When the dust settled on Sunday afternoon of Virginia Tech's 24-11 season-opening loss to South Carolina, the reviews were mixed. There was some good to come out of the game, but there were also some frustrating moments and some mistakes made that really shouldn't have been.
Virginia Tech is breaking in several players from the transfer portal, as well as playing some returners who are younger players. There were some bright spots for the Hokies, who impressed and could be a big contributor to the 2025 season. Here are three risers from Virginia Tech's season opener.
Ayden Greene
We knew how good Ayden Greene was, and he showed up and had quite the afternoon against the Gamecocks. He had five catches for 71 yards, and that doesn't include a nice catch along the sideline in the first half, falling out of bounds, which was brought back because of a penalty.
He came along last year and was a key part of the offense, even with all the talented receivers the Hokies had, and now, he'll be a big part of the offense this season. Along with Donavon Greene, they are two good options for quarterback Kyron Drones and new offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery.
Marcellous Hawkins
Virginia Tech was missing Bowling Green transfer Terion Stewart with an injury, and Central Missouri transfer Marcellous Hawkins handled a lot of RB1 duties and didn't have stats that will blow you away, but he did have his moments.
He finished with 15 carries for 58 yards, but it felt like the Hokies went up the middle too much and between the tackles, which South Carolina did a nice job of defending. Hawkins is a quick back who can create separation in the open field and looks for Montgomery to give him the ball more moving forward. The talent is there.
Emmett Laws
Despite allowing a way too easy opening drive touchdown, Virginia Tech's defensive line played better as the game went along and was a big reason why they didn't allow another touchdown until late in the fourth quarter. One player who really opened some eyes was redshirt freshman Emmett Laws.
A quickly rising talent, Laws had three tackles and one of the Hokies' four sacks while being in on the safety in the first quarter. He more than held his own against a talented SEC offensive line and will face another one this weekend in Vanderbilt, but he is opening a lot of eyes and hopefully turning into the player Hokies' fans hope he will.