Surprising most impactful Virginia Tech signee named by national writer

It was a busy December for the Virginia Tech football team in terms of the transfer portal. Head coach Brent Pry and his staff landed some players who are going to come in and make an impact next fall in Blacksburg.

Virginia Tech added defensive linemen Aeneas Peebles from Duke, Kemari Copeland from Iowa Western Community College, and Kelvin Gilliam from Oklahoma. Linebacker Sam Brumfield is coming in from Middle Tennessee State as is Montavious Cunningham, an offensive lineman from Georgia State.

There have been mixed opinions from national media members as to who will make the biggest impact as CBS Sports recently wrote about Peebles making the biggest impact and we agreed with that. Grant Hughes of 247Sports thinks Copeland will make the biggest impact for the Hokies next season. Here is what he wrote,

"Four-star linebacker Gabriel Williams headlines Virginia Tech's high school recruiting class, but Copeland has the most immediate path to playing time, according to VTScoop's Evan Watkins. Copeland recorded 38 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks at Iowa Western CC last season.

"Kemari Copeland will be in the two deep at DT right away," Watkins said. "They lost their three top defensive tackles to graduation, so he will make a big impact immediately. A dark horse is safety Quentin Reddish.""

Copeland will be making the jump to Power 5 football and will no doubt fill a void that the Hokies have along the defensive line. Next season, the defensive line is going to be a strength of Virginia Tech's with Peebles, Copeland, and Gilliam joining them, but Copeland being the choice as making the most impact is a surprise.

It's likely that he does end up making the most impact, but one thing is for certain, Antwaun Powell-Ryland and Josh Fuga also returning for the Hokies will make it a unit that is going to be tough to deal with every week.