One big takeaway from Virginia Tech football’s 21-6 win over Georgia Tech was the way the defense shut down the Yellow Jackets offense. They turned them over on downs three times in the second half, had a pair of picks, and forced three punts. On the flip side after the win, a lot of attention was turned to the offensive side of the ball and a pair of key injuries.
In the second half, Virginia Tech lost offensive lineman Xavier Chaplin to what appeared to be a leg injury. If that wasn’t bad enough, running back Bhayshul Tuten went down late in the game when the Hokies were trying to run out the clock with what looked like an ankle injury. After the game, head coach Brent Pry didn’t have much of an update and later Saturday night, Kolby Crawford of 247Sports reported that Tuten was in a walking boot.
That of course sparked all kinds of speculation and a debate on just how serious his injury was. Monday on ACC PM, wide receiver Jaylin Lane joined the show and said he expected Tuten to play at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday. Tuesday at his weekly press conference, Pry also made it sound like that both players would be in action in New York on Saturday.
Brent Pry gives huge injury updates
Tuesday, the Hokies third-year coach said that both Tuten and Chaplin were probable to play against Syracuse. That in the overall big picture is the bet possible news that Pry could have gave. Virginia Tech does have Malachi Thomas and Jeremiah Coney healthy right now and more than willing than filling Tuten’s shoes, but those a giant shoes to fill.
A lot of what Virginia Tech does on offense revolves around Tuten running the ball which opens up many other things. At 5-3, the Hokies are one game away from becoming bowl-eligible and just having a less than 100% Tuten on the field is better than not having him at all. If he does play, how many carries he does get will be worth watching, but the news could have been a whole lot worse than both players being probable at this point in the week.