Cory Holt never participated in the Boy Scouts growing up as a kid in Lexington, N.C., but he sure subscribes to their motto.
Be prepared.
Holt, a fifth-year senior, found himself reaching for his helmet when Sean Glennon went down with an ankle injury at the 5:47 mark in the third quarter of the Hokies’ game with Florida State. Tyrod Taylor already was out for the game with a sprained ankle suffered on the first play of the afternoon.
So Holt, who came to Tech as a quarterback, but had been working at wide receiver for the previous six weeks, entered the game at quarterback – his first game action of this season. He took over on second down and the Hokies ended up punting two plays later.
“When I first got out there, everything was pretty simple for the first series,” Holt said. “I got back on the sideline and Coach [Mike] O’Cain [Tech’s quarterbacks coach] called down on the phone. He told me he was going to keep the same playbook. The only concern they had with me was the checks. I haven’t had any checks. I’ve been working with wideouts all week, and I didn’t know anything about the checks. But other than that, I knew pretty much the whole offense.”
Tech trailed 27-13 early in the fourth quarter, but the Hokies refused to go away and rallied behind Holt, who led them on a 46-yard march following a nice kickoff return by Dyrell Roberts. On fourth-and-1 from the FSU 7, Holt kept the ball and ran around the right side for a 3-yard gain. Then, on the next play, he lofted an easy throwback pass across the field to a wide-open André Smith for a 4-yard touchdown that brought the Hokies to 27-20 with 8:26 left – the first touchdown reception of Smith’s career.
“It’s something we did this week in practice,” Holt said of the play.
Then he added, “Well, actually Sean and Tyrod did. But I knew that if I had an opportunity, that play would be open.”
“We’re just fortunate we had Cory,” Tech head coach Frank Beamer said. “He gave us a chance to win the football game. Having that experience and being around, no question, we’re fortunate to have Cory.”
Holt finished with modest numbers in his roughly 20 minutes of action. He completed 3-of-6 for 28 yards, with the one touchdown, in the Hokies’ 30-20 defeat. But it was certainly enough to win the admiration of his teammates and to thrill his family watching back home in North Carolina.
“I’ve learned to be prepared,” said Holt, who had played in just eight games in his career leading up to the FSU game. “I’ve been here a long time and learned behind some great guys like Bryan Randall and Sean and Tyrod. I’ve watched them and made the most of my opportunity.
“Sean came up to me after I threw the touchdown and said, ‘I bet you didn’t wake up this morning thinking you were going to be a quarterback.’ I was just thankful I was ready.”
Be prepared – that’s a lesson he certainly taught the rest of the team with his performance against Florida State.
Glennon moves up list
Taylor’s injury opened the door for Glennon, another redshirt senior, to get some snaps, and Glennon, too, made the most of his opportunity. Behind him, the Hokies opened a 10-0 lead and a 13-10 advantage at halftime.
He completed 9-of-16 for 133 yards, and he rushed for a touchdown. More importantly, he didn’t throw any interceptions – a large reason Tech stayed in the game.
“I never lost confidence in myself,” Glennon said. “I wouldn’t have expected anything less. I know Tyrod’s been the guy, but I’ve always felt like if I were to go in, this offense wouldn’t be lacking anything. I could’ve made a few more plays, but I thought for the most part, we were throwing the ball real well.”
Glennon moved up the Tech chart for career passing yardage. He now has 4,471 yards passing in his career heading into a game against Maryland, moving him past Jim Druckenmiller (4,383, 1993-96) and into fifth place all-time at Tech.
