I thought I’d sneak in some Virginia Tech regular season superlatives that have been brewing in the back of my mind. They’re on the oddball side of things—I’m sure there’ll be plenty of “MVP” and “Rookie of the Year” pieces from other writers—but made with seriousness for good performances that didn’t get as much recognition.

Maybe Better Than You Thought Award: Antwaun Powell-Ryland

APR’s gotten plenty of love, but I think there’s also a little bit of a tendency to view him as a streaky pass-rush specialist instead of a complete defensive end. Going only by his highlight reel and his sack totals, I can see where that comes from. Part of that is just the nature of the game. Look at this year’s sack leaders at DE, and you’ll see peaks and valleys in sack production; in APR’s case, those valleys tend to appear when Tech’s getting beat by teams that don’t need to risk standing around in the pocket.

Top defensive ends will usually have other indicators of good play during those low times, though, and APR’s no exception. While he did go sackless in a three-game run against Louisville, BC, and NC State, he managed six pressures, six tackles, and five stops* during that stretch; similarly, he had another three-game skid where he still managed ten pressures, and while he only had half a sack against UVA, there were six pressures to go along with it. So, even when not getting sacks, he influenced the game in favor of the Hokies.

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