Deablo and Jenkins were both out of the line against North Carolina, and Chamarri Conner was ejected from the game in the first quarter on a targeting call. Walk-on Tyler Matheny filled in for Deablo the last two weeks at free safety while Tech rotated in a handful of players at boundary safety for Jenkins.
Linebacker Alan Tisdale ended the game at safety alongside Matheny.
“We’re drawing stuff up on the sideline trying to get 11 people out there,” Fuente said. “It was like eighth-grade football – that’s what it was. So, I hate it for our kids, but that was the situation we were in, and Alan went out there and did the best he could.
Fuente expects Deablo to be back in the lineup against Boston College. Chatman and Taylor both played against North Carolina as did starting cornerback Jermaine Waller, who missed the first two games still recovering from the foot injury he suffered last season.
It will be all hands on-deck at safety for the rest of the season as Tech coaches look to get a few more guys ready to play the position in case of emergencies like the one they faced on Saturday.
“Getting guys back at both corner and safety is going to help us,” Fuente said. “I mean, we were unable to even cross train anybody because we didn’t have anybody at the other spots. So, getting some depth back at corner will certainly help us and some other places to at least open up the possibility for us to be able to move some people around and be ready to go…We’ve got to take what we’ve got to find a way to make it work.”
Mike Niziolek is the Virginia Tech football beat writer for The Roanoke Times. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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