Virginia Tech Football 2025 - Whose Stock am I Buying?

As August progresses, it is time for my annual attempt to mimic Jim Cramer and pick some stocks that will make me say “Boo-yah” come December.

For the purpose of this exercise, I am treating Virginia Tech players and coaches as stocks and trying to find some diamonds in the rough.

After the disappointment of last season, though, I am penning this column with a lot less bravado than last year’s edition, where I (and probably many others) missed terribly on my predictions. And with so much turnover of the roster - 30 new faces came to Blacksburg via the transfer portal this offseason, plus incoming freshmen, plus four new coaches in significant roles - there are a lot of unknowns heading into camp.

In looking at this season from a portfolio manager’s point of view, I am not bearish per se.  There are questions for sure, but there are also a lot of players who have to potential to make an immediate impact or stand out as leaders early.

However, the sting of last season’s whiff on all stock picks is still lingering, so my approach to managing this year’s portfolio is highly influenced by a “wait and see” approach.  In a buy-sell-hold approach, I am holding on to a lot of Hokie stock right now.

Alas, it would make for a boring article if I took an ultra-conservative approach to picking my stocks and said to wait until November to make selections.  So here are a few coaches and players whom I think will have high ceilings over the next few months in Blacksburg.

The fact that my first pick is a coach and not a player is partly because of all the question marks on the roster, but it is also because I am excited about this new hire.

Coach Moore is one of several new faces who have come to Blacksburg from rival West Virginia.  Moore, a Broyles Award nominee in 2023, had great success with the Mountaineers as their line coach from 2019-2024.

While in Morgantown, Moore coached multiple linemen who earned All-American honors, and two of his linemen were drafted into the NFL.  Since 2015, seventeen of his players earned all-conference honors.

In 2024, Moore’s WVU front five made the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll as one of the best units in college football.

Remember when four-star lineman Doug Nester transferred out of Blacksburg after the 2020 season?  Well, he went to Morgantown and had a great career playing for Coach Moore and the Mountaineers.  As good as Nester was, he wasn’t even among the top two lineman in his unit, and that is a testament to Coach Moore and his ability to recruit talent and develop it.

Matt Moore started his coaching career in 1997 as a high school coach, then in 2006 he jumped to the collegiate ranks. Going back to 1997, he has coached the offensive line in all of those seasons except for three - and in those years he was a high school head coach (1997, 1998, and 2005).

This is a guy who has coached this position for his entire adult life.  The man has experience, and he also has achievements to prove his value.  He brought four offensive linemen with him from West Virginia, and he already has landed verbal commitments from four recruits in the 2026 class, one of whom is a four-star player.

Even though Virginia Tech is replacing all five starters from last year’s O-line, I do have faith that this year’s line will perform better than last year’s.  There will be new faces, but there will not be a lack of experience.

Johnny Garrett, Brody Meadows, and Layth Ghannam have gotten reps over the years, and they look to win starting jobs.  Transfers Tomas Rimac, Kyle Altuner, Jaden Muskrat, and Montavious Cunningham will be in the mix.  Rimac was a freshman All-American, and last year he earned  honorable mention All-Big 12 for West Virginia, so look to the fifth-year senior for leadership.

I think this unit will be ok this year, and I love thinking of what the position could be over the years with Coach Moore.

If Moore is going to be in Blacksburg long term, I really believe Tech will see a significant improvement in the linemen they bring into the program, as well as a bump in the ground game in the new offensive scheme.

I’m buying a lot of Matt Moore stock.

With so many fourth quarter collapses last year, and with so many one-score losses in recent years, it seems very likely that the next strength and conditioning coach would have a higher ceiling, right?  Could it really get any worse?

Well, anything is possible, but the new strength coach is an old one - former Hokie Jarrett Ferguson - and that alone brings hope to this aspect of the program.

Ferguson was tough as nails as a player, and he went from walk-on to four-year letter-winner to seventh-round NFL draft pick.  It takes mental and physical toughness to do that, something that he will instill in this Tech football program.

Ferguson played under legendary Tech strength coach Mike Gentry.  He then worked with the master for thirteen years.  That is where he learned the basics, and he stresses the fundamentals.

One of the immediate changes that Ferguson has already implemented is a focus on conditioning.  The team has been running a lot more, and, coupled with the offseason workouts, he has seen a lot of growth in his players in terms of changing their bodies. 

Virginia Tech football used to have a reputation.  When teams played the Hokies, they knew they were going to be physically spent, beat up, bruised and sore after 60 minutes of football.  I have high hopes that Ferguson will bring that persona back to Blacksburg.

If there is any one coaching move that gives me hope for a turnaround in the ability to win close games, it is this one.

Caleb Woodson has been one of the early stars of Brent Pry’s 2023 recruiting class.  He has played in every game since stepping on campus, and he is in position to be the next great leader of Tech’s Lunch Pail Defense.

At 6’3” and 230 pounds, Caleb Woodson has size.  He runs the 40 yard dash in 4.6 seconds, and his measurables are in line with the crop of linebackers at the most recent NFL Combine. 

He was second on the team in tackles last season, and third in TFL’s (second in his position group).  This summer he has been named to the 2025 Butkus Award watch list as the best linebacker in all of college football.

With two letters and a lot of athleticism, Woodson is primed to be the top linebacker on a unit that needs more production.

For Virginia Tech, this particular position needs pure tacklers.  Rayshard Ashby logged 105 tackles as a linebacker in 2018 and 120 in 2019.  Dax Hollifield tallied 92 in 2021.  No other Tech player has more than 83 in this span.

That needs to change if the defense is going to ever be elite.  Woodson has the potential to be that 100-tackle guy.  He gained a lot of experience as a true freshman, and he tallied 72 tackles in a starting role as a sophomore.

With the outgoing transfers of his closest competition and a new defensive coordinator, I am betting that Woodson continues this progression and has an even better junior season.

For the second straight season, kicker John Love has landed on my list, only this time as a stock to buy rather than one to watch.

Love connected on 16 of 18 field goals in 2024, with defensive players getting hands on his only two misses.  This comes off a 2023 season when he went 22 of 24 and led the ACC in field goals made.

He was perfect from 40-49 yards last season (5/5) and missed only one - that was touched - over 50 (3/4).  He nailed a 60 yarder in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, which is only one yard shy of the longest FG in Tech history.

As a kicker, he is a weapon, an opportunity to score any time the Hokies cross midfield.

Oh, and did I mention his extra points?  He hasn’t missed one since coming to Blacksburg.  He is perfect on 89 PATs.

Love, only a junior, landed on the Lou Groza Award watch list for 2025, an award that goes to the best kicker in the nation.

The law of averages suggests that Tech is going to win a few close games soon.  Don’t be surprised if Love walks the Hokies off this season.

Dante Lovett, Cornerback - Another gem in the 2023 recruiting class, Lovett has also seen significant playing time over the past two seasons, appearing in all 26 games as a true freshman and sophomore.  With Dorian Strong gone to the NFL and Mansoor Delane bolting for the SEC, Lovett is next man up in a long line of good cornerbacks at DBU.  

The son of a coach - and of two former collegiate athletes - expect Lovett to step up as one of the defensive leaders.  He has the size (6’0” 200 lbs), the speed (4.5 second 40YD), and intangibles to be a great cornerback, as evidenced by his opposing QB rating of 39.6 when targeted last year.  

He also has the mentality, knowing Tech will be in an underdog role this year.  He understands the disappointments of last season, and he will play with something to prove this year.  That attitude should rub off on his teammates.

With so many new pieces in the Tech secondary this year, Lovett may not be targeted so much, and thus his numbers might not stack up.  But that will not prevent his presence from being felt on the defense.

Brett Clatterbaugh, Linebacker - Maybe not this year, but down the line I do have expectations for this guy.  The Hokies have lacked a true middle linebacker for a few years now, and I have high hopes for Clatterbaugh to be the next great mike linebacker for Tech.

The depth at this position lacks players who grew up as middle linebackers, so the four-star freshman has the chance to get on the field this year, and unless a transfer comes in next season, the competition for the position should be wide open in 2026.  

He already has a great middle linebacker number (44) and the look of a run-stopper (mustache and mohawk), now he just needs to become a tackling machine!  I look forward to seeing #44 in the middle of the Tech defense!

Kemari Copeland (DT), Donovan Greene (WR), and Cam Selden (WR) were named to Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks List, and this is the second straight year for Copeland.  I am crossing my fingers that all three of these guys can have breakout seasons - each is a transfer from a power conference team, and each is projected to win a starting job.  

However, I’ll temper my enthusiasm, as past members of Feldman’s list didn’t necessarily perform for the Hokies, particularly the two that I highlighted in past “Stocks to Buy” articles (Keli Lawson, Da’Quan Felton).  Regardless, it is fun to have Hokies named to the Freaks List, and it will be fun to watch these three if they stay healthy.

Of the four summers Brent pry, this one has the most question marks.

This team is replacing a lot of starters. While the coaching staff did a good job of bringing in transfers, very of them were starters on a power conference team last year.

The G5 transfer strategy worked well with players like Bhayshul Tuten and Jaylin Lane, but it also failed miserably with guys like Grant Wells and Sam Brumfeld.  So we don't know what to expect, and even if we thought we did, we don't.

Last year, there was a lot of hype, but the play did not match the expectation. This year, the hype is gone, so I am yearning for the underdog role to bring out the best in this group.

Despite the question marks, I am hoping for a wins.  At least six of them, preferably more. Like everyone else, I would love nothing more than to see the Hokies surprise everybody and have a good season.

There is a lot of potential on this roster. There is more depth than last year.  There is opportunity for players to step up and make plays and be leaders.

If they do, I might be saying "boo-yah" at the end of this year.