After beating Virginia on Thanksgiving Weekend to become bowl-eligible, several key members on both sides of the Virginia Tech ball opted out of the Hokies Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Minnesota last Friday night in Charlotte. All in all, it was not surprising to see the players opt out with the chance to play at the next level.
Several other players opted out who are in the portal and leaving for 2025 and quarterback Kyron Drones was out recovering from injuries. Six members of this season’s team who have a chance to play at the next level will get a head start on impressing scouts at the annual NFL Combine.
Six Virginia Tech players invited to 2025 NFL combine
Six players who opted out of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl from Virginia Tech have been invited to the NFL combine in Indianapolis from Feb. 27-March 2. Making the trip from the offensive side of the ball is wide receivers Da’Quan Felton, and Jaylin Lane and running back Bhayshul Tuten. On the defensive side, linemen Aeneas Peebles and Antwaun Powell-Ryland will be joined by cornerback Dorian Strong.
Long before the 2024 season began, all of these players were on a lot of scouts radar and some of them saw their stock rise big this past season. Powell-Ryland certainly turned some heads this season along with Tuten running the ball. Lane and Felton were receivers that teams had their eyes on over the summer and Strong was as good of a cornerback as there was in the ACC.
Count ‘em up 😉
Congrats to our 6️⃣ Hokies headed to the Combine#ThisIsHome pic.twitter.com/uO8hk5poFF
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) January 7, 2025
Last season was very quiet in terms of the combine and NFL Draft for Virginia Tech, but that is clearly changing this season and they will have a number of players headed to play on Sundays. Just how much NFL talent was on this roster this season makes it more frustrating how the season ended up 6-7.
