The major Hokie defense players will enter the portal on Monday.
Last season, the Virginia Tech football team had a lot of key players retained through the transfer portal, but it appears that will not be the case this season. Last week, a few Hokies declared that they would use the site when it formally opened on Monday.
It wasn’t long before the Hokies lost further depth on Monday, when junior redshirt linebacker Keli Lawson and safety Jalen Stroman both announced that they were entering the portal, dealing significant blows to the linebacker and secondary groups.
Lawson is one of Virginia Tech’s most physical players, because to 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 recorded 40 tackles, four pass breakups, and an interception this season. This season, however, he witnessed a substantial decline in snaps, playing only 309 versus 609 in 2023. He is likely to swiftly find a home in the gateway.
Stroman was expected to play a significant role in the Hokies’ secondary this season, but he suffered a collarbone injury in the season-opening overtime defeat to Vanderbilt and did not return.
His injury forced some of the secondary’s young players to step up and gain significant playing time for the future, providing they do not also join the portal. Stroman, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds, recorded 55 tackles and two pass breakups in 2023.
The exodus has begun, and it should not surprise anyone. It puts a lot of pressure on some of the young guys in the Duke Mayo Bowl versus Minnesota to step up, which might provide them with crucial experience and playing time.
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