Virginia Tech Football's Transfer Portal Exodus Continues on Defense

Last season, the Virginia Tech football team had a ton of retainment when it came to the transfer portal with key players, but that’s not going to case this season it appears. Last week, a handful of Hokies announced that they were entering the portal once it officially opened on Monday.

It didn’t take long before the Hokies lost more depth on Monday when junior redshirt linebacker Keli Lawson and safety Jalen Stroman both announced that they were entering the portal, which are big blows to the linebacker and secondary groupings.

Virginia Tech football exodus beginning on defense

Lawson is one of the most physical players on Virginia Tech’s roster with his athleticism and ability to make plays. He was an All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2023 and the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Stephens City native had 40 tackles and four pass breakups this season along with an interception. This season, however, he saw a significant drop in snaps playing just 309 compared to 609 in 2023. He is someone who will likely find a home quickly in the portal.

Stroman was expected to be a big part of the Hokies secondary this season, but he suffered a collarbone injury in the season-opening loss in overtime at Vanderbilt and he didn’t play again. His injury forced some of the young players in the secondary to fill in more and get some valuable playing time for the future, assuming they don’t enter the portal as well. In 2023, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Stroman had 55 tackles and a pair of pass breakups.

The exodus has begun and it shouldn’t surprise anyone. It does put a lot of pressure on some of the young players in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Minnesota to step up and maybe that will get them some valuable experience and playing time.