As Nick Veltsistas punted with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter, Virginia Tech cornerback and gunner Isaiah Brown-Murray raced down the field and downed the ball at the Wake Forest 2-yard line, tip-toeing the goal line in the process.
He timed it perfectly, snagging the football before it bounced for a touchback, and pinned the Demon Deacons back against the wall.
“Special teams is probably just as big as defense and offense is here at Virginia Tech,” Brown-Murray said, “and everybody takes pride on special teams. As the gunner, that’s just my job, and my goal this season is to wear the No. 25 and that’s what I’m trying to do every week. So when I saw the punt go over the returner’s head, I just had to make a play.”
Then he one-upped himself two plays later. On second-and-9, Wake quarterback Robby Ashford’s pass over the middle was batted up in the air by Tech linebacker Jaden Keller and fell into the hands of Brown-Murray. He hauled it in at the 15, weaved his way to the right towards his team’s sideline and was brought down at the 4-yard line.
In a 27-20 game where the Hokies trailed, that sequence from Brown-Murray gave them a golden opportunity.
“JK, he made a great play tipping that ball up, and tips and overthrows, we’ve got to have them,” he said. “I saw it go up so I had to make a play and get in the end zone next time.”
INTERCEPTED!!!
Isaiah Brown-Murray has @HokiesFB back in business. pic.twitter.com/cLRFvnbbRf— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) October 4, 2025
Alas, the offense faltered and only came away with three points. It ran three straight times and gained just two yards, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Donavon Greene on third-and-goal took away the option to go for it on fourth down. Tech couldn’t capitalize — a theme in the 30-23 loss.
“I thought it was a huge play in the game,” Hokies interim head coach Philip Montgomery said of the turnover. “We were going to go for it on fourth down. We end up having a penalty right there that backs us up, and at that point, you don’t have a choice. We’ve got to continue to keep pushing and getting better in those areas. …
“That particular moment, heck, I’d like to have scored on first down. But if it was going to take all four downs, we were going to figure out a way to make that happen.”
IBM and the Tech defense made some plays and limited Wake Forest in certain areas. They yielded just 91 rushing yards on 32 attempts, good for 2.8 yards per carry, and star running back Demond Claiborne had just 29 yards and a score on seven totes.
“We put a big emphasis on the run because they have a very dynamic running back,” Brown-Murray said, “and I feel like our D-line, our front seven, our safeties, we corralled it pretty good.”
Where the Deacs made some headway was through the air. Ashford finished 24-of-39 for 256 yards and a late first-half touchdown, spreading the ball around to seven receivers in the process. Nine of those passes went for double-digit gains, including two for 20-plus: a 26-yarder to tight end Eni Falayi and a 62-yard gain to wideout Sawyer Racanelli.
Moreover, Tech couldn’t get the Wake offense off the field when it mattered most, evidenced by a 13-play, 59-yard drive over the middle 6:30 of the final quarter.
The Hokies’ defense gave the offense a chance, though, particularly in the second half when it only yielded two field goals.
“I thought our defense played well,” Montgomery said. “We had guys make plays in the secondary, we had guys make plays at linebacker, we had guys make plays up front. I thought we were disruptive in their run game. Claiborne’s a good back, he never really got loose. I think his longest run was 11 yards. When you look at their passing game part of it, I thought there was a lot of screens, a lot of little misdirectional-type of things in there. I thought our guys did a nice job of seeing it, rallying to it, getting it on the ground. …
“Guys like IBM and those guys, they made big plays for us today, all day long, whether they were diving up, making stops on the run, picking off passes, making breaks. We’ve got to continue to play with that type of effort.”
Fluctuating Offensive Line
Virginia Tech’s offensive line remains in flux. Against Wake Forest, it used its fifth different starting five in six games, rolling with, from left to right: Johnny Garrett, Layth Ghannam, Kyle Altuner, Tomas Rimac and Aidan Lynch.After the group was the same for the South Carolina and Vanderbilt games, with Montavious Cunningham at right guard and Rimac at right tackle, it’s changed around due to injuries over the past few weeks.
Altuner and Rimac have been the lone constants, though the latter has played every position but center. It’s been a bit different for Altuner, the redshirt freshman who has started all six games in the middle of that front.
“Tomas has been the Swiss Army knife,” Montgomery said. “I think now he’s played right tackle, right guard, left guard and left tackle. We’re just continuing to try to find the best five guys we can get on the field, the most experienced five guys we can get on the field, and Tomas has been unbelievable in the sense of being able to move around like he has.”
Garrett was banged up and missed contests with Old Dominion and Wofford (and got dinged up late vs. Wake). Ghannam was also out for the same stretch, plus the NC State game. Meanwhile, Cunningham was unavailable for Saturday’s clash with the Demon Deacons and ODU in Week 3.
It’s forced the Hokies to turn to young players in Lynch (four starts) and Tommy Ricard (two), who have held their own. True freshman Gavin Crawford even saw some action against the Commodores, too.
“We’ll keep battling that part of it,” Montgomery said. “Hopefully we’ll get some more guys back this week, we’ll see how they react off of that. May lose a couple of more. We had some guys go down and come back in. Those guys are battling. They’re laying it all on the line for each other, for their brothers, for this family, for this university, for this fan base. I appreciate the amount of effort and the amount of work they’re putting into it.”
Highland Springs Connection
Tech wide receiver Takye Heath hauled in his first career touchdown pass in the second quarter on a nine-yard slant from quarterback Kyron Drones. The Richmond product also had three other targets, two of which were caught, including a 16-yarder in the fourth. That one was unique for a different reason, though.The Wake Forest player who tackled him was Braylon Johnson — a former teammate of his at Highland Springs who was on the Hokies’ roster in the spring before transferring.
Heath said it was weird playing against Johnson for what was probably the first time in his life. The former roommates in Blacksburg still keep in touch.
“I think I stiff-armed him, if I remember correctly,” Heath said. “I don’t think he tackled me. … He loves it [at Wake Forest]. He’s a starter over there right now. So I feel like he’s loving it, for sure. He’s feeling real good. He made some good plays over there.”
Heath finished with three catches for 23 yards and a score while Johnson posted two tackles. They weren’t the only Springers on the field, though.
Brennan Johnson, Braylon’s younger brother and a true freshman safety for Tech, played and had a second-quarter tackle while Kelvin Gilliam, Tech’s defensive tackle and captain, racked up two tackles and a pass breakup. To top it off, former VT wide receiver Ali Jennings was in the house to give the “Let’s go, Hokies” chant, all proving the Highland Springs legacy lives on.