Updated ACC Transfer Portal Rankings: Hokies Looking Up At the Rest of The ACC As The Portal Closes
Due to a large amount of departures, the Hokies are one of the teams in the ACC that has to hit the portal hard. According to 247Sports, Virginia Tech has lost 22 players to the transfer portal and they’ve only brought in 9 recruits, and there’s plenty of players to go.
The portal will close at 11:59 p.m. local time for every player, but players do not have to make a decision on where they are going when the portal closes. Typically, commitments move pretty fast, but there is no mandated date or deadline for players to sign with their new schools. There are still plenty of potential targets for Virginia Tech that are still in the transfer portal, including some potential players following offensive line coach Matt Moore from West Virginia. The Hokies have already landed one Mountaineer offensive lineman transfer, Tomas Rimac, an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
The Hokies surprisingly haven’t hit the portal as hard as some other teams in the ACC as Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia all have signed more transfers than the Jokies have. Georgia Tech and Louisville are tied for the most transfers in the ACC with 14. Southern Miss leads the nation in transfers with 21, with most of those players coming from Marshall to follow their head coach Charles Huff, who left Marshall to coach Southern Miss.
While the quality of a transfer class is hard to quantify as transfer portal rankings are sometimes inaccurate, and players often outperform projections as a transfer, the Hokies could grade out as having a fairly solid class.
Current Transfer Portal Rankings (12/28)
1. Florida State
2. Louisville
3. Miami
4. North Carolina
5. Georgia Tech
6. Virginia
7. Duke
8. SMU
9. Virginia Tech
10. Boston College
11. Cal
12. NC State
13. Syracuse
14. Stanford
15. Clemson
16. Pitt
17. Wake Forest
The Hokies hiring former West Virginia offensive line coach Matt Moore is already paying big dividends. Just a few days after hiring Moore, the Hokies have landed one of the top offensive linemen from the transfer portal, who just so happens to have been coached by Moore at West Virginia. Tomas Rimac was the starting left guard for West Virginia this past season, but he announced today that he is going to be transferring to Virginia Tech.
This is a huge addition for the Hokies. Their offensive line has been decimated by transfer portal entries this transfer portal cycle and they are going to be rebuilding it for 2025. With left tackle Xavier Chaplin (Auburn) and Braelin Moore (LSU) heading to the SEC, Brent Pry and the newly hired Moore needed to find someone that could be an instant impact starter and they have that in Rimac. According to Pro Football Focus, Rimac played 937 total snaps at left guard this past season and finished with a 77.1 overall offensive grade, including a very good 86.3 run blocking grade. He finished with a 63.4 grade in 690 snaps in 2023 and a 68.9 grade in 440 snaps in 2022. He should be a plug and play starter for an offensive that is returning quarterback Kyron Drones and landed Bowling Green running back Terion Stewart in the portal. While the loss of Bhayshul Tuten will be felt, Stewart, Drones, and Rimac provide the blueprint for a strong running game.
Virginia Tech Transfer Portal Commitments (9)
Safety Sherrod Covil Jr (Previous School: Clemson)
RB Terion Stewart (Bowling Green)
RB Marcellous Hawkins (Central Missouri)
RJ Schafer joined the On SI team in 2024, contributing to the coverage of Major League Baseball, Collegiate Basketball, and Collegiate Football at https://www.si.com/college/virginiatech/. Prior to this, RJ built a strong portfolio covering Georgia Tech and the Tigers for the Bleav Network. With a solid background in sports journalism, RJ has conducted interviews with both collegiate and professional athletes, enhancing the depth and authenticity of his reporting. RJ's extensive experience in the sports industry has equipped him with a keen understanding of the dynamics and intricacies of both collegiate and professional sports. His work is focused on providing insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage, making him a trusted voice in the sports community.