As is the case every college football off-season, the transfer portal plays a big part in it. That was the case again over the last six weeks for the Virginia Tech football team. Between players coming and going out of Blacksburg, head coach Brent Pry has seen a rather big turnover with his roster.
Virginia Tech has been one of the more active portal teams in the ACC and On3 has them ranked second in terms of ACC schools with their ranking. Last week Virginia Tech was 14th overall in the country, but they have moved up three spots to No. 11. Here are some quick thoughts on the Hokies' rising portal ranking.
Brent Pry needed to be active
One thing is clear going into 2025, this is a huge season for Pry in terms of his future as the head coach at Virginia Tech. After expectations were at an all-time high for the first time in years, the Hokies not only were a disappointment, but they finished below .500 at 6-7.
They did that with a lot of talent that has left for both the NFL Draft and SEC schools in the portal. Now, after firing three coaches, it was imperative that Pry brought in some veteran players who could step in right away and play. We'll see how it works out.
Virginia Tech has reloaded the defensive line
The Hokies were hit hard along the defensive line with losses, but that is one area where they have reloaded for next season and they have brought in some players who have graded out very well at their previous stops.
The latest pickup was Texas State transfer Ben Bell who joins Eastern Michigan transfer James Djonkam as edge rushers who will be tasked with filling the shoes of the departed Antwaun Powell-Ryland and Cole Nelson. Both players should be fun to watch next fall, but they will need to be productive early in the season with the first two games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Virginia Tech could end up with sneaky good RB addition
Gone in the Hokies backfield are Bhayshul Tuten (NFL Draft) and Malachi Thomas (transfer portal) and despite having some promising young backs, adding through the portal was a must. Pry has done that and his latest addition could be a sneaky good addition,
Coastal Carolina's Braydon Bennett has over 2,700 all-purpose yards and 28 touchdowns during his time with the Chanticleers. He only has one year of eligibility remaining, but he gives offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen options in both the running game and passing game. How they use him remains to be seen, but again, he could be the steal of the portal for Virginia Tech.
On Monday, the Hokies announced the date and time for their Spring Game in April and we are just under three months away from the game, but there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the winter portal additions for Virginia Tech.