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2026 VT Position Previews: Deepest Position on Defense?

Ryan Castle·July 29, 2026

In 2025, the cornerback position felt like a revolving door for the Hokies. On the first snap against South Carolina in the season opener, transfers Caleb Brown and Isaiah Brown-Murray lined up on the outside for Virginia Tech, but over the course of the season, several faces found their way into significant playing time for the Hokies due to injuries and opt-outs. This forced inexperienced freshmen to play a position that requires extreme confidence and oftentimes experience. While that inexperience on the perimeter and throughout the defense may have led to a rocky campaign a year ago, allowing over 30 points a game, the freshmen that unexpectedly got to play now come into this season with real game reps under their belt, allowing them to compete for starting jobs against more experienced players that Virginia Tech acquired through the portal. The Hokies now sport two veteran corners that should be high-impact players, with a host of young talent behind them competing for playing time. When we asked Brent Pry about the depth at corner, he listed six players that he thinks could contribute on Saturdays, and I believe there are two more he did not single out. New cornerbacks coach Nick Perry arrives in Blacksburg after time at Alabama and in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, where he coached All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Perry knows what elite cornerback play looks like, and he will have a tough evaluation on his hands come the fall when it comes time to choose his starting corners due to the bounty of talent that sits in the room. The biggest question mark for the group heading into Fall Camp is who can emerge as the most consistent players and earn the coaches’ trust.

With that, let’s take a closer look at the cornerbacks that will make the biggest impact for Virginia Tech this season:

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The Returners

The Hokies will return one of the strongest leaders and most fiery competitors on the defense from a year ago in Isaiah Brown-Murray (also known as “IBM”). Last year, IBM was an under-the-radar transfer from East Carolina who burst onto the scene in Blacksburg, starting all 12 games for the Hokies. In 2025, he recorded 39 tackles, five pass breakups and an interception. Brown-Murray now comes into this season with 33 college starts between his time with the Hokies and the Pirates. That experience led Defensive Coordinator Brent Pry to refer to IBM as the “most mature guy on the defense.” Pry added that Brown-Murray never gets rattled and is an exceptionally smart and crafty football player, which allows him to play bigger than his 5-9 frame. Pry also loves his versatility, saying that Brown-Murray can play both outside and nickel corner, and could potentially even play safety if the Hokies needed him to. IBM plays an incredibly physical and passionate style of football that has already made him a fan and coach favorite, while also bringing a steadiness and consistency that should make him a lock to start somewhere in the secondary come week one.

The Hokies return three more corners from last year’s roster, but they all come with significantly less experience than IBM. Thomas Williams and Jojo Crim were two of the players surprisingly thrust into the lineup a year ago due to attrition on the defense. Both players had caught the eye of Brent Pry during Fall Camp in 2025, but were not expected to be major contributors this early in their careers. However, both gained good experience a year ago, with Crim playing in six games and Williams actually becoming one of the Hokies' top corners, making 10 starts and recording 32 tackles in 2025. This year, both these players will likely face a tougher road to playing time, with the Hokies bolstering their secondary with some solid additions, but their experience from last season should serve them well, as there is no substitute for game reps. As it stands, it feels like Williams is certainly in the mix for a starting job while Crim may find himself as a depth piece once again.

Potentially the most intriguing and mysterious returner in the Hokies' secondary is Joshua Clarke. Clarke suffered a knee injury during spring ball in 2025, ending his year and wiping out what had been a promising offseason. Brent Pry says without that injury, Clarke likely would have started for the Hokies last season. Now Clarke is slowly working his way back into form, with both Pry and safeties coach Anthony Midget saying it took some time for Clarke to trust his body again. If Clarke can get back to his 2025 form, he will essentially serve as another talented newcomer for this defense, since Hokie Nation has only seen him play in two games back in 2024. Clarke certainly has the talent and the potential to compete for a starting job, but at worst will serve as great depth as he continues to work his way back from injury.

The New Guys

According to On3, one of the best players in Virginia Tech’s 7th-ranked portal recruiting class was Troy transfer cornerback Jaquez White. It was a long and bumpy road for White to finally reach the Power 4 level. He was not recruited heavily out of high school, causing him to attend Division II Washburn for two seasons, where he later caught the eye of the coaching staff at Troy. Then, ahead of last season, White said something “clicked” in his head, and 2025 was “do or die” for him and his journey to make it to the NFL and support his family. White’s hunger for success has not died out even though he has now made it to a larger university. Both Pry and Midget say White has been everything the staff has hoped for, and projects to be the Hokies' top corner come the fall. White suffered a minor injury during the spring game, but Coach Pry told us over the summer he is moving at 100%, so big things are expected out of White this season, and when paired with Isaiah Brown-Murray, gives the Hokies a pair of seasoned players in the secondary.

While White is certainly the headliner of the newcomers group, three more new Hokies have impressed the coaching staff this offseason and will factor into the competition for playing time. Redshirt Junior Cam Chadwick Jr. transfers in from UConn after playing three seasons for the Huskies. In 2025, Chadwick was named a team captain and played in 13 games, recording 67 tackles and four interceptions. Despite his impressive production, Chadwick still needed to prove himself in Blacksburg, and Brent Pry thinks he has done that, saying that Chadwick “is giving us a little more than we thought…maybe a better player than we thought.” If Chadwick has already surprised the coaching staff, maybe he can also be one of the biggest surprises of the season and become a standout corner for the Hokies. Kenny Woseley Jr. has also caught the attention of the coaching staff this offseason after following James Franklin from Penn State. After the team’s first scrimmage, Woseley was the first player Brent Pry mentioned when asked who stood out. Pry seems impressed by Woseley’s versatility, citing that he has made plays at both outside corner and nickel corner. If Woseley continues to impress with his versatility, there is a legitimate path to a starting job for him, and he will serve as a vital depth piece regardless due to his ability to play inside and outside. Finally, the rare true freshman cracks the preview with Amauri Polydor receiving some praise from coaches during the spring. Brent Pry says Polydor shows up every practice, and that he makes “some plays that we want to pull our hair out, but then he’s making some plays that we’re jumping up and down about.” Pry suggested that Polydor has great instincts and a nose for the football, two very encouraging traits for a young corner. Polydor will have to develop more consistency if he wants to see the field this season, but his pure talent and ball skills are at least keeping him in the mix for now, and represent the young, developmental talent that James Franklin is looking for in his three-deep.

Fall Camp is just days away, and the smell of football is certainly in the air. If you need a fix before the Hokies take the field, check out our latest pod featuring Ty Hildenbrandt from The Solid Verbal podcast!