Virginia Tech Football: Hokies Offer Top Defender In The Transfer Portal
While the spring transfer portal window does not open until April 16th, one high-level player has already made his way in. After former Tennessee State head coach Eddie George left to take the job at Bowling Green, that allowed his former players to hit the portal and one of their best has. Linebacker Sanders Ellis announced that he was entering the portal after George left for Bowling Green and he has already been getting offers from FBS programs, with Virginia Tech being one of several offers that he has.
Virginia tech offered pic.twitter.com/BAf1pJZcPV
— Sanders Ellis (@SandersEllis4) March 13, 2025
Ellis had a fantastic freshmen season for Tennessee State, finishing with 86 tackles, 15.5 TFLs, three pass deflections, and three sacks. He is still growing as a player and would be a really solid addition to the Hokies defense. Ellis was a finalist for the Jerry Rice award, which is given to the top FCS freshman.
Not surprisingly, Ellis has an offer from Bowling Green, but will Ellis go and play for his former coach? He will certainly have options. Auburn, East Carolina, and Purdue are some of the offers that he holds. The spring transfer portal opens April 16th, but closes quickly on April 25th.
While Ellis would be a nice addition, what could be some other positions that Virginia Tech will target in the spring window? Our own Connor Mardian broke down three possibilities:
Wide receiver
"While the Hokies did nicely in bringing in former Wake Forest wideout Donavon Greene, the former Demon Deacon has been plagued with injuries, suffering two season-ending injuries.
The soon-to-be senior Greene will automatically be a contender for the No. 1 spot in this squad. With the possibilities of injuries hampering his time at Tech, there will be a need for reinforcements."
Defensive tackle
"Virginia Tech saw the exit of one of its most consistent players in Aeneas Peebles to the NFL draft. Peebles rang in a 2024 All-ACC first team last season, along with 32 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss.
Arias Nash was brought into the squad from Mercer. Nash plugged the hole last season with 49 tackles and an eye-popping eight sacks.
The Hokies also brought in 6-foot-8, 250-pound Jahzari Priester. Priester hails from Hampton University. Priester comes into Tech after just one season at Hampton. Priester is bound to spend a majority of his first season in development. The Hokies could look for some more competition for Nash and current tackle Kelvin Gilliam Jr."
Offensive line
"One of the many changes seen in the Hokies’ coaching ranks was a new offensive line coach in Matt Moore. Moore came from West Virginia, where he held the same position as a Mountaineer since 2019.
Moore has already brought in three offensive linemen from Morgantown, including Tomas Rimac, Kyle Altuner and Lucas Austin.
Seeing Moore trying to poach any more offensive linemen from West Virginia at the moment looks unlikely, but with Moore’s longstanding connections in the Big 12, perhaps some more offensive line prospects are needed to fill the holes left by Braelin Moore and Xavier Chaplin, who each went to SEC schools."
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Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell