The Virginia Tech football team is one of several power 4 programs this season who have fired their coach. Brent Pry is gone, and the Hokies are looking at candidates to replace him. Due to that turbulence, Virginia Tech is losing some players to the transfer portal.
The latest Virginia Tech player to leave for the portal is defensive back Christian Ellis, per CBS Sports.
“Had 99 tackles and an interception at New Mexico last year before transferring to Virginia Tech,” reporter Matt Zenitz posted to X, formerly Twitter.
Virginia Tech football is 2-5 on the season, and 1-2 in the ACC. Pry was fired after losing a game to Old Dominion. Since then, the Hokies picked up a few wins. Philip Montgomery is the interim head coach of the Hokies.
This season, Ellis had posted seven tackles for Virginia Tech. That includes five solo stops.
Virginia Tech is making a large commitment to their football program
The Hokies have struggled in the ACC in recent years, in football. Pry had just one winning season in three full years in Blacksburg. Pry started his fourth season in 2025 with an 0-3 record, leading to his termination.
A board at Virginia Tech recently made a commitment to invest millions of dollars in their athletic department. The Hokies will have an additional $229 million to spend on football, basketball and other sports. This commitment is expected to help the school land a powerful new football coach.
“We have the opportunity to reset the organization to align with the new realities at the conference and national levels. It's never been clearer that the future of Hokie athletics will depend on the institutional commitments to compete in partnership with our alumni and supporters. Today, we are stepping up to compete, and we ask our loyal fans and generous donors to step forward with us,” Virginia Tech president Tim Sands said of the move, per ESPN.
Some names being thrown around as possible replacements for Pry include Jimbo Fisher and even fired Penn State coach James Franklin. Ironically, Pry worked for Franklin at Penn State. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Pry was assistant coach under Franklin for the Nittany Lions. Pry then stayed on as Penn State's defensive coordinator, from 2016-2021.
Virginia Tech football next plays California on October 24. The Hokies have lost back-to-back games to Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.
