BLACKSBURG – Head coach Justin Fuente announced Thursday that LB Rayshard Ashby and TE Dalton Keene will both wear Frank Beamer's No. 25 jersey on Friday in Virginia Tech's game at Virginia. It will mark the first time that two student-athletes will have the opportunity to the No. 25 jersey in the same contest.
Ashby and Keene have each been awarded the No. 25 one time previously, for Ashby it came this season vs. North Carolina and Keene donned it during the Boston College game in 2018. Tech enters the contest ranked No. 23 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll.
Ashby (5-10, 237) was named the ACC's Linebacker of the Week for a fifth time this season following Tech's 28-0 win vs. Pitt. He tied for the team lead with seven tackles against the Panthers and registered 1.5 sacks. In the first quarter, Ashby sacked Pitt QB Kenny Pickett for a loss of 18 yards and also pried the football loose in the process, allowing teammate DT Norell Pollard to scoop it up and score a seven-yard TD. For Ashby, it was the second time that his forced fumble has turned into a quick six points for the Hokies, after forcing one at Notre Dame earlier in the season that was returned for a 98-yard TD by S Divine Deablo.
The Chesterfield, Virginia native is tied for fourth in the ACC with 99 total tackles and his 14.5 tackles for loss are also tied for fourth in the conference. He has been named the ACC LB of the Week five times this season.
Keene (6-4, 251) has formed a dynamic partnership with TE James Mitchell this season, with both being used as weapons for the Hokies' offense in a variety of ways. The Littleton, Colorado native has registered 19 catches for 220 yards on the season and has found the end zone four times. He was named the John Mackey Tight End of the Week after securing three touchdown receptions in the Hokies' victory at Miami (10/5). He has also been used in the backfield, running the ball 11 times on the season, with a long rush of seven yards. He is on the John Mackey Award Watch List.
At the beginning of the 2016 season, head coach Justin Fuente announced that a special teams' player of the week would be selected to wear the No. 25 as a tribute to Coach Beamer and his legacy of special teams' excellence he established for the Hokies.
2019 BEAMER BALL 25 RECIPIENTS
Player Opponent
DB Tyree Rodgers at Boston College
DB Divine Deablo Old Dominion
LB Dylan Rivers Furman
P Oscar Bradburn Duke
DL Jarrod Hewitt at Miami
DB Devon Hunter Rhode Island
LB Rayshard Ashby North Carolina
CB Armani Chatman at Notre Dame
DB Divine Deablo Wake Forest
DB Khalil Ladler at Georgia Tech
TE James Mitchell Pitt
LB Rayshard Ashby at Virginia
TE Dalton Keene at Virginia