Wake Forest vs Virginia Tech Players to Watch

The Deacs are back in action this Saturday after crushing the Wolfpack to move to 7-1 on the season. 7-1... let that sink in for a second. Now Wake heads to Blacksburg, Virginia to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in what is the biggest test remaining on the schedule outside of the Clemson Tigers. The Hokies are definitely not the powerhouse they once were, but they did take #16 Notre Dame to the wire last week in Southbend. Winning in Blacksburg is never easy, so let’s take a look of a couple of the impact players for the Hokies.

Offense: Quincy Patterson II | RS Fresh. QB | #4

It was kind of hard to pick an offensive player for the Hokies, simply because they’ve had so many injuries this season that I really don’t have a clue who is suiting up this week. Hendon Hooker had been starting at QB for VT until he suffered an injury in the UNC game. He was replaced by Ryan Willis who was then replaced by Quincy Patterson. Whether or not Hooker will be back for Saturday’s game I don’t know, so I’m going with the assumption that Patterson will continue to start at QB for the Hokies. While Patterson is not a very good passer, he is lethal as a runner. The redshirt freshman has only completed 12 of his 34 pass attempts on the season, but he has run the ball 41 times for 201 yards in basically 2 games. Against the Tar Heels, he ran the ball 21 times for 122 yards, 1 touchdown, and the game winning 2pt conversion. Against Notre Dame, he added 19 more rushes for 77 yards. Given that the Deacs have had some trouble in the past with QB contain, Patterson should definitely be a focus of the defense this weekend.

Defense: Rayshard Ashby | Jr. LB | #23

Picking a player for the defense was way easier, as Virginia Tech has one of the best linebackers in the ACC in Rayshard Ashby. Last season, Ashby was Honorable Mention All-ACC with 105 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 2 forced fumbles. He also hit the double digit tackle mark in 5 of the 12 games he played in. He’s having an even better junior season, as he has already recorded 84 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. He’s hit double digit tackles in all but 3 of VT’s games this season. In my opinion, Ashby will be the second best defensive player the Deacs have faced all season, right behind Utah State’s David Woodward.