Author: Ricky LaBlue

Recruiting is a fickle beast. One day, you’re up and the momentum is squarely on your side. The next day, you’re the short stack and the mob waits at the gates.

Virginia Tech and Justin Fuente have endured plenty of weeks like this, especially over the last two weeks. Since April 31, Tech has secured three commitments and pushed themselves into contention for a top-25 class nationally.

The positives started with a commitment from Will Johnson, a three-star linebacker from Maryland. Just a few days later, four-star receiver Latrell Neville committed and on Friday, three-star defensive tackle Tyas Martin jumped aboard.

In between the commitments, five-star cornerback Tony Grimes announced his top eight schools, leaving out the in-state Hokies. Grimes’ list caused plenty of consternation among fans, some reasonable and some extreme.

Go (Mid)west, Virginia Tech

An overwhelming majority of football programs are building their rosters on the backs of out-of-state commitments, a concept thought ludicrous in just 15 or 20 years ago.

Fuente and his staff, who hold deep ties to the Midwest, are starting to expand Virginia Tech’s map. The Hokies are becoming an increasingly relevant team in Texas, a state rich with talent.

Virginia Tech signed two Texas players in the 2020 class — defensive ends Alec Bryant and Robert Wooten. They just happened to be Tech’s highest-rated recruits in the class and if things continue as expected this year, another Texas player could top the list.

Creating a foothold in Texas opens up doors that weren’t even built five or six years ago. Texas’ population ensures that there’s plenty of Power 5 talent in the state and in a state with so much elite talent, some players often go overlooked. Their success in Texas may be spreading, as evidenced by Martin, an Arkansas native. Increasing your options to go sign players is a definite positive.

Consistent struggles in the Commonwealth

While Tech expands its reach into the Midwest, there’s no denying that struggles are continuing in the Commonwealth. These struggled predate the Grimes’ recruitment, which is just another data point in a growing set of data.

Devon Hunter’s signing was supposed to start a trend in Virginia of elite-level talent giving the Hokies a serious look and eventually, some of them signing with Virginia Tech. Hunter’s arrival hasn’t had the desired effect.

Since 2018, the year after Hunter’s signing, Virginia Tech has signed just three of the Commonwealth’s top-10 prospects and just one of Virginia’s top-5 prospects. The Hokies have repeatedly missed on their top targets in the state, whether it be Ricky Slade in 2018, Brandon Smith and Devyn Ford in 2019 or Chris Tyree and KeAndre Lambert in 2020.

Let’s be clear — no reasonable person is arguing that Virginia Tech should own the state’s elite talent and sign a majority of the top-10 every cycle. However, it’s vital to the program’s reputation and future success that the Hokies perform better in state and right now, it just isn’t happening.

Looking forward

These three recent commitments all represent positive developments. Johnson holds offers from several Power 5 schools and might be a bit better than his .8405 rating on 247Sports. Neville’s offer list is chock full of Power 5 programs, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State. Martin is a middle of the road prospect but at 6-foot-3 and 318 pounds, he gives an undersized defensive line plenty of beef.

As of April 10, Virginia Tech’s Class of 2021 is ranked 20th in the country and fourth in the ACC. Their average recruit rating of .8731 is .0233 points higher than Tech’s 2020 class. Tech’s headliner is four-star quarterback Dematrius Davis, the sixth-best dual-threat quarterback in the nation.

Virginia Tech’s Class of 2021 is certainly on pace to beat last year’s cycle, but nuance is needed when discussing the bigger picture. The Hokies’ average recruit rating of .8731 is below the four schools directly behind them in the rankings — California, LSU, Kansas State and Oklahoma. It’s also lower than Nebraska (27th), Florida State (29th), Auburn (31st), Texas A&M (32nd), Pittsburgh (42nd) and Washington (46th). Tech is head of these other programs in the overall rankings because they have more commitments.

The point is this — if schools take the same amount of kids and you base the rankings strictly on average recruit rating, Tech would fall outside the top-20 and perhaps outside the top-30.

That doesn’t mean the Hokies won’t improve that average recruit rating. Virginia Tech is considered a serious contender for four-star prospects Kelvin Gilliam and Naquan Brown, both prospects from Virginia. Four-star prospects Tyleik Williams and Anthony Beavers are also possibilities. Even if Tech were to sign just two of these four prospects, it would go a long way towards boosting the overall quality of the class.

There are far more important things to think about right now than college football. As the world comes to grips with a globally recognized pandemic, sports seem insignificant to the most of society.

That said, sports serve as a necessary release and its important for us to maintain our sanity at this point as we process the news and what it means for the future. Continue reading “The Spring That Never Was: COVID-19’s Affect on Virginia Tech Football”

Continue reading “Weighing the Good and Bad of Virginia Tech’s Transfer Turnover”

For 48 hours, Virginia Tech football was turned completely on its head. The Hokies came quite close to having to hire a head coach when the program is supposed to be getting ready for the offseason, nearly leaving the program in limbo while adding even more pressure next season.

In case you’ve been living under a Hokie Bird statue recently, you’re aware that Justin Fuente entertained the head coaching opening at Baylor. We learned on Thursday that Baylor representatives met with Fuente on Wednesday and that Fuente made the decision to stay later that evening.

Continue reading “Justin Fuente’s Foray With Baylor Adds Pressure Heading Into 2020 Season”

Of all the potential NFL draftees on Virginia Tech’s roster, Dalton Keene would be the player I’d least expect to test the professional waters a year early.

Keene proved me, and a lot of other people, wrong on Friday night when he declared he would forego his senior season in Blacksburg and enter the 2020 NFL Draft.

Continue reading “Dalton Keene’s NFL Declaration Leaves Void at Tight End for Virginia Tech”

Lost in the coaching turnover this winter is that Virginia Tech still has a game on the schedule. The Hokies are slated to take on Kentucky on New Year’s Eve at 12 p.m. in Charlotte, a game that will mean more than most bowl games.

Continue reading “Previewing Virginia Tech’s Belk Bowl Matchup vs. Kentucky”

Virginia Tech’s 2020 recruiting class is mostly in the books. Fourteen prospects signed their National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, which was the opening of the early signing period for football prospects.

There’s a lot to talk about with this recruiting class, both positive and negative. Here are my four biggest takeaways from Wednesday.

Continue reading “Four Takeaways from Virginia Tech’s 2020 Early Signing Period”

The NCAA’s decision to create an early signing period for football prospects drastically sped up the recruiting timeline. Instead of having to recruit kids through National Signing Day in February, coaches can somewhat rest easy if they lock in most of their class by Dec. 18.

Since the period was created, Virginia Tech has generally locked in 90-95 percent of their class during the early signing period while using the remaining month-plus to recruit one or two more prospects. This year, however, the Hokies might find themselves in a different situation — salvaging their class after most recruits have already made up their minds.

Continue reading “Recruiting Issues Present Stiff Challenge to Virginia Tech’s Growth”