BLACKSBURG, Va. — By the lofty standards Brent Pry set during his time at Penn State, Virginia Tech’s defensive performance in 2022 was only moderately successful.
This was not a top-25 group by any means, but the Hokies showed modest across-the-board improvement, allowing 22 fewer yards per game (392.2 to 371.2), nearly a half yard less per play (5.86 to 5.41) and 0.6 fewer points per game (25.3 to 24.7).
It wasn’t a massive leap, but it was a start.
So what will the lineup look like in 2023? I projected the Hokies’ possible offensive depth chart this spring earlier this week. Now it’s time for the defense and special teams.
(Only signees who are early enrollees are included in the 2023 class. All years listed aren’t accounting for possible extra COVID-19 seasons.)
Defensive tackle
Starters: Mario Kendricks (Sr.), Norell Pollard (Sr.)
Backups: Josh Fuga (Sr.), Wilfried Pene (Jr.)
Others: Gunner Givens (r-Fr.), Lemar Law (r-Fr.), Malachi Madison (r-Fr)
2022 defensive snap counts (per Pro Football Focus): Pollard 511, Kendricks 384, Fuga 370, Pene 196, Madison 16
Overview: This group has a little different look than it did less than a day ago. Darian Varner, a Temple transfer who was expected to bolster Tech’s interior line after committing and signing in December, flipped his commitment to Wisconsin on Thursday night. (Transfers are not binding until they enroll in classes, despite signing any type of financial aid agreement.) Though he was a defensive end for the Owls who had 7.5 sacks last season, earning first-team All-AAC honors, Varner was expected to play on the interior for the Hokies. Not anymore, however. (Possibly, I suppose. Classes don’t start at Wisconsin until Jan. 24, so who knows?)
Varner’s flip puts a lot more of a spotlight on Norell Pollard, who has yet to announce his future plans. He has a COVID-19 year that he can use, but he hasn’t publicly declared what he intends to do. If he returns, it’d be a nice piece on the interior, someone who’s started 35 games and has 94 tackles, 14.5 tackles for a loss and eight sacks in his career.
The Hokies will have Kendricks back, which is a major piece. He couldn’t practice much last spring coming off shoulder surgery but really started coming on in the second half of the season, praised by Pry as the most effective interior player down the stretch.
Fuga and Pene give the Hokies some experienced depth here, and there’s a younger wave of freshmen who redshirted last year that will replenish the ranks as they develop. But with Pollard’s future still unannounced and Varner apparently headed to the Big Ten, suddenly the Hokies might be in the market for a proven defensive tackle in the portal again to help bridge the gap to that next generation.
Mario Kendricks has made 11 starts over the past three seasons. (Reinhold Matay / USA Today)
Defensive end
Starters: C.J. McCray (Jr.), Cole Nelson (Jr.)
Backups: Pheldarius Payne (Sr.), Jorden McDonald (So.) OR Keyshawn Burgos (So.)
Others: Kyree Moyston (r-Fr.), Ismael Findlayter (Fr.)
2022 defensive snap counts: McCray 355, Nelson 352, Moyston 37, McDonald 22, Burgos 7
Overview: Here’s where we start to have some question marks, and it’s why Pry has been so adamant about wanting to add an impact transfer as an edge rusher.
I’ve slotted McCray and Nelson in the top spots after they served as understudies to TyJuan Garbutt and Jaylen Griffin last year. Nelson (5.5 TFL, 2 sacks) was slightly more productive, though McCray’s more of a speed guy off the edge.
The group welcomes the addition of Payne, who transferred in last spring from Nebraska but suffered an Achilles injury in June that ended his season before it began. Coaches never gave a timetable for his return, though you’d have to imagine that less than a year removed from the injury, he’ll be treated carefully this spring and probably limited in what he will be allowed to do.
After those three, it’s an inexperienced group. McDonald and Burgos got a taste last year, with Moyston getting some special teams snaps. Findlayter is a new arrival who’s more on the developmental side.
This entire group combined for four sacks last year, which means the coaches should have a pretty easy task selling playing time to any potential transfer. Adding a true edge-rushing threat from the portal is a must this offseason.
Linebacker
Starters: Jaden Keller (So.), Alan Tisdale (Sr.), Keonta Jenkins (Sr.)
Backups: Will Johnson (So.), Keli Lawson (So.), J.R. Walker (Sr.)
Others: Dean Ferguson (Sr.), Jayden McDonald (So.
2022 defensive snap counts: Jenkins 410, Tisdale 244, Lawson 205, Keller 194, Walker 168, McDonald 167, Johnson 22, Ferguson 3
Overview: Hey, who wants to do some speculating?
The Hokies have plenty of returning pieces here, but there’s no obvious replacement for Dax Hollifield, who was a mainstay for years at mike linebacker. (His listed backup last year, Keshon Artis, entered the transfer portal, though it feels like the Hokies wanted to get faster and more athletic at that position anyway.) Johnson and Ferguson have dabbled at it in the past, but if I’m ranking the top inside linebackers on the roster, I’m putting Tisdale, Keller and Lawson in some order.
The problem is they’ve all traditionally been in the will linebacker spot, with Tisdale holding down the similar backer position in the previous scheme. Of those three, could Keller make the transition to mike? Pry has talked about the will linebacker spot as being the trickiest on the defense to learn. And Keller, despite showing promise, made enough mistakes early last year that the coaches throttled back his playing time as the season went on. Maybe a move to a more straightforward position like mike would help his development. (For the record, this is purely conjecture on my part.)
Tisdale was solid once he regained his eligibility last year and is a nice returning piece with a ton of experience. Lawson showed a lot of promise late in the year as a disruptive player with tremendous length who feels like he’s going to be on the field a lot next season, even if it’s not in a starting role.
Johnson’s been beset by shoulder injuries during his career, so Tech doesn’t quite know what it has in him. Ferguson seemed like a forgotten man last year and McDonald started early but saw his playing time fade as Tisdale returned and Lawson emerged.
Tech mixed and matched all of last spring, eventually landing on Jenkins and Walker at the sam linebacker spot. It feels like there could be a good deal of experimenting at the mike this year to find the right lineup arrangement.
Nasir Peoples totaled 149 tackles over the past two seasons. (Peter Casey / USA Today)
Safety
Starters: Nasir Peoples (Sr.), Jalen Stroman (Jr.)
Backups: Ny’Quee Hawkins (Sr.), Jalen Hoyle (So.)
Others: Mose Phillips (Fr.)
2022 defensive snap counts: Peoples 578, Stroman 314, Hawkins 182, Hoyle 10
Overview: Peoples’ return helps shore up the safety spot now that Chamarri Conner has exhausted his eligibility, with the senior being the leading returning tackler from last year with 61 stops. You might be surprised to find out Stroman was next, fourth on last season’s defense with 43 tackles despite not starting a single game.
That seems like a decent 1-2 punch, but the Hokies need to find depth at the position. Hawkins played a little bit of whip in the previous scheme and had 25 tackles in nine games last year. Hoyle, a 2021 signee, hasn’t played much and could get his longest look to date this spring.
Phillips could be a freshman to watch. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder was a late addition to the Hokies’ signing class, someone whose recruitment picked up during his senior season. He has good size and should have plenty of opportunity when he enrolls this month, with what should be a full complement of reps this spring.
Among Pry’s transfer wants is a defensive back who can be a swing guy, possibly playing safety or corner. When you look at the depth in the safety room (and next on this list at cornerback), you can see why a seasoned defensive back would be high on the Hokies’ list of priorities.
Cornerback
Starters: Dorian Strong (Jr.), Mansoor Delane (So.)
Backups: Cam Johnson (r-Fr.), Devin Alves (r-Fr.)
Others: Nyke Johnson (So.), Elijah Howard (So.), Antonio Cotman (Fr.)
2022 defensive snap counts (per Pro Football Focus): Delane 401, Strong 201, N. Johnson 36, C. Johnson 33, Howard 13
Overview: Tech might not have a better pair of starters on the roster than at cornerback, where Strong returns from a hand injury that cost him the final two-thirds of 2022 and Delane comes back for a sophomore campaign after breaking out during his freshman season.
Strong was the defensive player Pry thought had All-ACC potential, so his loss was significant last season. When healthy, he’s among the Hokies’ best players. Delane had PFF’s second-highest defensive grade among ACC cornerbacks last year, trailing only UVa’s Fentrell Cypress, who transferred to Florida State.
That’s a pretty good start for the group, which doesn’t have much experience after those two. Cam Johnson and Alves seemed to be jumping to the top of the backup group before they suffered knee injuries at practice late in the year, the severity of which Tech didn’t mention, though you wonder what their availability will be this spring.
We haven’t heard a lot from Nyke Johnson recently and Howard briefly switched to running back last year before coming back to the group after injuries. Cotman is the only early enrollee of the promising group of 2023 defensive back signees, but as we saw last year with Delane, who didn’t arrive until the summer, being here in spring isn’t a prerequisite for early playing time for a true freshman. Dante Lovett and Cameren Fleming could be intriguing options once they get here.
Special teams
Starters: P Peter Moore (So.), K John Love (Fr.), LS Justin Pollock (Sr.), PR Tucker Holloway (So.), KR Keshawn King (Sr.) OR Bryce Duke (So.)
Backups: K William Ross (Sr.), K Kyle Lowe (Jr.), P Nick Veltsistas (So.)
2022 special teams snap counts: Moore 113, Duke 91, Pollock 76, Lowe 47, King 41, Ross 32, Holloway 29
Overview: The Hokies have a lot of returning pieces here. In fact, it’s possible all of the starters at the major special teams spots return to those roles.
Moore dipped a bit as a sophomore, with his average dropping nearly three yards per punt, but he’s a two-year starter and captain. Love took over the kicking duties late in the year for Ross, who started hot but had some issues on extra points that led to the switch. It doesn’t feel like that job is settled by any means.
Holloway has to be the punt returner after his breakout game there against Georgia Tech. King and Duke figure to be top options on kick returns with Cole Beck running track in the spring. It’s TBD whether Beck returns next season.
(Top photo of Jaden Keller: Ryan Hunt / Getty Images)
