Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 2 | October 2019

36 Inside Hokie Sports • Same-Day Crowns • IV-Sedation for Anxiety • Evening + Saturday Hours • Premier Invisalign Provider Downtown Blacksburg 540.552.5433 of that year, he chose Tech over Maryland and West Virginia. “Just the atmosphere,” Ashby said of why he chose the Hokies before listing off several other reasons. “The coaches, the fans. Bud [Foster] being Bud, and just the family atmosphere and how they treated me and my family. Just coming up here every weekend, it felt amazing. It felt like I was right at home, and that’s why I’m here right now. To win the championship and the lunch pail mentality they have, I loved it, and that’s why I’m here. “I felt that this was where I wanted to be and needed to be.” In securing Ashby, Justin Fuente and his staff landed a player who would become the state’s defensive player of the year (Class 5) as a senior after registering 117 tackles, including 31 for a loss. Ashby finished with more than 100 tackles in each of his final three seasons of high school. He brought his nose for the football to Blacksburg, and the Hokies continue to be the beneficiaries. Ashby played as a true freshman, but moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore last season, and he led the team with 105 tackles. He actually ranked third in the ACC in that category as well. In five games, he finished with more than 10 tackles, including 15-tackle performances against Duke and Marshall. This season has been more of the same. He recorded more than 50 tackles before the halfway point, putting him well ahead of pace for another 100-tackle season. He played arguably his best game of the fall in the Hokies’ victory at Miami. Spearheading a Hokies’ defense that allowed 45 points to Duke in the previous game, Ashby recorded 11 tackles, including two for a loss, and a sack on a night when Tech’s defense finished with five forced turnovers, nine tackles for a loss, and seven sacks. The ACC recognized Ashby’s solid work with its Linebacker of the Week award. “I feel like somewhat I’ve been consistent just doing what I’m supposed to, but not as far as making all the plays that I can, or doing every technique right, or all the little things that I could do to make a play here or there,” Ashby said. “Or maybe I could be where I’m supposed to be and get off a block and make a play. There are a lot of things I think I could get better at, but as far as being consistent all the time, it’s the little things that I think that, if I’m more consistent at doing, I could better my game.” “Rayshardhas great vision, very instinctive, has a great football IQ, and plays anticipatory football,” Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. “We’re coaching him up on little things, technique and fundamentals, but he’s not worried about getting lined up and his mind tying his feet up with a call. He is just going out and playing the game now. It’s not work ball—it’s play ball. That’s probably where he’s a little bit different than the other guys right there and where he’s separating himself, and you see that in his play. There’s no hesitation. There’s no reservation. He’s getting great key reads, and he’s getting after the football.” Ashby hopes that type of play continues for the rest of this season—both individually for him and from Tech’s defense. After the Duke game, he took the blame for the defense’s poor performance, saying he had been “awful” at getting his teammates to change their mindsets after plays went in favor of the Blue Devils. Not all things went smoothly at Miami either. The ’Canes roared back into the game with a 21-point, fourth-quarter onslaught, but A ABOVE THE REST CUT Continued from page 35 RAYSHARD ASHBY