Hokies Spring Game leaves fans with sense of excitement
BLACKSBURG — For the first time since November, the Virginia Tech Hokies took to Lane Stadium. This time, rather than a pulsating push to guide the Hokies to a bowl, attendance was free, and there was no opposition to root against as the Hokies took each other on in this year's Spring Game to showcase to the Tech faithful what they could look forward to as the clock for Fall ball slowly ticks down.
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When you look at the numbers for this game, you will not see many highlights. Running back duels are an excellent place to dig into what you can hope to see come from this deep RB chart. P.J. Prioleau and Jeremiah Coney took the majority of carries, netting 143 yards on 14 total carries. Prioleau tacked on a touchdown on the ground and another through the air.
Thanks to three sacks, four total tackles, a fumble recovery, and a tipped ball on an interception made by Kemari Copeland, Keyshawn Burgos stamped his name as Spring Game "MVP. " Burgos was getting to quarterbacks with ease, as it felt like the game constantly gravitated towards the junior defensive linemen.
Incumbent quarterback Kyron Drones excelled in his return to the limelight, notching 122 yards on a 60% passing rate, adding on two smooth rollout passes to Prioleau and Ja'Ricous Hairston.
Besides an early influx of a 21-point first quarter from the Maroon that saw Drones's and Prioleau's touchdowns neatly tucked away, the rest of the game saw angsty defenses squaring off against raw offenses that produced little going forward on the scoresheet.
The Maroon and the Orange tallied 13 total sacks on the sunny Saturday slugfest, and you can take that as you want. But before making any final decisions on what that means for the Hokies, you must consider what was counted as a "sack." Drones was not touched during his time on the field, with defenses playing a sort of "air tag" to mark the Texas native down. That, along with the fact there were several chops and changes on either side of each front, spells that there is no real reason to ring the alarm bells quite yet.
The air was taken away from Lane after last year's spectacular spiral from "Pop" Watson, which landed softly into the hands of Tucker Holloway. While this year's did not provide as jaw-dropping a moment, there were flashes, with Chance Fitzgerald reeling in a 38-yard shot on the left sideline and a well-read interception from Joshua Clarke that signed Hokie fans of a future that lasts beyond the departures of Drones and co.
Overall, it was a bit of a bland game that did not feature as many thrills as years previous, but maybe that is what this program needs: a well-oiled side with playmakers on both sides of the line of scrimmage and a quarterback duel that needs no summer camp to crown a victor. That looks to be a welcomed change from the tumult that has plagued the Maroon and Orange since Frank Beamer departed.
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