We continue our look at Virginia Tech football’s 2025 roster by talking about the linebackers. Linebacker play was sub-par under Chris Marve and will have to improve this season. Xavier Adibi is the new inside linebackers coach, and you can bet that defensive coordinator Sam Siefkes — who coached that group in the NFL — also has his eyes closely on the position.
With two starters returning, two new transfers and what I assume will be better coaching, on paper, linebacker play should take a step forward this season. Here’s a list of the current scholarship linebackers:
• Will Johnson (r-Sr.)
• Jaden Keller (r-Sr.)
• Antwone Santiago (r-Jr.)
• Michael Short (Jr.)
• Kaleb Spencer (Jr.)
• Caleb Woodson (Jr.)
• Gabe Williams (r-Fr.)
• Noah Jenkins (r-Fr.)
• Noah Chambers (Fr.)
• Brett Clatterbaugh (Fr.)
The Hokies also have redshirt sophomore George Ballance, a walk-on who is ahead of some of the scholarship guys on the depth chart.
Virginia Tech went out and helped itself in the transfer portal market in the offseason by bringing in Santiago (Temple) and Short (North Carolina).
Note that Gabe Williams is listed as a linebacker, but Brent Pry confirmed that he was working on the outside. That means he’s likely working at the “edge” position that we went over last week in the defensive line article. Though the other “edge” players are listed as defensive linemen on the roster, they were all with the linebackers during media day. I included Williams on the list above because he’s listed as a linebacker on the roster, but I don’t expect him to fill an inside linebacker role like the rest of the guys who are listed at linebacker.
Either way, Williams is another year away. He couldn’t get nearly as much weight room time as he needed in the offseason because he was coming off a broken leg suffered in the Clemson game last season. His development was set back by a full year, and he’s not big and strong enough to help as an edge or an inside linebacker this season.
Clatterbaugh is listed as a linebacker, too, but he’s working as an edge right now. I’m not sure why the Tech roster lists some edges as linebackers and others as defensive linemen. It makes it confusing.
What Are The Two Inside Linebacker Positions?
The spring game wasn’t televised, so I snapped some pictures with my phone during the first quarter so I could try to get a better understanding of Tech’s scheme. Here are the notes I made about the linebackers after reviewing the pics:“At linebacker, Caleb Woodson was always aligned to the wide side, with Jaden Keller to the short side. For the backups, it seemed to be George Ballance lining up on the short side as Keller’s backup, with Kaleb Spencer to the wide side as Woodson’s backup. There didn’t seem to be a true mike linebacker. I even saw one of the linebackers lined up directly behind one of the defensive tackles in sort of a stack formation a few times, with the other linebacker aligned somewhat staggered with the defensive tackle in front of him. (The linebacker’s inside foot would generally line up with the defensive tackle’s outside foot.)”
The only thing we’ve learned since then is that the two linebacker positions are called will and mike, even though the Hokies didn’t really line up with a traditional mike in the spring game. Ballance told me he was playing the will position, and since Keller was also lined up on the short side of the field, I assume he’s working at the will spot as well.That leaves Woodson as the starting mike, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how things will look when the season kicks off. This year’s spring game was much more generic and vanilla than most.
Right now, I have less understanding about Virginia Tech’s two inside linebacker roles than I do the other positions. (I’m assuming there will be a free safety and strong safety, but I don’t know it for a fact.) I don’t know which of the two newcomers (Santiago and Short) are playing mike and will. One is listed at 6-3, 226, and the other is 6-3, 227, so your guess is as good as mine.
I think there’s a chance that these two positions are a little more interchangeable than the two linebacker spots were in the past. I don’t know if that’s true, though, and I could easily change my mind after watching the team play for a few games.
These linebacker positions are something we’re going to have to learn about once the season begins, and we won’t officially know who is playing which position until a depth chart is released next week. That’s assuming the Hokies don’t elect to retreat further into the abyss by not releasing a depth chart this year. I was almost afraid to type that because I don’t want to give them any ideas.
Personnel Thoughts
Now I want to go through each player one-by-one and give you my personal thoughts on them.Will Johnson (6-2, 231, r-Sr.): In this day and age, it’s sort of surprising that Will Johnson is still in the program, and it’s worth commending him for not leaving. I think he was once a good prospect, but multiple shoulder injuries hampered any kind of development. He’s got 106 career defensive snaps to his name and is a special teams veteran as well. It’s good to have someone like him in the program.
Jaden Keller (6-3, 235, r-Sr.): Every year we hear that it’s Keller’s breakout year, and every year it’s not. Though Tech took him to ACC Football Kickoff, we haven’t heard as much about him this camp. Maybe that’s a good thing. The size, strength and athleticism are all there, but he’s lacked natural instincts at inside linebacker in the past. Hopefully Adibi and Siefkes can help him with that.
Caleb Woodson (6-3, 230, Jr.): A starter last season for the Hokies, Woodson had a run defense grade of 72.3. That’s very good considering he had never played inside linebacker before (and considering he had questionable coaching). Sometimes he struggled to recognize the pass, though, and that will need to get cleaned up. He’s got a lot of potential, and with better coaching in a better scheme, he should be one of Virginia Tech’s better defenders this season.
Antwone Santiago (6-3, 227, r-Jr.): Santiago didn’t start at Temple, but the Owls had some good linebackers over the last couple of years. He got 145 snaps a year ago and put up a run defense grade of 73.6, and it would have been higher had Army’s unique option game not given him a lot of trouble. Also of note, he only missed one tackle last season (and only two for his entire career). I think there’s some upside here. He should be able to carve out a role for himself this year.
Michael Short (6-3, 226, Jr.): Short got 101 defensive snaps at UNC last season and posted a run defense grade of 71.8. That’s not a huge sample size, but he got 29 snaps in the bowl game against UConn and had an overall grade of 72.7. That’s better than the vast majority of performances by the Virginia Tech linebackers last season.
Kaleb Spencer (6-2, 221, Jr.): Spencer was a safety two years ago at Miami, he was a star in 2024 for the Hokies and now he’s an inside linebacker. Sources from the 757 tell me that he’s a lot more safety than linebacker, so I’m not sure this was the greatest move for him. He’s still got a redshirt year available, but guys don’t usually redshirt as juniors unless they are hurt.
George Ballance (6-0, 229, r-So.): The walk-on has 25 career snaps to his name. He’s capable of playing either linebacker spot, though he has been working at will. Here’s a fun fact: The only reason I know that Tech’s linebacker spots are named mike and will is because Ballance told me. The coaching staff has given away next to nothing with regards to the new scheme. My gut feel is that he’s probably fifth in the linebacker pecking order right now, but the only thing I’ve heard about the linebackers in general is that “Santiago and Short make the room better.”
Gabe Williams (6-4, 205, r-Fr.): Again, I’m only including Williams here because the Hokies list him as a linebacker. I think he’s most likely playing the edge position. Either way, he’s still got a lot of work to do in the weight room before he’s ready to see the field. He’s a guy with a high ceiling, but he also came in at a lower starting point because of his lack of mass.
Noah Jenkins (6-2, 205, r-Fr.): Jenkins redshirted last season as a safety. The staff didn’t think he was quick enough to stay there and moved him to linebacker over the summer. He’ll have to spend the next year adding weight to become a contributor.
Noah Chambers (6-2, 220, Fr.): I’m a big fan of Noah Chambers, as is Pry. He said in Charlotte that Chambers was physically ready to contribute, and I saw that with my own eyes earlier this month. In running back pass-blocking drills, he absolutely obliterated one of Tech’s backs (I couldn’t tell which one). The contact was so violent that it took out running backs coach Elijah Brooks, too. I love Chambers’ background at DeMatha. I’m sure he’ll redshirt, but I can see him in the two-deep as early as next season.
Brett Clatterbaugh (6-2, 243, Fr.): He wasn’t quite quick enough for linebacker, which Tech thought might be the case when he was recruited. I think he’s working at edge right now, but I wonder if the defensive end position is his best spot for the future based on his body structure.
Final Thoughts
I’m more positive about the linebackers this year for a few reasons:
1: I hate to keep beating on this dead horse, but Marve is gone. For whatever faults he had as a defensive coordinator, he was arguably a worse linebackers coach. Things have to be better now from a coaching standpoint, right?
2: More overall depth. If Keller doesn’t take a step forward, I think there are more legitimate options to replace him this year, and I expect Adibi and Siefkes will make better decisions about who to play and how much to play them.
3: My gut feel is that Woodson will take a step forward and be a good linebacker for Virginia Tech this year.
4: I also believe that Tech’s scheme will help the linebackers this season. Or at least that’s what I’m hoping.
I don’t think the Hokies are close to having a Hall/Adibi combo at linebacker, but my guess is that they are better off now than they were the last couple of years. We’ll see if it plays out that way on the field.