Mercer DT Arias Nash Commits To Virginia Tech

Arias Nash 
Defensive tackle 
Mercer 
6-1, 275 
1 year remaining (Sr.) 

Virginia Tech added depth up front on Monday evening when Mercer defensive tackle Arias Nash committed to the Hokies.

The Charlotte, N.C., native racked up 12.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks and 14 quarterback hurries this season with the Bears and was named an FCS All-American by FCS Football Central. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

In three seasons at Mercer, Nash notched 70 tackles, deflected three passes and forced one fumble to go with 14 sacks and the aforementioned nine TFLs over 1,038 snaps.

In 2024, he posted eight tackles in back-to-back games against Princeton and Samford. Nash also tallied four tackles, including a TFL, and two quarterback hurries in November at Alabama — his lone FBS competition of the year. The following week against Furman, he had his first career two-sack game vs. Furman while forcing his first career fumble.

PFF was impressed with his play this season. In 648 snaps, he received an 85.8 overall grade, an 80.2 mark for run defense and an 83.5 for pass rush. His tackling grade was poor at 46.0, though.

Nash is the second defensive tackle addition of the offseason for the Hokies, joining Hampton’s Jahzari Priester. He gives Tech eight scholarship tackles to work with next season, a group headlined by returners Kelvin Gilliam (r-Sr.), Kemari Copeland (r-Jr.) and Emmett Laws (r-Fr.).

He’s a product of Stuart Cramer High School, where he had 371 tackles, 15.5 sacks and two defensive touchdowns to accompany his 11 forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. As a senior, he was the region’s defensive player of the year and earned all-state accolades after compiling 114 tackles, 29 TFLs, six sacks, five forced fumbles and 22 quarterback hurries.

Despite that, Nash was an unranked prospect out of high school. He held offers from nearby Charlotte and Gardner-Webb, along with Emory & Henry and other Division II schools. This time around, he entered the transfer portal in mid-December and kept his recruitment quiet.

Overall, Nash is Tech’s 13th portal acquisition and the seventh on defense, five of which are defensive backs.

For more information on Virginia Tech’s comings and goings in the portal, click here for Tech Sideline’s roster management page.

Arias Nash links: 

Mercer bio