Virginia linebacker West Weeks, a three-star Class of 2021 recruit, entered the transfer portal on Monday, and already has an offer from Southern Cal.
Weeks logged 252 snaps in 11 games as a true freshman in 2021, with a Pro Football Focus season grade of 60.4.
He recorded 34 tackles, with a tackle percentage of 89.5 percent, along with eight QB pressures and one sack on 47 pass-rush snaps.
In pass coverage, Weeks allowed four receptions on five targets in 99 coverage snaps, grading out at 77.8, best on the linebacker corps and second-best on the defensive unit on the season.
His 66.9 pass-rush grade was fifth on the unit. His weakness came in run defense, where his 36.3 grade was the third-worst on the D.
You have to assume that Weeks is headed out the door, considering that he put his name in the portal three weeks after new coach Tony Elliott came on board.
The fact that Southern Cal is offering him is an indication that he will be missed from a talent standpoint.
The linebacker corps is already depleted with the loss of Noah Taylor to North Carolina.
With Weeks on the way out, what you have left in terms of guys who saw meaningful action in 2021 is Nick Jackson (12 starts, 796 snaps, team-high 117 tackles, 62.5 PFF grade), Hunter Stewart (five starts, 338 snaps, 60.7 PFF grade) and Josh Ahern (three starts, 241 snaps, 44.6 PFF grade).
Those three, plus sophomore D’Sean Perry (71 snaps), freshmen Mike Green (38 snaps) and James Jackson (15 snaps), junior T.C. Harrison (11 snaps), redshirt freshman Sam Brady (4 snaps), and among guys who didn’t see the field in 2021, freshmen Josh McCarron and Kendell Cross, redshirt freshman Jonathan Horton and Georgia Tech transfer Chico Bennett Jr., who missed the season after suffering an ACL injury in spring practice.
Story by Chris Graham
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Chris Graham
