BLACKSBURG, Virginia. — Sam Brumfield didn’t get the best marks for his performance this spring. The linebacker, playing in his first spring at Virginia Tech, initially thought he did poorly as he adjusted to the Hokies’ system of play and his duties as a mike linebacker.

The more Brumfield watched the film, the more his perception changed. The transfer from Middle Tennessee was slowly becoming exactly what the Hokies needed in the middle of the defense.

“It was more about just knowing what to do, being comfortable and trusting myself. Sometimes I’m usually a little … hard on myself, but I know where that comes from being a linebacker,” Brumfield said. “That was the biggest thing for me. Once I saw that I could get things done and figure things out, everything slowed down for me and I feel better now.”

Brumfield was the only linebacker Tech added through the transfer portal last season. The senior was brought in to give the Hokies a proven mike linebacker and allow the other linebackers to grow and thrive around him.

His signing helped shape the rotation for the upcoming season. Jaden Keller (Tennessee High) and Brody Jones (Virginia High) also play linebacker for Tech.

“It’s a competitive group, and they all want to practice with the first group,” Hokies coach Brent Pry said. “But they also know that at least four of these guys are going to play a lot of football.”

Keller, who split time at linebacker for Mike and Will last season, is expected to start alongside Brumfield for Will. Jayden McDonald has been more vocal about playing for Mike, and Caleb Woodson and Keli Lawson are battling for Will’s backup role.

“He and a confident Mike are just out there whenever I’m there. I can ask him questions, come from the sidelines and we can assess what happened,” Keller said of Brumfield. “It’s always good to have a veteran out there who can run the defense.”

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Brumfield, who was recently named to the preseason watch list for the Dick Butkus Award, shone in his lone season at Middle Tennessee, recording 82 tackles (46 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.

His numbers were slightly better than Alan Tisdale’s (75 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks), and Tisdale played for Mike for the first time this season following Dax Hollifield’s graduation.

“Everyone in this room would agree he’s a pretty good linebacker,” defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Chris Marve said of Brumfield. “It’s about going out there this fall and showing on video who he can be in our system.”

Tisdale and McDonald finished last season as Tech’s starting linebackers. McDonald, who has trained with both Mike and Will, enters this season as Brumfield’s backup.

“My confidence has increased. In the beginning, I would say I was much more passive because I always wanted to be right,” McDonald said. “Now, with experience, I feel like I’m in charge.”

Woodson and Lawson will be in the linebacker rotation regardless of which player takes the backup role at Will. The underdog in the battle for a spot in the inside linebacker rotation will move to star linebacker and serve as a backup to Keonta Jenkins.

Jenkins, who plays on the field side for Star, begins his third season at the position.

“We want to use a lot of players. We have pretty good depth,” said star linebacker coach Shawn Quinn. “We don’t want a lot of those players watching. We want to use as many players as possible.”

Jenkins recorded a career-high 10 tackles for loss, along with 50 tackles, one interception and two forced fumbles last season while battling injuries.

“There’s a lot more depth, a lot more competition, a lot of guys fighting to keep up and get to the ball,” Jenkins said. “We have a competition in the linebacker room to see who gets to the ball first in practice, so it’s a lot more competitive, the guys are a lot faster.”

Lawson’s ability to play as a star gives the Hokies a 6-foot-6, 220-pound option who is quick enough to cover long distances and has a 6-foot-2 wingspan to get into passing lanes with his long arms.

“I’m really familiar with Star and Will. Both positions bring different skill sets,” Lawson said. “Star is more of an open field position that’s hard to tackle and run free. Will, on the other hand, is more mental in nature and reacting to buttons and stuff. I think it’s been a good learning process and it helps my game in that regard.”

Five of the Hokies’ top six linebackers are seniors (Woodson is a sophomore), and the experience will give players like Kaleb Spencer and Gabe Williams time to develop and potentially be ready to compete for significant playing time next season.

“There’s a lot of experience needed right now,” said Xavier Adibi, the assistant linebackers coach. “We have some older guys. We have a lot of guys that have a lot of experience. The guys are working hard, they’re taking the coaching, we’re mixing some guys together, the guys are playing multiple positions, but they’re doing a good job.”