Former Hokie Gives His Perspective on Mass Exodus

After last season I had high hopes for a quiet transfer portal this year. Boy, was I wrong? This has been frightening, to say the least. Most of the players entering the portal were understandable. They were either buried on the depth chart or hoping for a brighter future in a different uniform. ICYMI, Matej Sis of 247Sports did a great job compiling the current portal losses:

That is a considerable loss of talent, especially on both lines. Again, I’m not ready to hit the panic button yet, but the numbers are a bit jaw-dropping. The one thing Hokie fans had to hang their hat on was that Brent Pry was instilling a great culture. I’m not saying that he hasn’t, but the sheer amount of bodies does worry me. Don’t get me wrong, the challenges of managing 100 athletes are daunting. Other programs, hell, other coaches text these guys all the time. Sprinkle in a lot of NIL, and there you have it. One thing I am a fan of is when former players help the program. That’s what happened on X earlier this week as former Hokie Sergio Render let his feelings be known. The best part is when Tre Turner chimed in:

I feel that this might be the bitter end of school loyalty. Brent Pry might be losing an uphill battle in retention. Cash is king, and let’s face it, the Hokies are stingy as hell when it comes to splashing cash. The Beamer model died. It is totally pay-for-play, and if the Hokies fan base won’t beat or match our competition, we will continue to lose players. I fear that the Virginia Tech faithful are ambivalent about the success of the program. It’s cool if we are winning, but I’m not willing to fund it. I have some bad news. If we don’t step up and give more money, this year’s bloodbath will only escalate.