Did Virginia Tech Answer All Of Its Questions On Defense During Fall Camp?

Virginia Tech gained some clarity on defense during fall camp, but questions remain at defensive end and throughout the secondary's two-deep.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech entered fall camp with plenty of questions defensively, and with the Hokies' season opener against VMI rapidly approaching, I'm not convinced August answered all of them.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Virginia Tech has enough established pieces to feel relatively confident about portions of Brent Pry's defense, and several position battles have become considerably clearer over the past month. But unlike some spots on offense, where the biggest questions largely revolved around who would start, several of the concerns defensively are about whether the players who win those jobs can actually produce.

Defensive end is probably the best example.

Virginia Tech should feel pretty good about the interior of its defensive line. Kemari Copeland returns after leading the Hokies with 4.5 sacks last season and earning Third-Team All-ACC honors, while Elhadj Fall, who enters his second year with the Hokies, provides another experienced option alongside him. The ends are considerably more difficult to evaluate.

Aycen Stevens has been one of the leaders of the defense throughout fall camp and has consistently worked near the top of the rotation; he seized the Lunch Pail in the spring and was still toting it around at Media Day in mid-August. Javion Hilson, meanwhile, provides perhaps the most intriguing upside in the room after transferring from Missouri, with Mylachi Williams and Jason Abbey among the other players competing for snaps in my opinion.

There's talent there, but there isn't much proven production.

Stevens has been in Virginia Tech's program for several years without putting up significant numbers, while Hilson is still looking to establish himself at the collegiate level after beginning his career as a highly regarded prospect. That doesn't mean either player can't become a productive ACC defensive end, but fall camp practices aren't going to prove that they can consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks.

For me, that's probably the biggest unanswered question on the defense.

Virginia Tech doesn't necessarily need another Antwaun Powell-Ryland coming off the edge as it used to have, especially if Copeland continues generating pressure from the interior. The Hokies do need somebody to emerge as a consistent threat, though, and I'm not sure we know who that player is yet.

The secondary presents a different problem, though there's enough to feel good about at the top.

Jaquez White gives Virginia Tech a proven option at cornerback after earning Second-Team All-Sun Belt honors at Troy last season, while Joshua Clarke has seemingly put himself in position for a significant role on the opposite side after missing the 2025 season with a torn ACL. Isaiah Brown-Murray provides experience and versatility at nickel, giving the Hokies three players they should feel comfortable putting on the field.

It's a similar situation at safety.

Quentin Reddish and Tyson Flowers have been projected near the top of that room throughout the offseason, while Jordan Bass, Sheldon Robinson and Brennan Johnson provide several other possibilities behind them. Safeties coach Anthony Midget said earlier in camp that Virginia Tech was working toward having four players it felt comfortable using, which sounds encouraging.

Virginia Tech has plenty of bodies at cornerback, and that is certainly preferable to the alternative. Kenny Woseley, Cam Chadwick, Thomas Williams and others have all been involved in the competition, while freshman Zaevion Cleveland has received praise from James Franklin for his speed during camp.

But if White or Clarke comes off the field, who is the next outside corner Virginia Tech trusts? I'm not sure what the answer is yet, though I think the first three I mentioned are up to the task.

The same applies at safety. Bass and Robinson would seemingly have the advantage based on how the room looked entering August, but Johnson's versatility complicates things, and several defensive backs have cross-trained at multiple spots throughout camp.

Linebacker might actually be where Virginia Tech answered the most questions, though not necessarily in a good way.

Keon Wylie, Noah Chambers and Kaleb Spencer have emerged among the primary options, while Antwone Santiago and Curtis Jones Jr. provide additional experience behind them. There are still depth concerns, particularly after injuries affected the room during camp, but the top of the rotation feels slightly easier to identify than it did several months ago. Santiago was absent for parts of camp, while reserve Gabe Williams is out with a "long-term injury" per the program.

There are some questions to note. Can Virginia Tech generate enough pressure from its defensive ends? Who settles in behind White and Clarke at corner? Which safeties establish themselves as the second line of the two-deep, and how much does Pry actually trust those reserves once ACC play begins? Fall camp provided possibilities for all of those questions, but I wouldn't call them answers quite yet.