Notebook: Jaylin Lane’s Punt Return Sparks Hokies In Marshall Win

Jaylin Lane’s punt return sparked the Hokies in their win over Marshall. (Jon Fleming)

His teammates called him crazy when he got back to the sideline, but Hokies wide receiver Jaylin Lane was just doing his thing.

Marshall punted to Virginia Tech on the final play of the first quarter in Saturday’s game in Blacksburg. Lane, a graduate student from Clover, S.C., awaited the boot.

He caught the punt in the shadow of Lane Stadium at his own 42-yard line, surrounded by five white shirts, but didn’t flinch. Some might’ve called for a fair catch; not Lane.

Instead, he broke the initial tackle before accelerating at the final wave of tacklers, mostly offensive linemen. Punter Alec Clark got a hand on his helmet, but he fought off the attempt, slipped through the crack and sprinted the final 30 yards to the end zone with nothing but green grass in front of him.

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