BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech has spent the past two recruiting cycles upgrading its wide receiver corps. The coaching staff brought in three experienced receivers from the transfer portal and signed five pass catchers from the high school ranks.
Sometimes forgotten through the changes was the development of Tucker Holloway. He turned heads as a freshman in 2022 with his punt return abilities in limited action, and he broke into the receiver rotation while still returning punts last season.
Holloway was expected to have an even bigger role as a junior. That expanded role may have to wait for the 2025 campaign.
Hokies coach Brent Pry said Tuesday that Holloway is “questionable for the season” with an undisclosed injury he suffered late in spring practices. Holloway can utilize a redshirt season after playing in five games as a freshman in 2022.
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“Tucker’s got an injury where he’ll be questionable for the season,” Pry said. “And I say that because of the injury, and I say that because he has a redshirt available, which he and I have already discussed, and we’ll kind of just let things play out and see what direction we go.”
Holloway did not participate in the final scrimmage or the spring game. He wore a sleeve on his right knee and remained on the sidelines during the spring game.
It was a setback that came after Holloway spent the spring working as an outside receiver with both the first- and second-string offenses.
He was looking to build on a sophomore season in which he had five catches for 49 yards. He also added a 33-yard touchdown run on a reverse against Virginia.
Virginia Tech’s Tucker Holloway returns a punt 66 yards in the Hokies’ 2023 season-opening win over Old Dominion in Blacksburg. Holloway, who ranked eighth in the nation in punt return average in 2023, is “questionable for the season” after suffering a knee injury late in spring practice.
Holloway ranked eighth in the nation by averaging 12.9 yards on 20 punt returns and garnered All-ACC third-team honors.
The ability for him to redshirt this upcoming season stems from the discussions Pry had with Holloway heading into the final two weeks of the 2022 regular season. Holloway suited up in the Hokies’ road contest against Liberty, and then the season finale at Virginia was canceled following the deaths of UVa players D’Sean Perry, Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis Jr.
“We had two games left. And he didn’t have any games left, so we played him at Liberty and then we didn’t play the UVa game,” Pry said. “And we actually appealed to the NCAA to get that redshirt back. Because if you’d told us he only had one game, probably wouldn’t have played him. You know what I mean? Probably would have sucked it up and redshirted him. But it’s funny, he and I were just talking about that. Now he’s got a redshirt available if we need it, which is really nice.”
The Hokies still have a strong contingent at wide receiver with seniors Ali Jennings, Da’Quan Felton, Jaylin Lane and Stephen Gosnell; sophomores Ayden Greene and Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw; and freshmen Chance Fitzgerald, Takye Heath, Chanz Wiggins and Keylen Adams.
“We’ll have probably six that we feel pretty good about, a couple more that if they keep trending, you can feel good about them as well,” Pry said of how many receivers he expects to play on a weekly basis. “But when you have four guys decide to come back, you should be deep at that spot, if you’re recruiting well.”
Lane is expected to handle the punt return duties in Holloway’s absence. Lane ranked fourth in the nation with a 14.5-yard punt return average with Middle Tennessee in 2021, and he had a punt return touchdown called back for holding at Boston College last season.
Greene is expected to be Lane’s backup at punt returner if Holloway is unable to play.
“J-Lane’s proven at it,” Pry said. “He’s done it in games at Middle a bunch and then he did it here, a few pops, so I feel good about him doing that if Tucker’s not able to go.”
Other injury notes
Linebacker Keli Lawson and safety Jalen Stroman have both been cleared and will be full participants this summer, according to Pry.
Pry added Gosnell is “shockingly well ahead of schedule” after suffering a knee injury in the Hokies’ Military Bowl win in late December.
Defensive end C.J. McCray is “probably a few weeks” away from being 100% healthy, with Pry adding it would be around mid-summer when McCray is “full tilt,” after the senior suffered a left-leg injury in the spring game.
Defensive tackle Andrew Hanchuk, an early enrollee, suffered a season-ending injury in the final spring practices, according to Pry, and offensive lineman Lemar Law took a medical hardship and retired from the sport.
Pry said Law will remain with the program in a capacity similar to safety Nyke Johnson.
