Hendon Hooker, Doug Nester and Bryan Hudson Enter Transfer Portal

By: Chris Coleman | Lead Analyst and Columnist
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech’s Hendon Hooker has entered teh transfer portal. (AP Photo / MATT GENRTY, The Roanoke Times, Pool)

Virginia Tech quarterback Hendon Hooker has entered the transfer portal.  Joining him are offensive linemen Doug Nester and Bryan Hudson.

Hooker finishes his Virginia Tech career with 2,894 passing yards, with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.  He also ran for 1,033 yards and 15 touchdowns.  He played in a total of 21 games during is career in Blacksburg.

Hooker wasn’t alone in hitting the portal.  He was joined by two key offensive linemen who have combined for over 2,000 career snaps.

Doug Nester was Virginia Tech’s starting right guard this season.  The true sophomore was once a major recruiting win for the Hokies, as Justin Fuente and his staff flipped him from his original commitment to Ohio State.  Nester was the highest rated offensive guard in the ACC this season with a minimum of 200 snaps.

Like Nester, Bryan Hudson was a 4-star recruit who held offers from many of the nation’s top programs.  He started at center as a true freshman in 2019 despite never having played the position.  He became a rotational player at right guard with the emergence of Brock Hoffman in 2020, but he still played 303 snaps and was considered to be a player with a bright future.

The departure of Hooker means the Hokies are left with just one quarterback with significant game experience in Braxton Burmeister.  The loss of Nester and Hudson will cause a reshuffling up front, and the starting right guard position is now wide open.

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  1. I wish Hendon Hooker all the luck in the world. I would love for him to stay but he graduated, and now is the time to look for other opportunities. It is worrisome though when sophomores enter the portal.

  2. I think the better view of players hitting the portal is how are they doing where they end up. I haven’t looked at them all but I think their success elsewhere has been minimal. The grass is not always greener. I wish all players the best. Va. Tech does not have any more players going to the TP than other teams. As Whit said, it is the new normal.

    1. All of us need to get used to the new reality: the Transfer Portal concept now gives players true Free Agency. So if a player is not happy or thinks the grass will be greener on the other side of the fence for any reason, they can leave and show up at another school.

      On Wednesday the NCAA Division I Council voted to grant a blanket waiver allowing all Division I transfers to play immediately this year. This waiver covers all Division I sports. This will make it even less of a hassle to transfer to another school.

      There is a lot of raw emotions on this website, and I understand that because we are all passionate about our Hokies, but I like to deal more with facts, rather than emotions. So this morning I decided to go look up the number of football players for each of the ACC schools that have entered the transfer portal. My source was 247sports.com/season/2021-Football/TransferPortal. It was last updated at 1:00 am this morning. Note that players are included that went into the Transfer Portal and then decided to stay with their current program. It would be nice to see TechSideline do a more in-depth look at the numbers associated with football Transfer Portal.

      Below is a “ranking” from most to fewest entering the football Transfer Portal for the ACC schools. You will see that Virginia Tech is in the middle of the ACC pack, and that 4 ACC schools have had 2 quarterbacks enter the Transfer Portal.
      Georgia Tech 18 including 2 QBs
      Louisville 10 including 2 QBs
      Florida State 10
      North Carolina 10
      Duke 8 including 2 QBs
      NC State 8
      VT 7 including 2 QBs
      Boston College 7
      Syracuse 7
      Virginia 5
      Wake Forest 3
      Pitt 2
      Clemson 1
      Miami 1

      Below is a look at the current NCAA BCS Football ranking top 10 football Transfer Portal numbers. It looks like there is more stability when you get to the top!
      Alabama 2
      Notre Dame 5
      Clemson 1
      Ohio State 0
      Texas A&M 6
      Iowa State 2
      Florida 4
      Georgia 5
      Cincinnati 3
      Oklahoma 4

  3. Well… I’m shocked. Unbelievable. Starting QB and starting OL? Transfers? What on earth is going on?

    1. Not so sure that Capt Hook would be starting in 2021. Burmeister looks like the starter.
      Nester and Hudson are a different story. Have they been surpassed by better players?

  4. None of this adds up. There is a Cancer somewhere. Granted, the Transfer Portal makes it easy-but I aint never seen Dudes headin out of Blacksburg like this. Saw where Tech was #10 in ACC Recruiting. It isn’t working. Babcock gave Fuentes a Raise and extension after his 1st Year-with Fuentes QB-and Beamer’s Team. It’s all shameful- just an unfortunate Hire. We’re stuck.

  5. Things are never as bad as they seem nor as good as they seem. I think someone famous said that. Hey, how did the Mike Young thing work out?

    1. We will see how things work out with Mike in four more seasons…just the same length of time as Fuente. If his results are as anemic as football then we will be moving on to another coach.

      When the AD settles for mediocrity he is mediocre himself. Why did Whit extend Fuente’s contract a second time in five years when he was under no pressure to do so?

  6. I understand why Hooker is leaving. He is Burmeister with the yips and would have been a backup.

    Really confused by the o-line departures with how well Vice is regarded by media and fans and the great on field performance by the line this year.

    2. It seems to me that while Hooker has the stronger arm, Burmeister has better touch. It’s like the difference between a baseball “Thrower” and a “Pitcher.” No one would ever mistake Greg Maddox for a “Thrower.” He was taught from an early age to emphasize movement and location over above velocity and to throw softer when in a jam instead of harder. Maddux was a classic, “Pitcher” whereas Ryan and Clemens were both known for their fastballs. Burmeister seems also a better runner to me than Hooker inasmuch as he’s quicker, more agile whereas Hooker is a Logan Thomas -type battering ram style. (Speaking of LT, what a weapon he has become now that he’s reverted to he mostly played in HS. He’s too fast for LB’s and too big for single coverage as a DB. And as he was a QB for us, we know he is smart, can read defenses and has good hands. And has anyone noticed that Duane Brown is considered to be the most-underrated player for the Seahawks?) I wish Hooker well but wonder where he will wind up. As for the OLinemen, what is really up there. Even if Hudson had, “issues” w/Hoffman, he was playing and figured to play more w/Darrisaw opting for the NFL. I’ve had professional relationships w/people that didn’t go well at first but worked through. That’s what teamwork is all about. Nester? The guy surely benefitted from being coached by VVice.

  8. Wish all of them the best! Everyone has a choice to make – HH wants to BE THE MAN and feels he has a better chance elsewhere – I hate it for him/us cause he balled out, but so does BB and made great reads vs UVa…Hudson and Nester are tough to take cause man we had a Great OL. Hoffmonster and Hudson did not get along for some reason and Nester will be at WVU closer to home – I hope they and US all do great! QP leaving cause he saw his opportunity clock running out.
    All of them have NFL potential – cant fault anyone from wanting play time to get there.
    Go Hokies!

  9. Any excuse to jump on the haters wagon ….Nester has family issues 🙏…good luck ….Hudson was not starting ….Hooker , I wish the best but something was not right …..Brock Hoffman ….people are complaining about our toughest hokie …..come on guys …we willladd more through the portal and everyone is losing players ….how long are you going to embellish your complaints….after a while its crying wolf and we know how that turns out 🌈🏈

    1. Nester does not have family issues.. Whoever started that rumor has no idea.. Nester’s family is very close… Know your facts before you put it out on social media…

      2. Dsalyer, unfortunately people jump to conclusions sometimes by connecting too many dots. Almost every transfer is for personal reasons, but not necessarily family issues. But family issues covers a wide variety of issues and almost every one is personal.

        Most schools apply a football HIPAA rule about commenting on transfers. Silence also breeds jumping to conclusions though.

        As far as Hooker is concerned… add in Tahj Bullock to the equation… and he did almost transfer once before.

  13. Wherever Hooker goes (and I wish him well) he’ll have to explain his health condition….maybe then we’ll learn what was going on….really bizarre.

  14. Nothing to see here, everything is fine! This is fine. Everything is UNDER CONTROL!!! — Justin Fuente

  15. This is ridiculous. There must be something wrong in this program when your starting QB decides to transfer (we never got a real explanation for him not playing against UVA) and two really good OLs. I’m with catdaddy – Hoffman is good but I don’t like how he runs his mouth. He ain’t THAT good.

    1. I mean, I think the real reason Hooker didn’t start against UVA was that Burmesiter took advantage of his time against Clemson and looked like the more complete package, and a better option to start the next game. Proved it again against UVA, and looked like a much better QB than we saw compared to his first 3 starts when HH was out. Pretty sure he and Hooker have been neck and neck all season, and Burmeister used his time on the sidelines plus his first real game experience to improve a ton over the course of the past few months. He jumped on his opportunity to play well as soon as he got it.

  17. What does it say when the 2 QBs Fuente recruited leave, and the JUCO transfer who’s been here a year is the only QB with any college experience?

  18. I hope Hoffman does not have much to do with this.. can you say “over-rated”? He is a loud mouth who needs to act “like he has been there before” and not call out 3rd string walk on’s at Louisville bc he “beat them up”.

    You would think his antics have a meaningful role in Hudson’s departure.. not sure about Hudson. I do not blame Hendon.

    1. I don’t understand why either of our OL men would leave but it wouldn’t say much about their toughness if they let another OL man run them off, now would it?

  19. We are officially a net exporter of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Recruits. Ich hoffe, der deutsche Kerl klappt!

  20. I wish Hooker nothing but good fortune. If BB returns & stays healthy we should be ok. Knox could develop. He showed potential against CU. I’ve no idea yet about about Tahj Bullock other than he has the size. I hope he’s a fast learner.
    Hudson & Nester leaving is a major blow. Their loss is really disappointing. Let’s hope the 2 new OL recruits can develop fast.

  21. I can understand Hooker, the way the season finished up. Do have some question about the handling of QBs when you add QP departing too.

    Always hate to lose exp[erienced big guys up front on either of the O or D lines.

    If you enter portal, do you have to go?

    Thanks

    1. No, in fact Hooker entered the portal a couple of years ago and decided to come back IIRC. Same with Bede on the basketball team.

  22. Not surprised by Hooker but concerned about losing two linemen, one a starter, Nester and Hudson who got a lot of snaps and a versatile player. Love to know what the driver was.

  23. Offense taking a big hit. Fuente better get it done working the portal and JUCO.

    I got a bad feeling that 2021 may be a tough year which is unfortunate. Fuente has to be feeling that he’s in a tough spot. It’s going to be real difficult to win big in 2021. I hate to think that way but we’re losing too many quality guys. Not good

  26. Why is Nester unhappy – am I missing something? And a second O-lineman leaving! HH departure is easier understood.

    1. Nester from has been reported is transferring due to a family issue. Hudson my guess is playing time which it is for most who transfer.

      2. Nester does not have any family problems. Whoever started that needs to fix it. That was VT’s way out. Not true….

    1. It’s HUGE…there goes Vice’s layered depth across the line…wonder if Vice hits the portal?

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