Virginia Tech football ranks near the bottom of power conference transfers starters lost

One of the bigger storylines for the Virginia Tech football team this offseason and even between their regular season win over Virginia and a Military Bowl win over Tulane, has been the amount of retainment that head coach Brent Pry has. There were options for some players to enter the portal or enter the NFL Draft potentially, but the retainment has been big for 2024.

Some players entered the transfer portal, but the Hokies only lost one starter to the portal from their 2023 team.

Virginia Tech lost just one starter to the transfer portal

Among starters lost in the transfer portal, Virginia Tech ranked at the bottom among power conference schools who lost starters to the transfer portal. As ACC schools are concerned, they are tied with Virginia and Boston College who only lost one each and Florida State is the only conference team below them after they did not lose any starters to the portal.

The only starter Virginia Tech lost was tight end Dae’Quan Wright, who entered the portal after the win over Virginia that allowed the Hokies to become bowl-eligible. He had 28 catches last season for 366 yards and played a big role after Nick Gallo was lost at the end of camp with a season-ending injury.

In Virginia Tech’s 41-20 bowl victory over Tulane, Wright, who has committed to play at Mississippi for 2024, did not play and that opened the door for Harrison Saint Germain and Benji Gosnell who had a touchdown reception in the win from quarterback Kyron Drones.

Shortly after the Hokies win over the Green Wave, Gallo announced that he was returning to Blacksburg for the 2024 season to use up his final season of eligibility and provide more depth on the depth chart with Saint Germain and Gosnell. 

Losing just one starter to the transfer portal further reinforces just how good of a culture Pry and his staff are building at Virginia Tech.