Burmeister, Turner unsure for home finale
Braxton Burmeister might play Saturday — might.
And Tre Turner? The Virginia Tech athletic and medical staffs aren’t even sure what the problem is.
That uncertainty surrounds the Hokies (4-5, 2-3 ACC) as they prepare for their final home game of the season, a 3:30 p.m. kickoff at Lane Stadium against Duke (3-6, 0-5).
Burmeister injured his right shoulder early in Friday night’s 17-3 loss at Boston College and was replaced by Knox Kadum.
Turner suffered what head coach Justin Fuente called a “weird” injury a week earlier against Georgia Tech and was replaced Friday by Jaylen Jones.
In his weekly meeting with the media, Fuente said Burmeister’s status for Saturday’s game is iffy.
“He’ll play if he can,” Fuente said. “I’d expect that if he can, he’ll be out there. He’s been trying to play through things like this all season.”
Turner’s status appears to be a different story.
Fuente said the Hokies’ standout receiver suffered an upperbody injury against the Yellow Jackets.
“It didn’t affect him in the game,” Fuente said. “But once he got home, it got progressively worse.”
Noting that he is not a medical expert, the Hokies’ head coach said the injury was to Turner’s respiratory system.
“It’s sort of like air trapped in his neck,” he said.
Turner’s voice appeared to be raspy last week in his session with media members.
“We got him checked out by everybody under the sun,” Fuente said. “What’s weird is that he can run his routes and everything.”
Kadum completed 7 of 16 passes for 73 yards at Boston College. The Hokies had only 235 yards of total offense against the Eagles.
Both Burmeister and Turner are listed as starters this week on the Virginia Tech depth chart.
Hall honorees part of home finale
This has been a disappointing season for Virginia Tech, but Fuente said he expects a warm reception from fans for the players Saturday, which is Senior Day in Blacksburg.
“I’ve never seen anything but support for our players,” he said.
“It’s always been nice to play before family and friends.”
Part of the festivities will be honoring the school’s Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
That group includes three football players — Xavier Adibi, a linebacker in the mid 2000s who later played in the NFL and is now an assistant coach at Texas A&M; Macho Harris, an all-America cornerback on the ACC championship teams in 2007 and 2008; and Tyronne Drakeford, a cornerback who had a stellar career with the San Francisco 49ers.
Other members of the Class of ’21 are Queen Harrison-Claye, a three-time NCAA track and field champion; Kristi Castlin, a track standout and bronze medalist in the 2016 Olympics; Jamon Gordon, the ACC’s basketball Defensive Player of the Year in 2007; and Jackie Davoud Hendrick, a fivetime diving champion.
‘We didn’t tackle’
Fuente had a short and simple explanation for Virginia Tech’s lack of success against Boston College’s rushing game.
“We didn’t tackle,” he said.
The Eagles totaled 244 rushing yards,including121byPatrickGarwo.
“It was pretty fundamental,” Fuente added. “When you grade the film, you see it — we didn’t tackle.”
Still in title race?
Some strange things would have to happen, but Virginia Tech hasn’t been eliminated from the ACC Coastal Division title race.
At 3-3, the Hokies trail Pittsburgh (4-1), Virginia (4-2), Miami (3-2) and North Carolina (3-3), but by winning their final three ACC contests and finishing 5-3, the Hokies could still win — if a lot of other breaks go their way.
Fuente said the situation isn’t on his radar.
“Not right now,” he said. “We have Duke coming in. We have to find a way to play better. That’s our primary point of emphasis.”