Brock

Hoffman

Hoffman stepped into the starting center role for the Hokies in 2020 after mostly being a backup for the rest of his career. Rather than make an early leap to the NFL, Hoffman is sticking around at VT to play his redshirt season out. At 6-foot-3 and 317-pounds, Hoffman has good size for the center spot and will prove to be an anchor for the Hokies up front for another season. OL continuity is always a good sign, but especially so at center.

The NCAA’s confused process with eligibility waivers has been laid bare in multiple cases throughout the offseason, with Hoffman’s one of the more unbelievable that has surfaced. The 6-foot-3, 316-pounder transferred from Coastal Carolina to Virginia Tech in February to be closer to his mother, who underwent brain surgery in June of 2017 to remove a brain tumor. After Brock’s initial waiver request was denied, player and school appealed, only for the NCAA to come back asking why his mother did not retire from her job as a schoolteacher following the surgery. There’s a pretty good reason for that -- according to Mr. Hoffman, his family is almost $1 million in debt due to medical bills. Hoffman said that he provided the governing body with insurance and financial records which showed that if his wife did not continue to work, the family would be negatively impacted. None of this mattered to the NCAA, which denied the appeal anyway.

Hoffman (6'3/316) transferred from Coastal Carolina to Virginia Tech in order to be closer to his ailing mother, but his initial request for an immediate eligibility waiver was denied by the NCAA in April. The hope at the time was that changing the kind of waiver he was applying for would help the junior guard’s case in an appeal, but unfortunately for Hoffman things did not play out that way. He’ll have two seasons of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2019 campaign.

Hoffman (6'3/316) saw his initial waiver request shot down in the spring but has appealed that decision. The junior transferred from Coastal Carolina to Virginia Tech over the winter to be closer to his mother, who is fighting brain cancer. While this would seem like a slam dunk for a waiver -- no arguing the hardship, here -- the NCAA apparently denied the initial waiver because Virginia Tech was not close enough to Hoffman’s mother to warrant a reprieve. We’re talking approximately five miles outside of the 100-mile radius between school and family home which would have cleared the waiver. At this juncture, it’s unlikely that Hoffman will be available for Virginia Tech’s opener against Boston College on Saturday.

Hoffman (6'3/310) was a two-year starter for the Chanticleers. While heading into just his junior year right now, 247Sports’ Evan G. Watkins passes along that the lineman is expected to be cleared for eligibility in 2019 after the spring semester. The Athletic’s Andy Bitter is reporting in that vain that Hoffman will seek a waiver from the NCAA (though the grounds for that waiver are unclear).

Hoffman was looking to get cleared to play in 2019 after transferring to Virginia Tech, but he’s going to miss this season unless the NCAA changes their decision. The reason why Hoffman transferred to Virginia Tech is to be closer to his mother who is currently recovering from brain tumor surgery, but he is five miles out of the NCAA’s 100-mile range for family medical clearance. Hopefully the NCAA can make things right by giving Hoffman immediate clearance.

Normally in cases like this, public shaming can lead to the NCAA changing its ruling regarding the eligibility of an athlete. On Tuesday it was reported that Hoffman’s waiver request was denied, despite his transfer to Virginia Tech coming as a result of a desire to be closer to his mother as she battles brain cancer. In order to receive a family medical clearance waiver the athlete needs to transfer to a school no further than 100 miles from their home, and it was reported that Virginia Tech is five miles outside of that range. Whichever waiver request needed to be filed in Hoffman’s case, it would be good if he were allowed to play immediately given the reason for his transfer.

Hoffman (6'3/310) came over to the Hokies from Coastal Carolina in February after being a two-year starter for the Chanticleers. He needs to get a waiver from the NCAA to play because he’s leaving without his degree, but more and more are getting cleared for eligibility. Don’t be surprised if Hoffman is starting for Virginia Tech this fall.