Virginia Tech is working hard to revamp its receiver pool by bringing in (at least) three transfers. Odds are you’ve seen both Ali Jennings and Jaylin Lane, either directly against Tech or in highlights. But the third guy, Da’Quan Felton, a 6’3 to 6’5 wideout (depending on the source) from Norfolk State, you probably haven’t noticed. I sure didn’t. He had a decent season statistically in ‘22, leading NSU with 39 catches for 573 yards (14.7 YPC) and 7 touchdowns. That’s not too different from Kaleb Smith’s season with the Hokies, but on the FCS level. Based on stats alone, I might wonder if he even makes the travel squad; if Jason Brown tore it up in FCS but barely got a sniff at game snaps this year, what are Felton’s chances?

After watching some of his games, though, I think Tech’s got a good receiver who’s gone under the radar.

As good as scouting has gotten, it’s still possible to find a hidden gem, as we’ve seen with Khalil Herbert. Now, Felton isn’t a talent on Herbert’s level, but I think he could be starting for the Hokies against ODU in 2023. How did other teams miss him in the portal? Well, Norfolk State was a bad FCS team, meaning they didn’t get much press, nor did they show up much on P5 teams’ film reviews. There was also another good receiver on the team getting a lot of balls. The rest of the offense for Norfolk State was pretty rough, including the quarterbacking. Now, how’d teams miss him out of high school? He was basketball-focused at Churchland High, the football team was on the bad-to-average spectrum while he was there, he didn’t seem to hit the camp circuit too hard, and there’s probably some late-bloomer stuff there, too.

Now let’s get to talking about the not-so-smooth offense he’s been stuck with. How bad was it? Well, you could put together a highlight reel for Felton just from catches he didn’t make, especially on fade routes. JMU looked like the best team on their schedule, so I started there. Take a look:

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