Another offensive player will enter the transfer portal for Virginia Tech, though he plans to stick around for the bowl game.
Receiver Da'Wain Lofton's name will soon appear in the transfer portal, a source confirmed, though he'll stay with the team through the Military Bowl on Dec. 27.
[Editor's note: Lofton officially announced his decision to enter the portal on Wednesday, Dec. 6.]
https://twitter.com/DawainL/status/1732475057287389456?s=20
That's three scholarship players from the Hokies to hit the portal since it opened Monday. Lofton will join tight end Dae'Quan Wright and running back Bryce Duke in looking for a new home.
A third-year player out of Fort Worth, Texas, Lofton has caught 35 passes for 410 yards and three touchdowns in his Virginia Tech career, though his playing time dwindled in 2023 after the Hokies brought in several transfer receivers.
After playing a prominent role in 2022, with 22 catches for 254 yards in 549 snaps, Lofton played just 164 snaps last season, catching six passes for 58 yards, with Jaylin Lane getting the nod as a starter in the slot. With the possibility that all of Tech's top receivers return in 2023, playing time could have been limited again.
A 2021 signee, Lofton was part of Justin Fuente's surge in Texas recruiting, signing with the Hokies after playing for one of Fuente's former players from his time at TCU in high school. Counting Lofton, 15 of Tech's 28 high school signees from that class will have moved on.