Virginia Tech Football: Drones & Tuten earn ACC honors for monster efforts

Saturday night, the Virginia Tech football team opened up ACC play against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Lane Stadium. Looking to turn their season around, the Hokies took full advantage of the opportunity they had in front of a sell-out crowd and rolled to a 38-21 victory.

Offensively, Virginia Tech got several big performances from some players and most of the contributions they got were from players they added over the offseason in the transfer portal. On Monday, two of the offensive players who played really well for offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen were honored by the ACC and both were deserving.

Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones & RB Bhayshul Tuten receive ACC honors

Baylor transfer and backup quarterback Kyron Drones was forced into the starter role in Week 3 against Rutgers after Grant Wells suffered an ankle injury against Purdue. It took two weeks for the sophomore to get his feet under him, but against the Panthers, he was great from the start.

https://twitter.com/ACCFootball/status/1708889640634118195

He threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Morgan State transfer Da’Quan Felton on the Hokies’ first possession, then in the second quarter and the game tied 7-7, he scored on a 2-yard keeper. Right before halftime, he threw a 12-yard screen pass to Bhayshul Tuten and he broke a tackle on his way to the end zone.

In the third quarter, Drones scored on a 10-yard keeper after Virginia Tech’s defense forced a turnover for a 28-7 lead. After Pittsburgh closed within 28-21, Drones. connected with Jaylin Lane for a 53-yard touchdown, which ended up giving Tech some breathing room. For the night, Drones finished 12-for-19 passing for 228 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 41 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Tuten, who transferred from North Carolina A&T, finished the night with 109 yards rushing on 24 carries and he did a lot of work between the tackles and picked up some yards after contact. Against Marshall, the Hokies ran the ball effectively on their opening drive, but for some reason went away from it. They continued to pound it with Tuten against Pittsburgh and were rewarded.

It was a much-needed victory for Virginia Tech to improve to 2-3 with a trip to Florida State on the schedule this weekend. Whatever happens in Tallahassee, Bowen needs to keep the ball in the hands of Drones and Tuten.