Late Friday night, Judge Claudia Wilken approved the House Settlement vs. NCAA, and one of the outcomes of the ruling is that players going back as far as 2016 are to receive backpay for their time in college. At Virginia Tech, there is no shortage of players who should be receiving back pay, but which ones?
If you want to sit back and take a deep dive, some basketball and football players deserve some back pay for their time in Blacksburg. Here are three former Hokies who deserve some money following the settlement.
Former Virginia Tech players deserving backpay from settlement
1. Tremaine Edmunds (Football)
One of the better linebackers to come out of a Bud Foster defense, Tremaine Edmunds had three strong seasons at Virginia Tech before becoming a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in the 2018 NFL Draft. In three seasons with the Hokies, he recorded 226 tackles before heading off to the NFL, where he is still today. He had 110 tackles last season for the Chicago Bears. No doubt he should be getting some back pay.
2. Khalil Hebert (Football)
It was one of the more difficult seasons of college football that we'll ever see in 2020. In the COVID-19 season, where fans were nowhere to be found and schedules were going from a day-to-day schedule, the Hokies played a season that we'll never see again, and Khalil Hebert had a season to remember. He rushed for 1,182 yards on 154 carries and averaged 7.7 yards a carry with eight touchdowns. He also caught 10 balls out of the backfield for 179 yards and was picked in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
3. Terrell Edmunds (Football)
Tremaine's brother, Terrell Edmunds, was a staple in the Hokies' secondary for three years before becoming the 28th overall pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2018 NFL Draft. He had 181 tackles in Blacksburg and six interceptions as he anchored what was a tough-as-nails defense.
4. Nickel Alexander-Walker (Basketball)
One of the more underrated former Hokies' men's basketball players was Nickeil Alexander-Walker. In two seasons with Virginia Tech, he led them to the NCAA Tournament twice. In his sophomore season of 2018-19, he averaged 16.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists a night as Tech entered the NCAA Tournament that year as a No. 4 seed, advancing to the Sweet 16. In two seasons in Blacksburg, he averaged 13.5 points a game before being selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, 17th overall.
Other former players should and could very well be included on this list, but without a doubt, there are more former Virginia Tech athletes who deserve backpay following the ruling on Friday night.