Hokies football notebook: Defensive depth shows in win at Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. — Virginia Tech's defense spent a lot of time on the field Saturday afternoon. The early kickoff on the West Coast didn't help matters either with the temperature registering at 89 degrees at kickoff and gradually climbing throughout the game.

The Hokies played like it didn't matter.

Tech constantly rotated players at all three levels throughout its 31-7 win over Stanford inside Stanford Stadium. It led to a performance in which the Hokies surrendered a season-low 258 yards of total offense.

"That was obviously an important discussion all week and again this morning in our staff meeting," Hokies coach Brent Pry said. "We had to rotate guys early. We had to be a better team in the fourth quarter."

Stanford (2-3, 1-2 ACC) held the ball for more than 33 minutes and ran 66 plays.

Twelve different Tech defensive linemen appeared on defense. The Hokies rotated 10 players in the secondary and nine at linebacker.

It allowed the Hokies (3-3, 1-1 ACC) to record five sacks, two takeaways and limit the Cardinal to a touchdown on a halfback pass.

"I feel like it was just a complete game from every position group," Tech defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles said. Peebles has the team's first sack. "I feel like at times we had games where the secondary's playing well and we need to do more up front. There were times where we're doing good in the front seven and the back end has to pick it up. I feel like this was a good, complete game from the whole defense. That's what we expect to see for the rest of the season."

Prioleau's status

Halfback P.J. Prioleau's impact on the team grew through the opening six weeks. He became the primary kick return option with Bhayshul Tuten battling a left-knee injury, and he was starting to get in on offense on a weekly basis.

Prioleau, a Radford High School graduate, suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury midway through the second quarter and didn't come back into the game.

He ran a route into the flat on the left side with 6:28 left in the second quarter and he went down without any contact on a play in which Kyron Drones completed a 24-yard pass over the middle to Stephen Gosnell.

Prioleau stayed down and threw his helmet off as trainers gathered around him. He was unable to put any pressure on his right leg and sported a walking boot for the rest of the game on the sideline.

"Obviously, he's a heck of a member of this team," Pry said. "His effort, his attitude, he makes plays, so we won't know I guess for a couple of days. Hopefully he's in a good place."

Limiting Ayomanor

Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor was held in check throughout Saturday's game.

The sophomore finished with three receptions for 33 yards on nine targets while lining up against five Tech cornerbacks (Dorian Strong, Mansoor Delane, Dante Lovett, Thomas Williams and Jonathan Pennix).

His touchdown catch came on a 19-yard halfback pass from Micah Ford.

"He's scary because you throw the ball up and he's got a good chance to come down with it. He's a big-bodied guy with great ball skills," Pry said. "We're fortunate that our corners are pretty good players, too. We just played left and right for the most part and we were able to at least minimize his impact on the game, which is what you hope to do."

Klock's homecoming

Hokies redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Elijah Klock lined up on coverage for the opening kickoff. It marked a return home for Klock, who grew up a little more than an hour northeast of Stanford in Moraga, California.

It marked Klock's second career appearance with Tech. He played late in the fourth quarter of the Hokies' lopsided win over Syracuse last season.

Klock was flagged for a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Tech's second kick coverage play. His helmet was knocked off during the play, he went to finish the tackle and five officials threw penalty flags onto the field.

Damien Sordelett (540) 981-3124