The Virginia Tech Hokies will have this week off after defeating Stanford 31-7 on Saturday to improve to 3-3 heading into the bye week. The Hokies’ next game is Thursday night against the Boston College Eagles at Lane Stadium.
Virginia Tech doesn’t have a game this week, but the Hokies are on the practice field and head coach Brent Pry met with the media on Wednesday. Pry gave several injury updates, one of which could potentially keep the multi-year starter out this year.
Senior safety Jalen Stroman, who underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason, was injured in the opener against Vanderbilt. He hasn’t played since. According to Pry, he may not return this season.
“Yeah, Strowman, there’s a pretty good chance he’s coming back,” Pry said. “He might be eliminated along the way, but it remains to be seen whether that will happen or not. And if that happens, we’ll be able to say, ‘Okay. In what places do we have him ready to play effectively for us?’ I’ll be able to arrange it for you.”
The good news for Stroman is that he still has a redshirt year left that he can use if he chooses to come back for another year.
They also have redshirt junior running back PJ Prioleau. P.J., the son of safeties coach and former Virginia Tech defensive back Pearson Prioleau, was just beginning to carve out a role for himself behind Beischl Tuten. He also suffered an ankle injury last week at Stanford and is likely to be sidelined for some time.
“Yeah, he’s going to be out for quite a while,” Pry said. “It’s very disappointing for him. For us. He’s a great teammate and has taken every chance he gets. We were looking forward to seeing what he could do in the second half of the season. This is an unfortunate loss considering how much we have invested in this, but also from a production standpoint for us.”
Prioleau played primarily on special teams the past two seasons before taking on the running back role behind Tuten and Malachi Thomas this season. Prioleau had a memorable touchdown run called back on a questionable holding call in a controversial loss to Miami two weeks ago.
His absence could open up opportunities for other players, including freshman running back Tyler Mason and wide receivers Takie Heath and Zayvion Turner-Bradshaw.
The Hokies continue to prepare for a 4-2 Boston College team that was good until last week’s disappointing loss to Virginia.
