Virginia Tech Hokies Post-Transfer Portal 2026 Review: Linebackers

Virginia Tech's linebacker corps will be coached by a familiar face: former head whistle Brent Pry.

Oct 24, 2025; Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Tech linebacker Kaleb Spencer (3) tackles California tight end Mason Mini (85) after a catch. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech's linebacker corps is not only revamped; it will welcome a new position coach, though it's not one unfamiliar to the building.

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New defensive coordinator Brent Pry, formerly the Hokies' head coach from 2022 through part of 2025, will be the team's new linebackers coach. Pry compiled a 16-24 record in three-plus years as the Hokies' head whistle and was fired in 2025 after starting the season 0-3.

Returners:

Caleb Woodson is no longer in the Hokies' linebacker corps, having transferred out to Alabama following the 2025 campaign. That leaves Kaleb Spencer as the main experienced returnee. Spencer, who dabbled at the STAR position, is entering his third years with the Hokies after spending his freshman year at Miami.

Last year, Spencer started in five games, leading the team with team-high totals in both tackles (67) and tackles for loss (nine).

There's also sophomore Noah Chambers, who negated his redshirt in 2025, his true freshman year. Forced into the starting spot for six games due to injuries, Chambers performed solid in his first crack at collegiate action, rolling up 44 tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and a sack. Moreover, he registered three tackles on his first three plays against N.C. State.

Beyond that, Antwone Santiago profiles as the tertiary returning option. Last year, the then-redshirt junior played in all but one game, making nine tackles and one tackle for loss.

Incoming Transfers:

Virginia Tech welcomed two transfers to the linebacker corps in junior Curtis Jones Jr. and redshirt junior Keon Wylie. Jones Jr. arrives after having played 23 games over the past two seasons for West Virginia. Over those two seasons, he made a combined 24 tackles, three TFLs and a sack.

Wylie slots in as a redshirt junior but missed the 2024 campaign due to injury, potentially qualifying him for a medical redshirt. That would then designate him as a redshirt sophomore, if a waiver were to be approved. In 2023 and 2025, Wylie's two seasons of extended action, he logged 45 tackles, seven and a half TFLs, four sacks, and a pass breakup and quarterback hurry apiece.

Wylie should factor into the two-deep, though I'm not entirely sure about Jones Jr.

Freshmen:

Virginia Tech will integrate three true freshmen into the roster: Mathieu Lamah, John-Patrick Oates and Terry Wiggins. Lamah enters as a consensus three-star backer; as a senior at Patriot High School, he notched 101 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three sacks and also forced two fumbles. Lamah was initially committed to Penn State before flipping his commitment to the Hokies.

Oates was initially committed to Temple, before flipping to JMU and then, Virginia Tech. Oates was ranked as a three-star athlete, having played both tight end and linebacker in high school; Patrick-Oates clocked in as a three-star prospect with an overall rating of 88, being ranked as the No. 47 athlete in the country and the No. 22 prospect in the state of Pennsylvania.

Wiggins also was committed to the Nittany Lions before flipping over to Virginia Tech. The 6-foot-3, 201-pound prospect logged 92 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and four sacks in his senior year at Coatesville Area High School (Coatesville, Pa.). Wiggins was a consensus four-star prospect exiting high school.

Virginia Tech's 2026 campaign begins on Saturday, Sept. 5 as the Hokies host VMI. The matchup will be the first between the two schools since 1984. In the meantime, the Hokies' spring game will take place on April 18; admission will be free of charge for fans.