The Virginia Tech football team had a lot of retainment from 2023, so there were great expectations for the 2024 season as they started at Vanderbilt. With several important players returning to Blacksburg for another season, there was some secondary retention.
Safety was one of the players. The Hokies’ secondary relied heavily on Jalen Stroman. Regretfully, it was not the year that he and head coach Brent Pry had hoped for. Bristow is from Virginia. After recording five tackles in the season opener against the Commodores in an overtime loss, he sustained an injury. As it happens, it was his final game for Virginia Tech.
Stroman was one of several Hokies that signed up for the 2025 secondary transfer portal after the season concluded. While Mansoor Delane ultimately attended LSU and Mose Phillips committed to Missouri, Stroman did not commit. Until Sunday, that is.
According to reports on Sunday morning, Stroman will be joining the Irish at Notre Dame for the upcoming season, where they will play Ohio State in the National Championship Game the following Monday. He won’t play in that game, of course, but he secured a solid 2025 landing point to improve his chances of being selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Over his four years at Virginia Tech, he recorded 112 tackles, 56 of which were solo and 56 of which were assisted, along with two forced fumbles. After recording 43 tackles in 2022, he had a career-high 55 in 2023, his greatest season to date.