3 Virginia Tech Football Storylines to Watch During Summer Camp

The Virginia Tech football team is two days into camp for the upcoming 2024 season and there are a lot of high expectations. The Hokies, which came in at No. 6 in the preseason poll, have a lot of retainment across the roster and they also made some key additions in the transfer portal.

A lot of the positions are set in stone with all the retainment head coach Brent Pry got, but there are still some questions as to where some pieces are going to fit in and just who some of the new players are going to look over the next month ahead of the season-opener on Aug. 31 at Vanderbilt. With camp underway, here are three storylines to follow over the next month.

1. How the defensive line shakes out

One area that Pry focused on in the transfer portal this offseason was along the defensive line. Antwaun Powell-Ryland announced last December that he was returning and Cole Nelson is also back, but the Hokies were left looking to find tackles.

Virginia Tech got Aeneas Peebles (Duke), Kelvin Gilliam (Oklahoma), Khurtiss Perry (Alabama), and Kemari Copeland (Iowa Western Community College) from the portal and it's going to be interesting to see how those spots shake out. Peebles will start at one of the spots, but the second one which also includes Josh Fuga is up in the air. If anything, Tech has a ton of depth in that position.

2. How linebacker ends up shaking out

Virginia Tech returns Keli Lawson at linebacker, but he missed the spring with an injury, while Pry got a big transfer portal commitment from Sam Brumfield from Middle Tennessee State who has one year of eligibility remaining. Last season for the Blue Raiders, he was a tackling machine with over 80 on the season.

Pry is likely looking for Brumfield to end up as the mike linebacker, while Jaden Keller returns after recording 23 tackles in 2023. Lawson returning healthy is key and Brumfield needs to solidify the unit as they will be vital at the second level defending the run.

3. Backup QB battle

This may not seem like something big to watch in camp, however, if there is one thing we found out last season, it's that it is a vital spot as at any time, they might be needed. That was the case after Grant Wells won the job out of camp last summer over Kyron Drones, but after putting a limited package for the Baylor transfer, he took over on a full-time basis in Week 3 after Wells went down with an injury against Purdue.

Just who Drones' backup remains to be seen as Pop Watson looked good in the Spring Game, but in late April, the Hokies added UCLA transfer Collin Schlee for the upcoming season as a veteran. There will likely be some type of package for Schlee, but expect Watson to not make it easy on him over the next month.

Overall, the Hokies want to get better, but also get out of the next month healthy going to Nashville to open the season is huge. It should be a fun month to see how things unfold in Blacksburg.