Now that the 2023 season is in the rear-view mirror, it’s time for a final Virginia Tech true freshman report. We knew the five major contributors by the middle of the season and things didn’t change over the course of the final few games.

The Hokies signed 25 high school freshmen in the 2023 recruiting class and five of them did not redshirt. What’s more, all five of those players played enough snaps to justify not redshirting them, which is what you want to see.

Here are the five players, their total number of snaps and where they stand on the depth chart.

Star LB Caleb Woodson (6-3, 218): 13 games, 250 defensive snaps, 124 special teams snaps, 374 total snaps. Woodson’s snap numbers fluctuated depending on the health of Keonta Jenkins, but in the end, he finished first among true freshmen in total snaps and third in non-special teams snaps. He did a competent job in the star role and should be ready for increased playing time next year. The most impressive thing to me is that he only missed three tackles this season. Only two other Virginia Tech players who played 250-plus defensive snaps missed fewer than two tackles this season: defensive tackles Pheldarius Payne and Mario Kendricks. If Jenkins doesn’t use his COVID season, Woodson will be in line for an increase in snaps next year.

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