Running Back Deshawn McClease granted medical redshirt

Per a report on 247 and conformed by his Hokiesports bio, Virginia Tech running back Deshawn McClease was granted a medical redshirt this week. This means that one of his accrued seasons has retroactively been declared a redshirt year, giving him an additional year of eligibility. In particular, this would be due to his one-game stint in the backfield as a freshman in 2016, which knocked him out until 2017. I’m not one to toot the NCAA’s horn by any stretch, but at least this was a sensible decision considering the briefness of one of his campaigns- players have received redshirts with more time than one game accumulated.

The big bonus is that this gives Virginia Tech some added depth for another year at running back. It means that, officially, he’s a redshirt sophomore this year, so that’s three years of service, all potentially with Holston or whoever else would be a lead back over that time (Coleman Fox, Caleb Steward, Steven Peoples, Cole Beck, committed high schooler Keshawn King, etc.) McClease was the most efficient running back Tech had last year, averaging 4.9ypc on 108 attempts (Now, you can argue about Coleman Fox, considering he had a 5.7ypc average, but that’s a whole other ball of wax). He’s also a more natural receiver than for example Holston is, nabbing 66 yards receiving on 9 receptions. It’s good to have his talent, speed, and experience in the backfield for additional time in the maroon and orange.

Congrats, Deshawn, thanks, NCAA (for once), and Go Hokies.