Coming out of spring, there's a clear top transfer portal priority for Virginia Tech: offensive line.
Currently, the Hokies are likely targeting 1-2 additions on the offensive line with an interior lineman who could pair with the Moore brothers plus a tackle who can at least boost Tech's experienced depth being the priorities.
The Hokies have already gotten busy in the transfer portal extending a few offers to some of the best available offensive linemen. It's also likely that the Hokies are pursuing some offensive line transfers who are being offered but choosing not to publicize them.
So with that said, here's a look at a few offensive linemen to keep an eye on for the Hokies.
Appalachian State C Troy Everett
Any list of offensive line targets will start with Troy Everett who started much of this past season at center for Appalachian State and earned Second Team Freshman All-American honors from The Athletic. Tech didn't take long being the first to offer Everett with that call coming within minutes of him entering the portal according to Max Olson of The Athletic.
Everett is probably a familiar to Hokie fans who either live in the Roanoke Valley or keep up with VT recruiting as Botetourt County's Everett surprised people during the 2021 cycle when he chose App State over the Justin Fuente-led Hokies. Now, Brent Pry and his staff have a chance to bring Everett to Blacksburg after the previous staff was surprisingly beat out when he was coming out of Lord Botetourt HS less than an hour from Blacksburg.
Of course, the competition is going to be a lot stiffer this time around with Oklahoma and Louisville among the other prominent Power 5 schools involved. He also has offers from Maryland, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Cincinnati, and more as one of the top overall offensive linemen in the portal currently.
I wrote recently about Everett including what he's looking for and how he could fit in at Virginia Tech should he choose the Hokies which you can read here. Regardless, Everett can come in and immediate make an impact whether he's a starter or ends up being the top backup on the interior. It's also easy to envision him being a foundation piece for Ron Crook to build his first offensive lines around along with the Moore brothers, Xavier Chaplin, and Parker Clements.
Virginia Tech is once again looking to bring Troy Everett to Blacksburg with the Hokies facing some stiffer competition this time around.
Wyoming OG Emmanuel Pregnon
There is no offensive lineman in the transfer portal who is more popular currently than Wyoming offensive guard Emmanuel Pregnon. The Denver, Colorado native was impressive as a redshirt freshman in his debut for the Cowboys with Pro Football Focus giving his season an overall grade of 74.2. He also has great size at 6'6'' and 316 pounds along with three years of eligibility remaining to keep growing.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that since entering the transfer portal, Pregnon has built up about as long of an offer list as anyone.
- ACC: Virginia Tech, Miami
- Big 10: Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Penn State, Purdue
- Pac-12: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington State
- SEC: Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M
- AAC: Charlotte
There's no doubt that the competition will be tough for everybody involved with preseason top 10-15 teams like Penn State, LSU, USC, Tennessee, and Oregon involved. You also have in-state Colorado with a lot of buzz under Deion Sanders plus Illinois where the offensive line coach who recruited him to and first coached him at Wyoming, Bart Miller, is the current OL coach.
To state the obvious, this will be a very uphill battle for Virginia Tech with the odds being slim. However, Pregnon would be an instant plug and play starter at guard who is absolutely worth offering and putting your hat in the ring if you are the Hokies regardless of the odds.
Tulsa OT Jaden Muskrat
There may not be an offensive tackle that is more popular among Power 5 schools in the transfer portal than Tulsa's Jaden Muskrat. The Bentonville, Arkansas was the Golden Hurricanes' starting right tackle this past season and should have 3 years of eligibility remaining given his free COVID year in 2020 plus the fact that he only played in 4 games in 2021 even if Tulsa's player page has his redshirt year listed as 2020.
In a transfer portal market where plenty of Power 5 teams are looking for capable offensive tackle, Muskrat has quickly become a popular guy with the following schools offering him.
- ACC: Virginia Tech, Syracuse
- Big 10: Penn State, Purdue
- Big 12: Cincinnati
- Pac-12: California
- SEC: Arkansas, Auburn, South Carolina
Muskrat is a little undersized for an offensive tackle at 6'3'' and 307 pounds, and his future may be more on the interior than at tackle. Regardless, Muskrat brings loads of versatility that should allow him to be a swing offensive lineman at worst in 2023 at the Power 5 level.
He would face some tough competition at tackle to earn a starting job next fall with Xavier Chaplin and Parker Clements currently on track to take the tackle jobs. However, Muskrat would be a strong backup who could be a long-term replacement for Clements while also having the potential to be able to slide inside and win the starting right guard job.
There is some stiff competition with in-state Arkansas, Penn State, South Carolina, and more involved as well as the Hokies, but Tech definitely should be considered a contender for the 2022 Tulsa starting right tackle.
Harvard OL Mason Williams
Mason Williams may be a new addition to this list, but the 2022 First Team All-Ivy League interior offensive lineman is absolutely a guy to watch.
Williams told us after Virginia Tech offered him that that Hokies were "at the top" of his recruitment adding that it was fair in his perspective to consider Tech the leader in his recruitment at the moment.
There's no doubt that Williams fits what the Hokies are looking for in terms of offensive linemen who can at least come in and either start or provide quality depth. Williams could absolutely come in and win the starting right guard job even with some stiff competition from one of last year's starting guards Jesse Hanson and veteran backup OL Bob Schick.
Williams reportedly has set a visit to Virginia Tech for next weekend (May 28-30th) according to Rivals. He told us that he is visiting Colorado State this weekend (May 22-24th) while he's also taken a visit to East Carolina previously according to Rivals.
Keep an eye on Mason Williams as an interior offensive line target to watch for the Hokies especially given the traction they already have with him.
