Virginia Tech Hokies Linebacker Alan Tisdale is coming back for another season. According to TheAthletics’ Andy Bitter, Alan Tisdale said he intends to use his extra COVID year and play next season. It’s a positive development for the Hokies, whom have struggled to lock down a player at the WILL linebacker position, rotating between three players prior to Tisdale’s return to the field. The Redshirt Senior had been highly productive prior to his suspension and will be one of the veteran forces of the linebacker corps in 2023.
Tisdale has only played in four games this season after serving a six-game suspension. The 6-foot-3 inch 225-pound linebacker made his return against the Miami Hurricanes. He has started all four games he has played in this season, recording 35 total tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks and 1 quarterback hurry.
Virginia Tech Hokies Head Coach Brent Pry hinted at the eligibility issue that forced Tisdale out for six-games, but left a lot of room for interpretation on what exactly was preventing Tisdale from joining the team on the gridiron.
Prior to the game against Old Dominion, in the season opener, Pry spoke about Tisdale, saying “He’s been dealing with an eligibility issue that he’s got our support and he is doing everything he can to kind of get it right, as are we. He has been working primarily with the scout team but still stealing some reps on the varsity field as well.”
He continued on to say the Hokies would keep Tisdale up to speed, via the practice squad, in case the eligibility issue was cleared.
“Right now, we are still trying to keep in him the fold enough that if we get the green light then we are going to roll with him.”
An article from TheAthletic published last week went into detail over the mysterious suspension that forced the linebacker to miss the first six games of the season. The NCAA suspended Alan Tisdale after the Virginia Tech LB self-reported legal bets he made on the NBA Finals. The full-story gives more context, but in summary – Tisdale had half of his senior season stripped away. It further adds to a plot where the Senior would want to make a return and play the entire 12-game regular season without suspension next fall.
One of the veterans on the defense, Tisdale has played in 39 career games, recording 22 starts. He has accumulated 230 total tackles, 18.0 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 6 passes defensed, 9 quarterback hurries and 2 fumble recoveries. These are his statistics at the time of writing this article with two more scheduled games against Liberty and Virginia.
The Greensboro, North Carolina native joined Virginia Tech as part of the 2018 Recruiting Class. Tisdale was regarded as the No. 365 overall prospect per the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He was considered the No. 23 outside linebacker in the country and the No. 14 prospect out of North Carolina. Tisdale was also considered a four-star recruit by the composite rankings.
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