Middle linebacker Sam Brumfield comes to the Hokies with an odd mixture of experiences. He played three years at Northwest Mississippi Community College, which is a longer stay than most JUCO’s have. Then he went to Middle Tennessee (also the former home of Jaylin Lane) for a year, where he pushed the starting MLB for two games, got an injury promotion for the third game, and then didn’t relinquish the role when the former starter healed up. Brumfield looked like he owned the role, with him looking confident from the first snap, and having no issues getting guys lined up right.

I think it’s a very safe bet he’s arriving in Blacksburg with everyone expecting him to take over the mike role. Last season, the Hokies often had guys with outside linebacker skills manning the inside positions on defense. They played the run pretty well on run downs, when they were allowed to get downhill and stop plays before they developed. But, they struggled when being asked to sit back and read through the mesh/hand-off; the imposed delay meant blockers could reach them, and the Hokie linebackers didn’t always have the tools/skills to get through the blocks and make a play a gap over (or even squeeze down the running lanes.) Jayden McDonald looked like he might be shoring up the will spot, but when the season ended, the mike position was up in the air.

Brumfield looks like he’s going to change that situation:

That’s a nice play there to jack the tackle up through his inside shoulder and then reload his hips and get the runner going backwards. That’s impressive power from Brumfield, but the quick reset might be even more impressive. Rolling the hips and pressing through a blocker looks pretty, but it can be a high-risk technique because it occupies the defender’s arms, and the time it takes to complete can allow for a runner to get through. But Brumfield’s working against a slow-developing Counter call, and he destroys the block so cleanly it looks like clinic tape.

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