Closing Thoughts Before Week 7: Injury Outcomes Will Be Paramount

Virginia Tech’s health is likely to define Week 7, with the Hokies’ depth and resilience being tested more than ever.

Oct 4, 2025; Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Tech running back Marcellous Hawkins (27) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Wake Forest. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Let's get this out of the way: I don’t think Virginia Tech football wins today’s contest. While the Hokies’ run defense has shown clear progress since its early-season struggles, limiting its past three opponents (FCS Wofford, NC State and Wake Forest) to under 100 rushing yards, lingering injuries could make sustaining that improvement difficult. With linebacker Jaden Keller questionable and several other defensive contributors sidelined, Tech’s front seven — as well as the entire defense, as a whole — enters the matchup short-handed, and that lack of depth could expose a unit still working to fully seal gaps.

Something about Saturdays 😮‍💨

📺: 3:30 PM ET on @accnetwork #ThisIsHome pic.twitter.com/DJOY0sEJCH

— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) October 11, 2025

For Virginia Tech, availability has become almost as important as execution. Through six games, the Hokies have seen their depth chart tested more and more each coming week. Keller’s uncertain status adds another wrinkle to a defense already juggling multiple moving parts.

Should Keller be unavailable, true freshman Noah Chambers could be thrust into his first-ever start — a trial by fire for a young linebacker who’s spent most of his early snaps on special teams. Yet that possibility could be negated by the return of linebacker Caleb Woodson, who was marked as “probable” on the latest injury report. If Woodson is cleared, Tech may retain some sense of stability in the middle of its defense, avoiding the need to rush Chambers into a larger role.

The bigger picture, though, is the sheer number of names on the injury list. On Thursday evening, 19 Hokies were officially ruled “out,” with the total jumping to 20 following the latest update last nght. Counting the four transfers who departed midseason and defensive lineman James Djonkam, who is no longer listed as being with the program, that number climbs to 25 from the preseason roster. That’s nearly a quarter of a full roster — a staggering figure for a team still fighting for bowl eligibility and consistency.

Among the many threads to monitor, none looms larger than running back Terion Stewart. Stewart’s health remains the key to how far this offense can go. When he’s available and effective, the Hokies have balance and rhythm. When he’s not, the offense leans heavily on quarterback Kyron Drones to create on his own, something that’s worked at times in previous seasons and brief spurts this campaign but remains unsustainable over a full ACC slate.

Complicating matters even further, wideout Cameron Seldon was marked “out” in last night’s report, removing one of the key depth options at the receiver spot. Takye Heath is the likely starter in the slot, but Heath has also struggled with injury, missing three consecutive contests against Vanderbilt, Old Dominion and Wofford before returning two weekends ago against NC State.

Injuries happen to every team, but the volume and timing of Virginia Tech’s setbacks have made availability one of the program’s defining storylines. Every position group seems to carry a question mark week to week, not only about performance, but about the names that will and won't be in uniform. Heading into today’s matchup, the focus will again be as much on who’s on the field as what they do once they get there. For Virginia Tech, health isn’t just a subplot, but the heartbeat of the season and one that continues to dictate the Hokies’ ceiling.

The Hokies take on the Yellow Jackets today at 3:30 p.m.; viewers can watch the game on the ACC Network.