A court ruling this month opened the door for former junior college players to recoup eligibility, and Hokies linebacker Sam Brumfield plans to take advantage at another school.
Brumfield entered the transfer portal Thursday, according to a report by 247Sports.
The linebacker arrived from Middle Tennessee last offseason and entered the season as the starting mike. His playing time dwindled, however, as Jaden Keller took over starting duties.
Brumfield, one of seven team captains this fall, finished with 60 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss in 12 games, making seven starts. He played fewer than 20 snaps in three of Tech's final four games.
Though this was expected to be his final season of eligibility, Brumfield got new life thanks to a temporary injunction ruling on a lawsuit filed by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. It opened the door for players not to have their time spent at junior college count against their NCAA clock, since they couldn't earn NIL money at that level.
Following the Pavia ruling, the NCAA recently granted a temporary waiver opening up the possibility to affected juco players. The organization also intends to file an appeal to the injunction.
Brumfield spent three years at Northwest Mississippi Community College — where he connected with Chris Marve, Tech's former defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, who was at Mississippi State during that time — before going to Middle Tennessee in 2023 and Virginia Tech in 2024.
The Hokies have had 17 scholarship players enter the portal since the end of the season. Conversely, they've received commitments from nine incoming players.
For more information on Tech’s comings and goings this offseason, click here for Tech Sideline’s roster management page.