During his pre-spring practice press conference, Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry revealed that two Hokies have changed, or at least shifted, positions ahead of spring ball.
Pry says #Hokies are moving Kaleb Spencer from star to inside LB this spring.
— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) March 18, 2025
Safety Devin Alves is getting a shot at WR.
Kaleb Spencer has made a shift from a star LB/OLB type role to inside linebacker while Devin Alves has moved from safety to wide receiver. Brent Pry had this to say about those position changes during his first spring football press conference on March 18th.
"Kaleb Spencer is gonna move inside rather than play in that alley to the field. I think that plays to his strengths. We're gonna give Devin Alves a shot at wide receiver. Talented guy who came as a corner, hasn't really gotten on the field as a safety much. He's had a good winter," Pry said.
Spencer's move is a little surprising given the fact that he started out his collegiate career as a safety/hybrid LB at Miami before moving to the star linebacker spot in his first season with the Hokies. The strengths of his game tend more towards a player who is built to play in space like that of a nickel, star LB, or even a more traditional outside linebacker.
However, the schematic shift happening under Sam Siefkes may also mean that some of what Spencer brings to the table fits better as more of an inside linebacker rather than as an outside linebacker. Brent Pry also seemed to hint that the OLB will be more of a hybrid edge rusher role which would be more of a fit with guys like Ben Bell and James Djonkam rather than a nickel/linebacker hybrid type in Spencer.
One of the big storylines this spring will be how linebacker roles evolve under Siefkes' leadership of the defense, with Spencer being central in that conversation now following this change.
For Alves, this feels like the type of last chance move given how buried he had become on the depth chart with the multitude of safety transfers plus the return of Quentin Reddish and Braylon Johnson, and the addition of Sheldon Robinson.
This move feels very similar to Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw going from WR to CB late this past season before entering the transfer portal just weeks later. If Alves doesn’t gain any traction at WR, it would seem likely that he’d be encouraged to enter the transfer portal in pursuit of an opportunity to play at a lower level.
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