On Monday, Virginia Tech suspended Tavante Beckett indefinitely and removed him from the online roster without much explanation. Today, more details have emerged.
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According to Roanoke Times beat writer Andy Bitter, Virginia police charged Beckett with possession of and conspiracy to sell marijuana. Bitter reports that the Virginia online court database listed the offense date as August 23, but the police did not charge Beckett until September 11.
This means that Beckett practiced with the team for three weeks and even played in two games after this offense. It also leads the reader to believe that the police found out something after the fact that led them to make this charge.
While the possession charge is a misdemeanor, the conspiracy charge is considered a felony. Any felony automatically prompts a suspension until the case is resolved, per team rules.
Beckett has a court date set for September 22, so he will be out at least until then. As of now, he is still enrolled at Virginia Tech.
As far as defensive depth goes, this is certainly a blow for the Hokies. Beckett cemented himself as the second string middle linebacker behind Andrew Motuapuaka prior to this incident.
In a press conference yesterday, Bud Foster said that Sean Huelskamp will be the No. 2 guy going forward. He also mentioned Rayshard Ashby as an option for the position.
Though it would be great to have Beckett back at some point, the Hokies cannot control that. Right now, they’ve got to shift their focus to an upcoming bout with ECU.
