A pair of former Virginia Tech football players land in new destinations

The advent of the NCAA transfer portal has completely changed college football. Some of it is for the good, some, not so much. This isn’t an issue that is only affecting the Virginia Tech Hokies but all of college sports.

Now, for every player like Khalil Herbert, there are stories like Doug Nester, who transferred from Virginia Tech. So you win some, you lose.

Every school has seen movement this offseason. Recently, a pair of former Hokies who entered the portal earlier this offseason have now found homes.

Defensive back Tyree Rodgers, a three-star commit back in 2016, announced he was committing to Norfolk State over the weekend. Rodgers had entered the transfer portal shortly after the 2020 season.

Rodgers appeared in 32 games for the Hokies over the years, in which he made three starts. His best season came in 2019 when he played in 12 games for VT. He finishes his career in Blacksburg with 21 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. He played in three games in 2020 before opting out.

Also, finding a new home on Monday was defensive end Zion DeBose going to Kansas. A three-star commit in 2017, DeBose never really found his footing in Blacksburg. He redshirted in 2017, appeared in 12 games in 2018, missed 2019 due to injury and played in four games in 2020.

DeBose will have two years of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound DeBose is from Spencer, North Carolina, and graduated from Virginia Tech earlier this month.

Best of luck to both Rodgers and DeBose in their future endeavors on and off the field.