Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

October 10, 2018 at 9:36 am.

Hokies elect to redshirt linebacker Hunter

The biggest development for Virginia Tech this week happened off the field with coach Justin Fuente and his staff deciding to redshirt sophomore linebacker Devon Hunter to improve his future.

Hunter, a much-publicized high school recruit who played mostly on special teams last year, played in Virginia Tech’s first four games this season — the NCAA’s new limit to remain eligible for a redshirt.

He was the Hokies’ No. 2 right outside linebacker going into their 45-23 loss Saturday night to visiting Notre Dame. Fuente and the coaches held him out of the game to further evaluate whether he should redshirt.

“We’ve talked to Devon,” Fuente said Monday. “We really feel like we need to continue to develop Devon, so it’s looking more and more like he’s going to redshirt this year so we can continue to bring him along.”

When Virginia Tech (3-2 overall, 2-0 ACC) plays at North Carolina (1-3, 1-1) on Saturday, third-string linebacker Ishmiel Seisay will become the primary backup for starter Khalil Ladler.

Seisay, a 5-foot-9, 194-pound redshirt junior who joined the Hokies as a walk-on, has played in two games this season (at Florida State and at Old Dominion) and has not recorded a tackle. Hunter had eight tackles and a sack as Ladler’s backup.

Hunter played in 10 games last season, mostly on special teams. He finished the season with only one tackle.

The possibility exists Hunter will be switched to safety next season. That is the position he was originally recruited to play.

“His heart is on the defensive side of the ball, and we want to continue to give him an opportunity to have success and come along,” Fuente said. “If he goes through this year redshirting, we’ll look at everything in the spring and try to evaluate where he needs to be in the secondary. I’m not sure about that, but there’s been no other discussion about drastic changes, I guess.”

247Sports.com recruiting analysts ranked Hunter as one of the nation’s top three safeties and top 50 overall players in the class of 2017.