virginia tech football: quarterback room injury updates

Carter Hill

Staff Writer

October 11, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Justin Fuente walked into the Merryman Center after Virginia Tech’s (3-2, 1-0 ACC) heartbreaking 32-29 loss to No. 14 Notre Dame to talk to the media looking somewhat defeated.

The Hokies had just let an opportunity squander away, they had just let an eight point lead with under four minutes left slip by the wayside — only to lose in regulation, and they had potentially just lost their starting quarterback for a significant amount of time.

The good news though for Fuente and company on Monday morning in Blacksburg, quarterback Braxton Burmeister is ok. And will be a “good to go” this upcoming weekend when the Hokies duke it out against the Pittsburgh Panthers inside Lane

Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff scheduled for the ESPN2 airwaves.

Burmeister suffered what looked like a potential serious shoulder injury in the second half of Saturday’s contest, and was forced to miss multiple series before returning to the game just in time to scramble in for what could have been a game-sealing touchdown.

The 6-foot-1’, 205-pounder has started all five games for Virginia Tech so far this season. The Oregon transfer has thrown for five touchdowns, 930 yards, and has just been picked off twice so far in the 2021 campaign. The Southern California native has also added two touchdowns on the ground, so it’s crucial that Tech is able to retain Burmeister as their starting signal caller as it enters the grind of ACC play.

That doesn’t mean that the quarterback room went unscathed on the injury front, however.

According to Fuente, backup Connor Blumrick will be out indefinitely after leaving the game with an apparent leg injury while taking over for Burmeister.

The Texas A&M transfer has appeared in three games so far this season, adding two touchdowns on the ground and averaging 6.5 yards per carry.