Our Virginia Tech Football recruiting breakdown series moves from the offensive side of the ball to the defensive starting at defensive end. You can check out the rest of our position-by-position breakdowns at the link below.
The Hokies have seen their defensive end play take a big jump over the past couple seasons in part to a mix of transfer additions like Antwaun Powell-Ryland and CJ McCray plus development of guys like Cole Nelson and Keyshawn Burgos. So where do things stand on the recruiting front as the Hokies look for the next wave of talent? Here's the latest.
2025: Lots of Traction With Several Targets
With Antwaun Powell-Ryland and Cole Nelson both running out of eligibility after this season and Tech only taking one true DE last cycle, it's fair to expect that the Hokies will want to take two or maybe even three high school defensive ends. Three may be a stretch though given the transfer portal era we live in, but it can't be entirely ruled out.
Regardless, the Hokies have lots of traction with several targets.
The Hokies are hosting one of their DE targets this weekend in 6'2'', 255-pound DL Sidney Stewart out of Towson, MD. Stewart is a very under-the-radar prospect who has set a pair official visits to Virginia Tech (June 7-9) and Maryland (June 21-23), but has otherwise been extremely quiet about his recruitment.
This weekend will hopefully give us a better feel as to where the Hokies stand for Stewart and where Stewart stands on Tech's board. His size also suggests that he could end up being a defensive tackle for the Hokies if he were to end up at Tech.
The Hokies are then currently set to host possibly five defensive end targets on the weekend of June 21-23.
Let's start with fast-rising, in-state DE Zeke Chinwike out of 757 powerhouse Green Run HS. If you don't already know, Green Run is the alma mater of four-star VT freshman WR Keylen Adams, and is the current home of VT three-star WR commit Jayden Anderson and three-star DB commit Knahlij Harrell.
Chinwike has seen his recruitment explode in recent weeks with the Hokies and West Virginia headlining his new offers. When Chinwike received his offer, he immediately set his official visit to Blacksburg and told us that the Hokies were a "top 3" school in his recruitment.
