After Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry fired offensive line coach Ron Crook, he hired West Virginia coach Matt Moore in what should be a huge addition. He is tabbed with making the Hokies offensive line a better one next season with a bunch of brand-new faces. Between no more eligibility remaining and the transfer portal, the line is going to look a lot different for quarterback Kyron Drones and Pop Watson.
Moore's presence in Blacksburg has already been felt with former Mountaineers' Tomas Rimac (guard) and Kyle Altuner (center) committed to Virginia Tech in the transfer portal. On Monday, another West Virginia lineman is following Moore to Virginia Tech.
West Virginia transfer Lucas Austin committed to Virginia Tech
Per his X account, West Virginia transfer Lucas Austin committed to Virginia Tech after redshirting this season in Morgantown. The Sterling, Illinois native was a three-star recruit when he signed with West Virginia and he will have four years of eligibility remaining.
🦃🦃🦃 pic.twitter.com/4vfSP9sDq2
— Lucas Austin (@LucasAustin2024) January 6, 2025
Austin played both sides of the ball in high school and has settled in on the offensive side in college. The 6-foot-7, 287-pound tackle is the 12th commit to Virginia Tech in the portal this winter. He joins RImac and Altuner along the line while running backs Terion Stewart (Bowling Green) and Marcellous Hawkins (Central Missouri) along with Tennessee wide receiver Cameron Seldon.
As mentioned, Moore has a lot of work to do this off-season with the line with the young returning players along with the transfers. They will be put to the test early and often next season as the Hokies will open the 2025 season against a pair of SEC teams. They will play South Carolina in Atlanta in Week 1, before hosting Vanderbilt the following weekend on the backend of the home-and-home series that began this past August in Nashville.