Virginia Tech defensive back Christian Ellis is entering the transfer portal, his agency told Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports on Tuesday.
Ellis played in four of the Hokies' first five games and tallied seven tackles and one TFL. He also had three pass breakups, all of which came in the road victory at NC State on Sept. 27. He deflected a deep ball away in the end zone and made the game-clinching play on the Wolfpack's fourth-and-1 with a throw intended for tight end Justin Joly.
The Jacksonville, Fla., native was absent the last two weeks against Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, though. He was listed as "out" on the team's player availability report mandated by the ACC.
By redshirting and not exceeding the four-game threshold, Ellis will have one more year of eligibility in 2026.
He transferred to Tech in January from New Mexico, where he spent the first three seasons of his career and racked up 161 tackles, 4.5 TFLs and nine pass breakups. He joined a revamped safety room featuring fellow transfers Isaiah Cash, Sherrod Covil and Tyson Flowers to accompany returner Quentin Reddish, but that group has been banged up all season.
Flowers has been the lone constant with seven starts. Jordan Bass, who moved from linebacker to safety in the offseason after transferring from Pitt, has started the last four games. Cash has appeared in all seven contests, but Reddish hasn't played since the loss to Old Dominion while Covil last played vs. Vanderbilt.
On top of that, the Hokies are already thin at cornerback with an injury to Caleb Brown and Dante Lovett's departure. Thomas Williams also suffered an injury against Georgia Tech, meaning the experience drops off quick after Isaiah Brown-Murray. Joseph Reddish, Krystian Williams and true freshmen Jojo Crim, Knahlij Harrell and Jahmari DeLoatch have all seen time back there.
Ellis is the fifth Hokies player to enter the portal since Brent Pry's firing on Sept. 14, joining Lovett, receiver and punt returner Tucker Holloway, linebacker Michael Short and defensive end Keyshawn Burgos.
All of those student-athletes took advantage of an NCAA rule that allows for a 30-day window for portal entries if their head coach is fired. Wednesday, Oct. 15, marks the final day of that window.