Virginia Tech strengthened its offensive line on Tuesday afternoon by adding Auburn transfer Jaden Muskrat. The 6-foot-3, 312-pound veteran brings five years of college experience and versatility to the Hokies. He began his career at Tulsa, where he spent three seasons under head coach Philip Montgomery — now Tech’s offensive coordinator — before transferring to Auburn for the past two years, reuniting with Montgomery in 2023.
Muskrat arrives in Blacksburg with 1,338 career offensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He redshirted in 2020 after playing in four games (204 snaps), saw limited action in 2021 due to injury (39 snaps), then broke out as a starter in 2022 at Tulsa with 848 snaps. At Auburn, he served mainly as a backup, logging 220 snaps in 2023 and 27 in 2024, while also contributing on special teams in every game (118 snaps combined).
He primarily played right tackle (1,236 snaps), but also has experience at left tackle (49 snaps) and left guard (45 snaps), making him a flexible option up front. His PFF grades varied over the years, with his best performance coming in limited action in 2024:
- 2024 (Auburn, 27 snaps): 81.6 overall | 76.2 pass block | 79.2 run block
- 2023 (Auburn, 220 snaps): 62.9 overall | 50.0 pass block | 65.0 run block
- 2022 (Tulsa, 848 snaps): 61.2 overall | 61.8 pass block | 61.3 run block
- 2021 (Tulsa, 39 snaps): 60.3 overall | 33.7 pass block | 71.5 run block
- 2020 (Tulsa, 204 snaps): 59.4 overall | 57.0 pass block | 58.3 run block
A native of Berryville, Oklahoma, Muskrat played high school football at Bentonville West (Arkansas), earning all-state honors after starting out on the defensive line at Choctaw High School. He was originally a two-star recruit with only an offer from Tulsa, according to 247Sports.
Muskrat becomes Virginia Tech’s 28th transfer portal addition this offseason and the ninth post-spring commit. He’s the fifth offensive lineman added, with the previous four — Tomas Rimac, Kyle Altuner, Lucas Austin, and Gavin Crawford — arriving from West Virginia alongside offensive line coach Matt Moore.
With Muskrat on board, Tech now has 14 scholarship offensive linemen for 2025. The Hokies lost only one projected two-deep lineman after spring (Bob Schick). According to Andy Bitter’s April depth chart, the starting five included Johnny Garrett (LT), Layth Ghannam (LG), Kyle Altuner (C), Brody Meadows (RG), and Tomas Rimac (RT). Key backups were Aidan Lynch (LT), Tommy Ricard (C), Montavious Cunningham (RG), and Lucas Austin (RT).
Muskrat is expected to compete for a role on the two-deep, likely at tackle — a move that could allow Rimac to shift inside to guard.
