Virginia Tech has added some more linebacker depth after landing a commitment from UNC LB Michael Short.
He is the ninth transfer portal addition this spring joining North Dakota State DT Kody Huisman, West Virginia OL Gavin Crawford, Hawaii CB Caleb Brown, Georgia Southern DT Elhadj Fall, Iowa State LS Drew Doyle, Temple LB Antwone Santiago, Jackson State WR Isaiah Spencer, and USF DL Immanuel Hickman. Per source to TLP editor Tim Thomas, the Hokies received news about Short’s commitment on Sunday.
The Charlotte, North Carolina native committed to Virginia Tech after spending two seasons at UNC where he played 14 games. He was a contributing linebacker for UNC last year, where he played in all 13 games. He also earned a 75.0 PFF grade over the course of 101 defensive snaps. He also was a special teams captain who played 248 special teams snaps and earned a 79.5 PFF grade for his special teams work.
Short has two years of eligibility plus a redshirt remaining.
Short will have a chance to come in and immediately make an impact on Tech's thin linebacker room. He will provide an upgrade to the Hokies’ depth at inside linebacker, a position that became much more valuable in a Sam Siefkes 4-2-5 defense that will use both linebackers in the box more often than not. He also has the upside to potentially even push Jaden Keller and Kaleb Spencer for the second starting linebacker job next to Caleb Woodson.
He is a solid prospect at 6'3'' and 230 pounds, and it will be interesting to see how he develops in the next couple years. The fact that he has a redshirt does give VT some flexibility, though his special teams value will make it hard for VT to redshirt him. Regardless, the battle between Spencer, Short, and Jordan Bass for positioning on the depth chart should be fascinating ahead of a 2026 season where all three will be potentially entering their final seasons of college football and trying to figure out whether their best path to a starting role and playing time is at VT or elsewhere.
