Virginia Tech LB Keli Lawson, P Peter Moore Earn ACC Honors

On Monday, two Virginia Tech players — linebacker Keli Lawson and punter Peter Moore — earned ACC Player of the Week honors.

Lawson, a redshirt sophomore from Stephens City, Va., had a career-high 14 tackles in Saturday’s loss to Purdue. He and safety Jalen Stroman tied for the team-high, and Lawson also added half a tackle for loss and one pass breakup. Seven of his tackles were solo. Through two games, he’s the Hokies’ tackling leader with 18, one ahead of Stroman. Next on the list is cornerback Mansoor Delane with 11.

Lawson has 1.5 TFLs, half a sack and two quarterback hurries this season in addition to his tackles. He played 120 snaps in the first two games, 75 of which came against the Boilermakers, and he’s been lethal in pass-rushing situations. After earning a 90.1 pass-rushing grade in 2022, he recorded a mark of 85.0 against Purdue, according to PFF.

“He looks more like a big-league linebacker now,” Tech head coach Brent Pry said of Lawson in August. “He’s probably still a cycle away from reaching his potential with his strength and explosiveness, but I really like where he’s at. He’s healthy right now, he’s playing well, he’s a lot more comfortable at the position. We had a drill out there [on Aug. 7] that involved a lot of pursuit, perimeter plays. When you have a guy that’s 6-foot-6 and runs like he does… I mean, you can’t help but notice when he fires across the field, the ground that he eats up. He closes on plays as well as anybody I’ve coached.”

Redshirt junior punter Peter Moore, who hails Davidsonville, Md., had seven punts for 324 yards (46.3 average) against the Boilermakers with a long of 55. Three of his punts were downed inside the 20 and four went for 50-plus yards.

In his fourth season with the Hokies, the 2021 All-ACC Third Team honoree has 151 punts for 6,498 yards (46.5 average) with a long of 68 yards. 47 of those punts have gone for more than 50 yards, and 52 have been downed inside the 20.