Will Heldt sacked Georgia Southern’s quarterback twice on Sept. 12, then got to North Carolina’s quarterback twice more a week later. He became the first Clemson player with back-to-back multi-sack games since Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
He hasn’t had a sack since.
That’s the number to watch Saturday night in Death Valley (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), where Virginia Tech can clinch bowl eligibility in coach James Franklin’s first season. Ethan Grunkemeyer has been sacked 18 times in seven games, and right guard Montavious Cunningham is a game-time decision.
Clemson (4–2, 2–1 ACC) has thrown two touchdown passes all season, so its defense has carried the team. LSU and Miami scored 92 of the 129 points the Tigers have allowed, and the other four opponents averaged 9.3.
The man calling that defense knows the visiting sideline. Defensive coordinator Tom Allen ran Franklin’s defense at Penn State in 2024, when the Nittany Lions reached the College Football Playoff semifinals. Clemson has won seven straight in the series.
Here are three Clemson defenders to watch.
Will Heldt, Defensive end
The 6'6", 260-pound senior still leads the Tigers with four sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss.
Virginia Tech’s line is the kind of group that ends droughts. The Hokies started nine different offensive linemen in their first six games, and true freshman Benjamin Eziuka was pushed into 46 snaps at right guard against Georgia Tech.
Grunkemeyer is averaging 8.7 yards per attempt. Give him time and he’ll find someone. Heldt is the Tiger most likely to make sure he doesn’t get it.
Elliot Washington II, Cornerback
Washington committed to Alabama, where his father played basketball, before Franklin flipped him to Penn State in 2022. Saturday, the senior lines up across from the coach who recruited him.
He spent three seasons in State College (2023–25), overlapping with Franklin, offensive coordinator Ty Howle and Grunkemeyer. His best year came in 2024 under Allen, and the two reunited at Clemson in January. Washington already has three interceptions, a single-season career high.
He isn’t the only problem on the outside. Junior Ashton Hampton has nine pass breakups and an interception and ranks first nationally in passes defended per game. He also made the signature play of the last meeting, a one-handed interception in Clemson’s 24–14 win at Lane Stadium in 2024.
That’s the pair Que’Sean Brown has to beat. The Duke transfer, Virginia Tech’s slot receiver, leads the Hokies with 46 catches for 616 yards. Washington rarely plays inside. Watch whether Allen moves him there to follow Brown.
Sammy Brown, Linebacker
Virginia Tech has already seen Brown at his best. In his first college start, at Lane Stadium in 2024, he had a team-high eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack as Clemson held the Hokies to 40 rushing yards.
He has since added ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, first-team All-ACC and preseason first-team All-America honors.
The Hokies’ best protection for Grunkemeyer is staying on schedule, and Jeffrey Overton Jr. is averaging 6.0 yards per carry. Those runs go straight at Brown.
He’s three tackles for loss from 30 for his career, a mark only two linebackers have reached under Swinney. If he gets there Saturday, Virginia Tech is probably leaving Death Valley 5–3.
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