Vinny Mihota to miss the remainder of 2017 with surgery

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Another week, another Hokie defender lost to injury. Virginia Tech confirmed today that defensive end Vinny Mihota will have knee surgery and miss the final two games of his junior year.

"I share Vinny's disappointment that he'll miss the rest of the season," VT head coach Justin Fuente said. "But based on last off-season, I also know no one will rehab more diligently than Vinny to get back on the field with his teammates. We look forward to Vinny making a complete recovery."

Mihota, a 6-5, 270-pound redshirt junior out of Fredericksburg (Va.) Massaponax, was injured on the final play of the Hokies' game against Pittsburgh. While the team made a goal-line stop, they also lost one of their leaders on the defensive line.

Mihota's season concludes with 24 total tackles, 3.5 of them for loss with 1.5 sacks. He also notched two quarterback hurries.

He has started all 11 games for Virginia Tech to date, and will likely be replaced in the starting lineup by redshirt sophomore Houshun Gaines, who has been the first defensive lineman off the bench for the Maroon and Orange all season. Gaines likely provides a bit more pass-rush than Mihota, but doesn't have the ability to hold up against the run or the position-sound play of his older teammate.

Inserting Gaines into the starting lineup probably means significant playing time for the new No. 3 defensive end, Emmanuel Belmar, who has a more similar playing style to Mihota's strongside characteristics (though VT plays with a left and right defensive end and does not align to formation).