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Among the many reasons 2025 was one of the least memorable seasons in Virginia Tech football history was pedestrian defensive end play. Perhaps it was natural as the first year since 2022 without pass-rushing powerhouse Antwaun Powell-Ryland, now an NFL free agent after being cut by the Cincinnati Bengals last month. Before his 25.5 sacks in two seasons at Tech were the Amaré Barno and TyJuan Garbutt years; Barno was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft while the latter started 36 games for the Hokies before a career in the CFL. There was a clear downswing after APR and Cole Nelson moved on. 2025's group combined for a paltry 7.5 sacks as Ben Bell and Elhadj Fall had 2.5 each for the team lead among edge rushers. More was expected out of Bell after totaling 10 sacks at Texas State two years before, while Fall looked out of position — head coach James Franklin proved as much by moving him to the middle this year. Jason Abbey and Aycen Stevens were relatively inexperienced last season and Keyshawn Burgos never made the leap he looked primed for after 2023 and transferred to Purdue following a four-game season. However, the Hokies could have an exciting setup on the edges once again with an older Stevens, Cortez Harris and promising depth options in Mylachi Williams, Abbey and Samuel Okunlola. At right end is Stevens, who has plenty of experience in a Hokies uniform but looks poised for a breakout his senior year. He entered Saturday's 73-3 win against VMI with zero career sacks before registering 1.5 by the end of the third quarter. Here's the obligatory concession that, yes, it's only VMI. But he didn't simply pad his sack numbers, he added a forced fumble and 1.5 tackles for loss. PFF graded him as the No. 2 defensive player in the nation with a 97.8 overall grade, suggesting the kind of complete performance that even Powell-Ryland, a beeline-to-the-QB kind of rusher, didn't often have. "He's had a great offseason," Franklin said of Stevens during fall camp. "He's one of these guys that was on the roster that people felt good about, but I will say that his improvement from the time that we showed up to now is significant. He is fast. He is strong. I think he had a really productive spring. He had a really productive summer." If it's any indication of how Franklin, defensive coordinator Brent Pry — who originally recruited Stevens out of Indianapolis, Indiana — and defensive line coach Sean Spencer feel about Stevens, he held the lunch pail throughout the preseason. Then there's Harris, a Penn State transfer who, if he didn't have a better game than Stevens on Saturday, certainly had a flashier one. In addition to a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a 76.7 PFF grade, he blocked a punt at the tail end of the first half that safety Knahlij Harrell recovered for a touchdown. Williams was long thought to be the starter opposite Stevens, but Franklin began lauding Harris during fall camp until suddenly, at the first September practice open to the media, the sophomore from Largo, Maryland, was out with the first defensive line group. During a press conference on Monday, Harris said he had an ACL injury coming out of high school and didn't expect any interest from Franklin; however, an outpouring of interest from Penn State came after all. "That was a super quick decision, man," Harris said of following Franklin to Virginia Tech. "Coach Frank is my guy. He always believed in me. ... When he came here, I knew I wanted to follow for sure." A true sophomore who appeared in two games his freshman season, Harris believes he's taken a jump this year, specifically as a pass rusher and a leader. He said he's gone from decent to great in those departments, crediting another Penn State transplant in Spencer, or as he's more often called, "Coach Chaos." "With football, he's a genius," Harris said of Spencer. Williams led the Hokies in tackles for loss against the Keydets with 2.5 and added a sack, grading out at 76.5 by PFF. The redshirt sophomore rotated in at left end behind Harris, while Abbey, a senior who's been at Tech since 2023, backed up Stevens and recorded two tackles and an 88.4 grade. Okunlola, a fifth-year transfer from Colorado and Pitt before that, picked up 1.5 tackles for loss and a 67.6 grade. These players, especially Williams and Abbey, could see their roles expand as the season progresses. Franklin identified those two along with Stevens and Harris as "four guys that are going to play a bunch of football for us." However, like many positions during the non-conference portion of the schedule, the situation is largely in flux, Franklin said. "Mylachi is chasing me. I'm chasing Aycen. Aycen chasing Mylachi," Harris said. "It's all just a big ring, and we're trying to make it competitive." The Hokies' defensive line will get another chance to show how far it has come in the past year this Saturday, when all-too-familiar foe Old Dominion visits Blacksburg for a noon kickoff. Comments This is great, thanks Dylan. It's been said a number of times on this board, but it certainly appears that Franklin wants to focus on winning both offensive and defensive lines. Hard to argue with that approach - look how poorly we fared when our D line was a weakness last year