Former Virginia Tech linebacker, acquitted in murder trial, enrolling with JUCO power

Former Virginia Tech linebacker Isimemen Etute will enroll at JUCO football power Iowa Western Community College this fall.

Etute had entered the transfer portal in June, after his acquittal on second-degree murder charges in the 2021 death of Jerry Smith, but didn’t find any D1 suitors after the highly-publicized trial.

Iowa Western finished last season 10-1 and ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA Division I rankings.

The Iowa Western program has had dozens of alums move on to receive D1 scholarships, including most notably defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon, who went on to play at Iowa and then was a fifth-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2021.

Etute was an early enrollee at Virginia Tech in the spring semester of 2021 when he connected with Smith, an openly gay man who presented himself as a 21-year-old ER physician named Angie Renee on Tinder.

Smith, according to testimony at the trial, performed oral sex on Etute, and Etute and two of his former teammates later visited Smith’s apartment to determine if he was a man or woman.

That May 31, 2021 encounter ended with Smith dead, with his attorney, James Turk, arguing at trial that Etute had acted in self-defense after Smith swung at him and reached under his mattress for something.

Police searching the apartment later found a knife hidden between the mattress and box spring in the spot where Etute alleged the attack took place.

Etute testified in court that he thought Smith was reaching for a gun, but didn’t mention that when he was first questioned by police.

Three other Virginia Tech players who testified at Etute’s trial have also transferred from the school: tailbacks Jordan Brunson (Miami-Ohio) and Jalen Hampton (Elon) and safety Da’Shawn Elder (Middle Tennessee).