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Virginia Tech has been forced to revamp its defensive line. After a 6-7 season last year, a number of Hokies left the program. Over 30 players exited the program through the portal, the NFL Draft, or graduation.
Some of the biggest pieces who left Tech were on the Hokies' defensive line in Aeneas Peebles and Antwaun Powell-Ryland, who got drafted back-to-back during late April.
After starting out at Duke, where Peebles excelled for the Blue Devils, reeling in All-ACC Third Team honors and tallying 40 tackles, including a co-team high tackles for loss with 8.5. Peebles then spent his last year as a Hokie, where he once again tore it up.
In Peebles' sole season in Southwest Virginia, Peebles finished the season with 31 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks. Peebles also earned a 90.3 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus. While also being named to the ACC All-First Team.
Meanwhile for Powell-Ryland, he lit up opposing offenses since his transfer to Virginia Tech. Powell-Ryland recorded the third most sacks in the nation (16) last season and received the Dudley Award for the top college football player in Virginia. Powell-Ryland was also First-Team All-ACC in 2024 after being Second-Team All-ACC the year prior.
Powell-Ryland spent three years at Florida before finding his footing at Virginia Tech. He recorded 4.5 sacks as a Gato r and 34 total tackles. He forced three fumbles in his final year at Florida.
Powell-Ryland was drafted 209th by the Philadelphia Eagles, and Peebles was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 210th pick.
Both Powell-Ryland and Peebles will leave a massive hole on the defensive front. However, the Hokies did not lose that much more talent as their only outgoing transfers on the line were edge rushers, Jorden McDonald, CJ McCray, and Ishmael Findlayter. Defensive linemen Khurtiss Perry and Malachi Madison also left the program.
Replacing those numbers on the edge are Ben Bell, James Djonkam, and Immanuel Hickman. On the front is Kody Huisman, Elhadj Fall, Arias Nash, and today's feature of the "Fresh Faces," Jahzari Priester.
Priester comes into the Hokies as a redshirt sophomore
Last season for Hampton University, Priester totaled 17 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus gave him a 65.7 overall defensive grade in 163 total snaps. He was the 14th highest-graded player on Hampton's defense.
Priester offers superb size at 6'8, weighing in at 250 pounds. While Priester has only tallied one year of valuable playing time at Hampton, Priester could be a valuable player for Brent Pry, as he has a knack for developing talent, like Bhayshul Tuten, Da'Quan Felton, Jaylin Lane, among many others.
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What a disappointing season for UNC, Bill Belichick would look like
There have been many interesting storylines throughout the college football offseason. Among the biggest storylines for the sport is the addition of six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick to the same position at the North Carolina Tar Heels. Belichick remains one of the best football coaches of all time, but the true merit of his success will be tested in his new collegiate run. There is a lot of hype for the Tar Heels considering Belichick’s additions and the incoming talent from the transfer portal. The ACC is set to be one of the least competitive power conferences in the sport, which is good news for the Tar Heels. Due to the poor state of the conference, there are even more expectations for the Tar Heels to not only compete for a conference title but also a spot in the College Football Playoff. Even if the Tar Heels aren’t real playoff contenders as the season continues, there are ways that the team could disappoint in Belichick’s first year. Losing more than one of their non-conference games The Tar Heels have two Power Five non-conference games and two from the group of five conferences. Out of the non-conference games, the Tar Heels showed themselves as underdogs in only one game. The Tar Heels should only see the week one home matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs as a real threat. North Carolina should be big favorites at Charlotte in week two, at home against the Richmond Spiders in week three, and at the UCF Golden Knights in week four. The Golden Knights are still a rebuilding team as they enter their third season of Big 12 play. Lose more than three ACC games There are several media outlets that believe the Tar Heels will lose four or more conference games this season. The good news for the Tar Heels is that they have an easy conference schedule. Only two teams the team is projected to face are supposed to finish with a better overall record, according to Athlon Sports. It’s going to be a task too steep for Belichick’s new squad to defeat a team that could win the national championship at the end of the season, in the No. 4 Clemson Tigers. The Tar Heels will likely lose to Clemson, but will try to rebound within the next few games. Their next biggest battle will be on the road against the Syracuse Orange in a prime-time slot on ESPN. Losing in primetime to a team they should finish the season better against wouldn’t be a good look for the team. Tar Heels have to win a majority of their rivalry games North Carolina will finish the regular season with rivalry games at Wake Forest, home against Duke, and at NC State. The Deacons are also still rebuilding, so this should be a development test for the Tar Heels in case they need to make some positional changes. After the Wake Forest game, Belichick’s top goal of the season is to defeat the Blue Devils. The Tar Heels won five consecutive games against the Blue Devils from 2019 to 2023 before losing last year’s game. That game was a major mark for previous head coach Mack Brown as the fan base turned on him. Belichick will need to defeat his new biggest rival, or it will be a huge mark on his first season at the collegiate level.
Green Bay Packers: Luke Musgrave’s Wife’s Stunned Reaction to Jordan Love’s Wife’s Personal Post
The Green Bay Packers are about to kick off their 2025 NFL regular season, so it feels like a good time for some of the players to look back at some of the key moments and experiences they’ve had in the offseason. For quarterback Jordan Love and tight end Luke Musgrave, the 2025 NFL offseason will always be one that they’ll cherish — and not just because of anything that’s football-related. Love and Musgrave both got married to their respective longtime girlfriends in the offseason. The signal-caller tied the knot with Ronika Stone in June, while Musgrave and Madi Weisner exchanged vows in July. Ronika Stone’s wedding lookback gets Green Bay tight end’s wife’s reactions Mrs. Love recently shared a post on Instagram that shows a series of snapshots from her wedding with the Packers’ signal caller. “Every detail was SPECTACULAR ,” Ronika wrote as a caption for the post. She clearly is still awed by how her wedding looked that day, with several beautiful flower arrangements adorning the special day. Ronika’s post drew plenty of comments, including one from Mrs. Musgrave, who wrote “UNREAL.” It’s great to see Packers players’ wives showing support for each other just as Love and Musgrave do on the field. For Musgrave, he is looking to have a big rebound in 2025 after only appearing in seven games and coming up with 45 receiving yards with zero touchdowns and only a couple of first downs on seven receptions and 10 targets. The Packers, who will play the Seattle Seahawks at home this Saturday for both teams’ 2025 NFL preseason finale, will face the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field in Week 1 of the 2025 regular season.
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Two NASCAR teams dealt serious penalties ahead of Daytona Cup Series race
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