Brent Pry provides injury update on Ali Jennings, others

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•09/12/23
Roddy Jones from the ACC Network Previews Virginia Tech's Upcoming Season

Virginia Tech will be without one of its top playmakers for this week’s game against Rutgers, according to an injury update released Tuesday by coach Brent Pry.

Wide receiver Ali Jennings will miss the contest after suffering an ankle injury early on against Purdue.

“Yeah, he’s out this week and we’ll evaluate it as we go,” Pry said Tuesday. “But he is unavailable for this weekend’s game.”

Jennings starred in the team’s season-opening win over Old Dominion, catching five passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. He was unable to make any statistical impact before his mishap against Purdue placed him on the injury update list.

It’s unclear whether the injury for Jennings will keep him out for a long time or be a shorter-term setback.

“I don’t know that yet. I know he’s out this week, which is unfortunate, to only have him two plays in the game after the game he had in the opening week,” Pry said. “But we’ll have to continue to evaluate his situation.”

But Jennings’ injury isn’t the only one the Virginia Tech offense is dealing with. Receiver Jaylin Lane went down with a leg injury in the third quarter against the Boilermakers, while quarterback Grant Wells went down in the fourth quarter with a leg injury.

“I think they’re all, I would say they’re all questionable,” Pry said. “It’s early in the week. We’ll evaluate those guys as the week goes. That’s Jaylin, that’s Grant, that’s Nasir (Peoples). (Keyshawn) Burgos had an elbow deal. Cole Beck.”

The number of players listed on the injury update could be troubling for Virginia Tech, which is looking to build on a shaky first season under Pry. A 24-17 loss to Purdue last week was understandable, especially given the circumstances.

However, the Hokies won’t want to compound things by losing to the Scarlett Knights this weekend.

Still, there are a whole lot of people on the most recent injury update, including key guys like Jennings and Wells.

“We’ve got some guys that are dinged up,” Pry said. “They’ve been getting a ton of treatment and worked at it on Sunday and Monday. We’ll see how things go today and tomorrow.”

Virginia Tech and Rutgers are set to begin in Piscataway at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with a broadcast on the Big Ten Network.