Virginia Tech redshirt freshman cornerback Cam Johnson has put his name in the transfer portal, according to Evan Watkins at 247Sports.
A four-star cornerback in the 2022 class out of Baltimore, Johnson earned some praise last August from head coach Brent Pry, later playing in two games and making three tackles. His season was cut short by a knee injury in late October.
Johnson returned this spring and seemed to be in the mix for the fourth cornerback spot behind Dorian Strong, Mansoor Delane and Derrick Canteen, though Tech has a wave of well-regarded freshman corners coming into the program.
Though slight at 6 feet, 165 pounds, Johnson was the third highest-ranked player in the Hokies’ 2022 class behind Gunner Givens and Benji Gosnell. He was the No. 333 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings. A top-10 player in Maryland out of St. Frances Academy, he selected Tech over Boston College.
Johnson is the fifth player in the 2022 class to leave and the third recently, joining quarterback Devin Farrell and defensive end Kyree Moyston. Unofficially, his departure puts Virginia Tech at 83 scholarships when accounting for summer arrivals. For a full breakdown of the program’s offseason roster movement, click here.
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Andy, with a few scholarships available now when can we expect to see a few players commit from the transfer portal?
Any day, I suppose.
Troy Everett seems like a good bet.
Not sure how much room VT will have. I’ve got them at 83, but that doesn’t count Zeke Wimbush, who might or might not redshirt.
Portal’s closed, but there’s a 48-hour period for paperwork to go through. Plus, it’s never closed for grad students. And wouldn’t surprise me if VT had some medical retirements. So there could be more movement.
And by redshirt, I meant grayshirt for Wimbush.
Very few kickers at Tech get scholarship offers out of high school. I think John Love is one of the rare ones that did. I think Peter Moore was a walk-on who earned a scholarship. If I recall, the last scholarship placekicker out of high school got beat out by walk-on Joey Slye and transferred. I don’t remember his name.
Oops, duplicate to reply below.
Andy, if I am looking at this correctly, the roster only has 2 specialist (punters/kickers) on scholarship. Is this the norm? I know most specialist don’t get scholarships up front but don’t backups get them at some point? Where does the depth for these positions come from?
That’s pretty normal. Usually just the starter gets one. A long snapper will occasionally get on there too. But not backups. They’re almost always preferred walk-ons vying for positions.
Very few kickers at Tech get scholarship offers out of high school. I think John Love is one of the rare ones that do. I think Peter Moore was a walk-on who earned a scholarship. If I recall, the last scholarship placekicker out of high school got beat out by walk-on Joey Slye and transferred. I don’t remember his name.
Michael Santamaria was his name.
Also, Oscar Bradburn got a scholly straight out of Australia. The old staff wasn’t afraid to give it to a guy straight out of high school. Did it with a punter and kicker.
But yes, typically, those guys are PWOs who earn it.
Thank you, that’s the guy.
I hate to see him go. Best of luck.
How many of the 2022 recruits to leave are athletes that:
1. committed to VT before we parted ways with Fuente
2. were uncommitted anywhere and committed to VT after Pry was hired and already had a known offer
3. committed with a new offer or flipped after Pry was hired
The good news is there are only seven players completing their eligibility this yer (two on offense and five on defense). The bad news is there are only seven that will be playing with the maximum experience and development and a shortage of senior leadership. With the level of experience on this roster it would seem like there would not be a major step forward this year but with over 90 percent of this roster eligible to return in 2024 plus the addition of a class of recruits we could be positioned for nine or ten wins in 2024. With the portal, 90 percent will not be returning but there is potential for a significant number of the two-deep to be back, with an additional year of experience. It appears that the loss to the portal this year to date has had very little impact on the two-deep for this fall.
buried the lede there, loss to the portal have little impact although you hate to see a 4 star flame out. Maybe three more departures?
Who else is leaving? With 85 scholarships available, will VT bring on more portal players?
Star ratings only count with “on field production” and apparently it wasnt there..wish nothng but the best for him and hopefully he can avoid the injury bug going forward