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Virginia Tech football earns transfer commitment from former Big Ten star

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•03/21/22•

ChandlerVessels

Virginia Tech
Lee Coleman | Icon Sportswire

Nebraska edge defender Pheldarius Payne will transfer to Virginia Tech, he announced Monday on Twitter. His decision comes three weeks after he made the announcement to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal on Feb. 8.

Payne played the past two seasons for the Cornhuskers, racking up 40 tackles and 3.5 sacks over than span. He ranks among the top 50 edge defenders according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings, coming in at No. 49.

Prior to joining the Huskers, Payne was a four-star junior college prospect out of Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania. He helped Lackawanna to a 21-1 record over two seasons, as they advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship Game in 2019. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound edge defender finished his junior college career with 53 tackles (18.5 for loss) and nine sacks. He chose to attend Nebraska over offers from NC State, Florida International and Liberty.

Payne started this past season with the Cornhuskers off hot, recording a career-high two sacks in the season opener against Illinois. However, Nebraska finished with a 3-9 record as the edge defender missed the final two games of the year with injury.

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A Virginia native, Payne is now set to return to his home state after announcing his transfer to Virginia Tech. The Hokies ended the 2021 season with a 6-7 record after losing to Maryland in the Pinstripe Bowl. Their defense was fairly average as they finished ranked eight in the ACC overall, including sixth against the pass. Virginia Tech is also set to return linebacker Dax Hollifield, who led the team with 4.5 sacks last year, next season.

Payne will get his first opportunity to show off his skills to Hokies fans in the annual spring game set for April 16. After that, his next chance won’t come until the 2022 season opener on Sept. 2 against Old Dominion.