Senior defensive lineman on Virginia Tech's 2025 roster.
6′3″ · 307 lb · Chesterfield, VA
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
sacks · 2025
13 tackles
Best game: 2 tackles, vs Wofford
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive lineman on Virginia Tech's 2025 roster.
How he plays
Controls the point of attack and doesn't move.
Sacks: 24th percentile.
The full scouting readImmanuel Hickman Sr.
Controls the point of attack and doesn't move. Immanuel Hickman Sr. has played for three head coaches across seven seasons and three programs. One game to point at: 2 tackles against Florida State — Week 12, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 7 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2019–2025
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Justin Fuente, J.C. Price, and Brent Pry. Multi-era developmental context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: solo tackles (2nd percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
James Franklin
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Virginia Tech | 13 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | South Florida | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | South Florida | 19 | 6 | 2.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2022 | East Carolina | 22 | 10 | 5.5 | 1.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | East Carolina | 21 | 10 | 6.0 | 3.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2020 | East Carolina | 14 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2019 | East Carolina | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 90 | 35 | 14.5 | 4.0 | -- | -- | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 5 · 2025
W 23–21
at NC State
1 TOT
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 2 on the road.
With T. Stewart — 174 rush yds (15 car) · N. Veltsistas — 44 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 52 LONG
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 9 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | L 20-44vs Vanderbilt | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 26-45vs Old Dominion | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 38-6vs Wofford | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 23-21@ NC State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 23-30vs Wake Forest | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 16-28vs Louisville | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 14-34@ Florida State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 17-34vs Miami | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 7-27@ Virginia | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Play style
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
13 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 0 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
2026 Outlook
Virginia Tech
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Virginia Tech
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Virginia Tech · Last season: 3-9 · Talent rank #27 · 2026 recruiting class #30
Player DNA
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Gavin Ransaw’s 2025 season.
Matches Gavin on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
Player DNA