Don't let the adjective in the title fool you here: "low-key" is not a negative description, nor an indication that the turnout was disappointing (though in some cases it was, forced by the weather). It's a description of the vibe that Saturday's visitors were treated to in Blacksburg, and it's one that they mostly appreciated.
Essentially every visit is going to feature some degree of a facility tour, some interaction with members of the coaching staff, and nowadays a photoshoot (aside from gameday visits, where those really aren't practical).
The differences are in the margins. Which coaches - from on-field staff, be it area recruiter or position coach, to recruiting-specific support staffers - interact with a prospect? That's an important distinction in how they end up feeling about the visit at the end of the day. If you're a top offensive lineman and you talk to Joe Rudolph, it's going to hit a little bit differently than if you only get facetime with a player personnel staffer. The nature of the conversations are also huge. Plenty of times on visits, prospects get the whole nine yards and possibly even some pressure to commit. That's probably coming under this staff eventually. But yesterday, it was very much a "get to know us, with no expectations beyond that" type of visit, even for the top prospects. That may make results on the recruiting trail take longer to arrive, but it definitely sets the stage for better overall long-term results when it matters.
Take, for example, what one of the top overall prospects on the trip, Leesburg (Va.) Tuscarora 2024 offensive lineman Fletcher Westphal had to say.
"The entire coaching staff introduced themselves," he explained of the meet-and-greet. "Each of them had pictures of their families which was cool to see. They shared why VA Tech was home for them and their respect for Coach Pry."
Certainly, a kid meeting each member of the staff also indicates where he fits into their pecking order (which should come as no surprise after he picked up an offer last week). But also, the nature of the conversation being 'here's who we are, here's what we like about VT' is very different in both content and tone than 'here's why you should come to VT.' The distinction may be subtle, but at the early stages of a recruitment - and to be clear, this is a kid who's not coming off the board any time soon - you get more of an advantage by laying groundwork than by trying to go all-in before that groundwork is laid.
Or take what Lexington (S.C.) River Bluff wide receiver Apollos Cook had to say. He's in a very different position on the recruiting board than Westphal, a rising senior not yet holding an offer. His invitation to visit came from a non-coaching staffer, Nash O'Fallon (who has since left the program). But when he got to meet with WRs coach Fontel Mines, it was still a very high-level 'here's who we are' discussion, rather than a recruiting pitch.
"It wasn’t really much about the X’s and O’s of football," Cook said of their conversation. "It was more about what football can do for you in life."
I'll be rolling out the interviews with players in the coming days, but the themes in what they had to say about the trip remain consistent. This is a coaching staff that isn't in a hurry to build the 2023 recruiting class. Indeed, they know that it's probably better in the long run if they don't start building it (from a commitment perspective) just yet, because it'll be a stronger - and higher-caliber - group if they lay the groundwork and cast a wide net without trying to push for pledges just yet. I wouldn't say all of that is necessarily a change from the previous coaching administration, and a lot of it is a simple matter of best-practices stuff that the vast majority of college coaches around the country abide by. But the attention to detail (and yes, perhaps a bit of leeway at the beginning of a new coaching tenure, when the pressure is not high yet) is impressive, and it's going to go a long way toward making this group recruit at a high level, as long as the product on the field is enticing to prospects.
Essentially every visit is going to feature some degree of a facility tour, some interaction with members of the coaching staff, and nowadays a photoshoot (aside from gameday visits, where those really aren't practical).
The differences are in the margins. Which coaches - from on-field staff, be it area recruiter or position coach, to recruiting-specific support staffers - interact with a prospect? That's an important distinction in how they end up feeling about the visit at the end of the day. If you're a top offensive lineman and you talk to Joe Rudolph, it's going to hit a little bit differently than if you only get facetime with a player personnel staffer. The nature of the conversations are also huge. Plenty of times on visits, prospects get the whole nine yards and possibly even some pressure to commit. That's probably coming under this staff eventually. But yesterday, it was very much a "get to know us, with no expectations beyond that" type of visit, even for the top prospects. That may make results on the recruiting trail take longer to arrive, but it definitely sets the stage for better overall long-term results when it matters.
Take, for example, what one of the top overall prospects on the trip, Leesburg (Va.) Tuscarora 2024 offensive lineman Fletcher Westphal had to say.
"The entire coaching staff introduced themselves," he explained of the meet-and-greet. "Each of them had pictures of their families which was cool to see. They shared why VA Tech was home for them and their respect for Coach Pry."
Certainly, a kid meeting each member of the staff also indicates where he fits into their pecking order (which should come as no surprise after he picked up an offer last week). But also, the nature of the conversation being 'here's who we are, here's what we like about VT' is very different in both content and tone than 'here's why you should come to VT.' The distinction may be subtle, but at the early stages of a recruitment - and to be clear, this is a kid who's not coming off the board any time soon - you get more of an advantage by laying groundwork than by trying to go all-in before that groundwork is laid.
Or take what Lexington (S.C.) River Bluff wide receiver Apollos Cook had to say. He's in a very different position on the recruiting board than Westphal, a rising senior not yet holding an offer. His invitation to visit came from a non-coaching staffer, Nash O'Fallon (who has since left the program). But when he got to meet with WRs coach Fontel Mines, it was still a very high-level 'here's who we are' discussion, rather than a recruiting pitch.
"It wasn’t really much about the X’s and O’s of football," Cook said of their conversation. "It was more about what football can do for you in life."
I'll be rolling out the interviews with players in the coming days, but the themes in what they had to say about the trip remain consistent. This is a coaching staff that isn't in a hurry to build the 2023 recruiting class. Indeed, they know that it's probably better in the long run if they don't start building it (from a commitment perspective) just yet, because it'll be a stronger - and higher-caliber - group if they lay the groundwork and cast a wide net without trying to push for pledges just yet. I wouldn't say all of that is necessarily a change from the previous coaching administration, and a lot of it is a simple matter of best-practices stuff that the vast majority of college coaches around the country abide by. But the attention to detail (and yes, perhaps a bit of leeway at the beginning of a new coaching tenure, when the pressure is not high yet) is impressive, and it's going to go a long way toward making this group recruit at a high level, as long as the product on the field is enticing to prospects.
