You can officially scratch one of Virginia Tech’s most productive offensive performers from your Week 8 playlist.
Tuesday, Tech confirmed that Marshawn Williams will not play in Thursday’s ACC game against Pittsburgh because of injury. The running back sprained his ankle in the Oct. 4 win over North Carolina and, despite a bye last weekend, won’t be available for the prime-time affair tomorrow night.
Williams continues a debilitating injury trend at the position, with the Roanoke Times’ Andy Bitter noting that Tech “has lost its top three running backs -- Shai McKenzie (torn ACL), Trey Edmunds (broken clavicle) and now Williams -- in the last two games.”
Through six games, Williams leads the Hokies in rushing yards with 337, while McKenzie is second with 269 despite the serious knee injury sustained late last month. Those two backs are tied for the team lead with three rushing touchdowns apiece.
Edmunds, rounding out the injury woes, is third with 86 yards rushing. Last year, Edmunds was Tech’s leading rusher.
J.C. Coleman, who was third in rushing yards in 2013 (284), will be one of the ones expected to pick up a significant portion of the running-game load. Thus far this season, Coleman has 61 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.