Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 1 | August 2018

30 Inside Hokie Sports The proverbial football spotlight will be shining on the Virginia Tech squad on the night of Sept. 3 when the Hokies take on Florida State in Tallahassee. But the rays of that light probably shine a little warmer on Rayshard Ashby. As the projected starting mike linebacker, Ashby finds himself thrust into a leadership role on a defense that lost seven starters, including the entire linebacking crew, from last season. Given the rich tradition of excellence on defense in Blacksburg and the immense production vacated by the graduation of last year’s mike linebacker, Andrew Motuapuaka, and first-round NFL draft pick Tremaine Edmunds, Ashby will be at the center of attention once the season kicks off. Fortunately for Hokie Nation, he brings a lot of positives to this defense, starting with his willingness last season to absorb everything football related from both Motuapuaka and Edmunds—and not to forget backups Anthony Shegog and Sean Huelskamp. “Hard work, by far, just how he works,” Ashby said when asked what he learned from Motuapuaka. “Andrew, Tremaine, [Anthony] Shegog and [Sean] Huelskamp, I just learned so much mentally, and they gave me a lot of tips, like how to do certain things, different techniques, how to carry yourself off the field, managing school and football, and just how to be the best player you can and person you can. I learned a lot, but more importantly, the thing I really took from those four guys was work ethic.” Ashby certainly fits the mold of previous mike linebackers at Tech—a little short (5-foot-10), but a ball of muscle at 230 pounds. In that respect, he resembles Motuapuaka and other former mike linebackers, such as Barquell Rivers and Mikal Baaqee. Ashby gained a little experience last season, playing on special teams in all 13 games as a true freshman. He never saw the field as a linebacker, but he received a season’s worth of practice reps at the position, and overall, he still feels that the experience of being a part of game preparation and being out there on gameday helped with his development. “I got to travel to games, so I got to feel the atmosphere of away games, home games, the night before games at the hotel … different Season Preview 2 18 LINEBACKERS QUICK FACTS ON TECH’S LB’s Returning starters: none Starters lost: Andrew Motuapuaka, Tremaine Edmunds Projected new starters: Rayshard Ashby, Dylan Rivers or Jaylen Griffin Top reserves: Rico Kearney, Alan Tisdale, Dax Hollifield, Keshon Artis Newcomers: Griffin, Hollifield, Artis, Tisdale, Kearney Breakout candidate: Ashby Notes: Tech’s returning linebackers combined for just three tackles in 2017 … Only Dylan Rivers played from scrimmage among returning players– the other returnees played on special teams … Rivers had two solo tackles on special teams against Oklahoma State … Hollifield, who had 150 tackles as a senior in high school, signed with Tech as one of the top recruits out of North Carolina and one of the top linebacker recruits in the nation … Artis was a two-time first-team all-state selection before signing with Tech. ASHBY leads young contingent at LINEBACKER by Jimmy Robertson Rayshard Ashby