Virginia Tech received some sad injury news for the second time since the end of the regular season as linebacker Dylan Rivers announced he is retiring from football due to a neck injury.
— Dylan Rivers (@dylan_rivers) January 2, 2020
Rivers joins Will Pritchard as the second Hokie to medically retire over the past several weeks. Rivers stated in his announcement that he does plan to remain with the program working with the strength and conditioning staff going forward.
Dylan Rivers started out the 2018 season as the starting backer for the Hokies after playing primarily on special teams as a freshman in 2017. Rivers did lose his job to Dax Hollifield during that season after injuries opened the opportunity for Hollifield, but Rivers has remained an important backup and special teams player for the Hokies. The three-year player finishes his Virginia Tech career with 43 tackles including 1.5 sacks and 1 interception.
There's no doubt that this is a tough loss for the depth at linebacker for Virginia Tech. However, it is great to see that Rivers will have the opportunity to continue to be involved with the program and get a start on what could be his next career in football.
Looking ahead, Rivers' departure increases the likelihood that Virginia Tech looks to add a linebacker to their 2020 class both for short and long term depth. Three-star LB D.J. Lundy has been a top target with the Hokies needing to get him on campus for an official visit in January to have a serious chance.
