For a good chunk of the season, the Virginia Tech football team has been dealing with injuries, but the biggest hits have come along the offensive line. It has been a patchwork line that has had its moments in games this season through the first eight weeks, but truth be told, it's a group that needs to get as many healthy bodies back as soon as possible.
After having their much-needed bye this week, the Hokies will head to Dallas for a Friday night showdown with SMU in a game that will basically serve as an elimination game from the race for one of the two spots in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte early next month.
On Monday, Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin met with the media ahead of the game and gave a promising update on the injury front for the Hokies.
James Franklin reveals injury updates ahead of SMU Friday night showdown
Virginia Tech offensive line coach Matt Moore has been dealing with injuries going all the way back to fall camp in August. Johnny Garrett went down then, and Justin Terry was lost in the Hokies' win in late September at Maryland. Montavious Cunningham and Brody Meadows were also injured this season, but it appears that they will be back against the Mustangs.
According to Andy Bitter of Tech Sideline, Franklin is expecting Cunningham and Meadows both back for the SMU game on Friday night. If that does indeed happen, it'll be a huge boost for a team going on the road to face a good defense and defensive line that has caused a lot of problems for teams this season in their home games.
It's been said before and needs to be said again that the bye week came at a perfect time for Franklin and the injured Hokies. They have been able to survive to this point with a 6-2 record, but sooner or later, they'll need to get some bodies back. Just where both will play appears to remain a question that will be answered before kickoff, but both being available is a major boost not only to quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, but also to running backs Jeffrey Overton Jr. and Marcellous Hawkins Jr.
It remains to be seen whether the Hokies get any other injured players back against the Mustangs, who are coming off a tough 30-27 loss at Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. As mentioned above, this is a short game week for Virginia Tech with the game on Friday night, so Franklin and Moore will have one less day to figure out how the offensive line will end up shaking out, but just the fact that they'll be getting more healthy bodies back, especially along the offensive line, is promising for Virginia Tech.
The Hokies are currently nearly a touchdown underdog going on the road for a second straight ACC game before they come home next weekend to host Stanford under the lights at Lane Stadium in primetime. First things first: SMU on Friday night.
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