one yard line to set up the first score of the game. His 32 yard touchdown catch in the second quarter tied him at 11th in program history for touchdown receptions, his 11th of his career. Phillips also passed Antonio Freeman in the record book for career receiving yards, he now stands at fifth with a total of 2,201 yards. Phillips also took sole possession of third place in career receptions at 172. The honor was previously head by Danny Coale.
The final Hokie to earn a spot on the list was Senior Linebacker Andrew Motuapuaka. Motuapuaka led the defense with 12 tackles and 9 solo. He had one sack and forced West Virginia Quarterback Will Grier into two hurries. Seven of Motuapuaka’s tackles came in the second half. Motuapuaka sealed the Hokes seven point victory with 22 seconds in the game when he sacked Will Grier for a two yard loss as the Mountaineers were driving to tie the game forcing them to use their final timeout. This is the eleventh double-digit tackle performance of the seniors career.
The Hokies victory has led them to be ranked 18th in both the AP and Coaches polls. The team will host Delaware in their home opener this Saturday, September 9 at 3:30. The game will be aired on the ACC Network.