A Breakout Candidate at Each Defensive Position Group for Virginia Tech in 2026

Virginia Tech's defense enters 2026 with a familiar face calling plays, just in a different role. Brent Pry, fired as head coach on September 14, 2025, following a 0-3 start, returns to the program as defensive coordinator under James Franklin — back in the role where he built his reputation.

The defense is a blend of experienced returnees and a wave of transfer portal additions, which means the ceiling for individual breakouts is high — but so is the uncertainty.

Here's one player at each defensive position group that I think has a real case to take a significant step forward this fall.

Javion Hilson, Defensive Line

Virginia Tech's defensive line enters 2026 as a position group that is simultaneously proven and unproven. Kemari Copeland is the anchor, coming off a 2025 season that included 48 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, earning him third-team All-ACC honors. Elhadj Fall is back alongside him in the interior. The edge, however, is where the questions are, with starting spots potentially going to new faces this fall.

Hilson is the most intriguing of them. A consensus top-100 recruit out of high school and a five-star by Rivals, he transferred to Blacksburg from Missouri this offseason and immediately drew attention in the spring, earning a projected starting role as a redshirt freshman.

Edge rushers with his pedigree and athleticism don't usually stay quiet for long. If the pass rush comes together the way Virginia Tech needs it to, Hilson is the likeliest name to lead it.

Noah Chambers, Linebacker

Chambers logged 44 tackles in six starts as a true freshman in 2025, which is no small thing for a player who was forced into action earlier than expected due to injuries around him.

There were inconsistent moments, as you'd expect, but the talent was there. Going into his sophomore season, he is playing in a scheme that fits him and is surrounded by veteran linebackers in Kaleb Spencer, Keon Wylie, and Curtis Jones Jr. That combination of experience and scheme fit tends to unlock players. Chambers seems to have a great situation to take a step up.

Jaquez White, Defensive Back

Virginia Tech's secondary enters 2026 with some continuity at the top. Isaiah Brown-Murray was the Hokies' best defensive back a season ago, and Quentin Reddish returns at safety after missing most of 2025 with an injury. The depth behind them, however, is largely new, and that's where White fits in as a potential difference maker.

He arrives from Troy, where he broke up 10 passes and logged nearly 750 snaps last season, and emerged from the spring as the projected starter opposite Brown-Murray. The Sun Belt-to-ACC jump is real, but White's production and his strong spring suggest the transition won't derail him. If he holds that spot and Reddish stays healthy, Virginia Tech could have the makings of a secondary that keeps the Hokies in games even when the offense is still finding its footing.

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