Going into the 2025 season, there was no question that the Virginia Tech football team was looking for leaders on both sides of the ball. On the defensive side, one player who has taken on that role is Kelvin Gilliam.
After he came over from Oklahoma in the winter Transfer Portal in 2023 and decided to return this year, Gilliam has been a good player for the Hokies, but he has taken on a leadership role this year. When the school fired Brent Pry last Sunday following a disappointing loss to Old Dominion last Saturday night, Gilliam had a message for his teammates right after the firing.
Virginia Tech defensive lineman Kelvin Gilliam had a loud and clear message for teammates folloeing Brent Pry firing
After word was out that Pry was gone, Gilliam revealed on Saturday, following the Hokies' 38-6 non-conference win over Wofford at Lane Stadium, his message to his teammates as reported by Andy Bitter of Tech Sideline.
Kelvin Gilliam's message to the #Hokies last Sunday: "I opened up the door and said, ‘You want to leave, leave, because whatever we do, we need guys that are bought in.' ... Maybe that’s one of our issues that we had the last three [games] — guys were one foot in, one foot out.”
— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) September 20, 2025
That's a leader right there. Cornerback Dante Lovett left on Monday when he entered the Transfer Portal, and it's very unlikely he'll be the only one. Some players didn't play on Saturday, and following the game, interim coach Philip Montgomery said that some were injured and some were going through things. Those things are likely making a decision about whether or not to enter the Transfer Portal and redshirt the rest of the year.
Gilliam had four tackles against the Terriers and 1.5 sacks. As a team, Virginia Tech had four sacks and 12 tackles for a loss. Let's be honest and blunt: Wofford was not very good, and the Hokies came out and did what they needed to do against an FCS team.
As for Gilliam's message, there will likely be more news this week about more Hokies hitting the portal instead of sticking things out, but make no mistake about it, Gilliam had no problem sending a message to his teammates as they look to salvage anything out of the rest of the season.