Virginia Tech transfer defensive back Antonio Cotman, Jr. commits to Charlotte 49ers

Virginia Tech transfer defensive back Antonio Cotman, Jr. entered the transfer portal in search of a new home. On Sunday evening, he found it. Cotman officially committed to the Charlotte 49ers and announced the move on his Twitter page.

1000% committed!!! @drebly_32 @BiffPoggi @CharlotteFTBL pic.twitter.com/IxDphvtuYx

— Antonio Hazen Cotman Jr. (@CotmanHazen) May 6, 2024

Cotman will be moving onto the 49ers, where he’ll play for head coach Biff Poggi. Charlotte finished 3-9 overall last year, losing four of their last five to end the 2023-2024 campaign. Their pass defense ranked 45h in the nation last year, allowing 212.7 yards per game.

Like every other team across the college football landscape, the Hokies have had plenty of other players hit the transfer portal this offseason. You can check the other players that are incoming and outgoing in their 2024 Transfer Portal Class here.

Cotman joins another corner to leave the Virginia Tech program like Derrick Canteen. He will be playing at Cincinnati next fall.

Cotman played his high school football with Life Christian Academy, racking up 97 career tackles and six interceptions with the Eagles. As a senior in 2022, he tallied 41 tackles, 10 pass breakups, allowing three completions. In 2021 as a junior, he tallied 25 tackles while allowing two completions. As a sophomore in 2020-2021, Cotman racked up 31 tackles, three pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

As a recruit, Cotman was a three-star prospect out of Life Christian Academy in Colonial Heights, Virginia. He ranked as the No. 689 overall player and No. 63 safety in the 2023 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Virginia Tech will open their 2024 campaign with Vanderbilt on Aug. 31 and Marshall on Sept. 7. The Hokies finished with a 7-6 overall record in 2023, including a resounding 55-17 thrashing of their in-state rivals, the Virginia Cavaliers. Virginia Tech won that one in a rout and the game was never remotely close.

The 55 points were the most points ever scored by a team in the rivalry. The Hokies have dominated that rivalry more than just about any other team in major college football. They won 15 straight over Virginia from 2004-2018, before losing in 2019 at Scott Stadium.

Since that loss, the Hokies have rattled off three straight wins. In the last 19 meetings between the two in-state rivals, Virginia Tech has won 18 of those. That kind of dominance is simply unheard of in any rivalry in big-time college football.