Pheldarius Payne comes to Virginia Tech by way of Nebraska, where he was stuck behind two better defensive ends. In an interview, sacks seemed like an important metric to him, and he wasn’t getting many chances at them, as he often got pulled from the field on passing downs. The Hokies seemed to appeal to him on two accounts. First, he’s from Virginia, being a graduate of Nansemond River High. Second, Brent Pry recruited him some. Combined with his talent and experience, those two traits also make him a nice get for a coach who values familiarity and home-team vibes.