When the Virginia Tech football team had a mass exodus out of Blacksburg in the Transfer Portal in December 2024, there were some players who left who were big losses. Some of the players who hit the portal landed in the SEC, which wasn't really surprising.
After a 6-6 finish to a disappointing 2024 regular season, there were several reasons to point to why the season went the way it did. It began with so much promise and ended with another win over Virginia on Thanksgiving Weekend at home just to become bowl-eligible. That triggered a much bigger portal exodus than the previous seasons.
One of the players who hit the portal and left was offensive lineman Xavier Chaplin. He was a big part of the Hokies' offensive line in 2024, but he opted for the portal and landed in the SEC. After just one season in the SEC, he again hit the portal and is making a return to the ACC.
Former Virginia Tech OL Xavier Chaplin commits to Florida State
After one season at Auburn with the Tigers and a month after head coach Hugh Freeze was fired, Chaplin entered the portal and is returning to the ACC, this time going to Florida State. Truth be told, he is joining the same situation in Tallahassee that he walked into at Auburn.
He'll be joining a Seminoles program that has a coach on the hot seat in Mike Norvell and is looking to bounce back from another underperforming season in 2025, where they again failed to make a bowl game. The school has shown support for Norvell in retaining him for the 2026 season, and adding Chaplin is a big move for a team that is looking to rebound in a big way in 2026. He will be joined by his quarterback at Auburn, Ashton Daniels, who committed to the Seminoles earlier this week.