Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in Hokie recruiting.

DJ Sims

Virginia Tech has been showing a bit of token interest in in-state wide receiver DJ Sims for the past several weeks. Somewhat surprisingly, that hasn't diminished since the commitment of Georgia three-star Christian Moss. With the Hokies keeping the heat on Sims, the Christchurch (Va.) product has taken a step back from his commitment to Wake Forest.

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VT should have extra spots in the recruiting class to play with - albeit a little disappointingly, because they're largely coming from 1) attrition to the NFL (of course, most of it expected, but it's reasonable to be hopeful until the writing is on the wall) or transfer portal, and 2) not yet filling positions of need in the 2021 class. The coaches appear to be wisely using that leeway to take one last look in-state, something they are trying to make up for obviously not doing (nearly) enough of in the course of the recruiting cycle.

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The Hokies haven't publicly offered him (in a way that he's publicized it or anything like that), but sources indicate that if he were to express interest in committing to the Hokies, that option would arrive in a hurry. VT has now offered. At this point, I would expect him to wait until after the early signing period to take the next steps in his recruitment (he just decommitted this morning, after all), but it's also possible things happen quickly. Both prospect and program letting the dust settle just a bit after the early period seems to make the most sense, though.

Devin Lee and Robert Jackson

Two of the Hokies' defensive tackle targets appear to be trending away at this point, with each expected to make a college commitment over the next 24-plus hours.

Vanderbilt's hiring of Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea is a big deal for Lee. ND was a major program of interest for Lee early, but that interest was never reciprocated out of South Bend. He'd kept an eye on the Irish defense, and that the man leading it is now in charge of a program that doesn't have quite the lofty reputation and ambition on the recruiting trail opens that option for Lee to play for Lea, something that he's long wanted to do. His is one of those recruitments that a more consistent approach from the Hokies probably could have netted a commitment at some point - but it's also one that might not have ended up sticking, even he'd joined the VT class at any point.

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Philadelphia-area DT Robert Jackson is another whose Hokie recruitment saw inconsistent levels of attention (and whose likelihood of being a VT commit earlier in this process would have been high if not for the inconsistent approach). At this point, the program that's stayed on him most consistently and persistently, Cincinnati, is the favorite to earn his pledge when he commits at 6:30 this evening. He keeps things closely-guarded enough that an upset victory for the Hokies or Pitt isn't out of the question. But the Bearcats have to be feeling good right now.

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So what does that mean for closing out the DT class? After a brief period where it looked like VT (purposefully) wouldn't show enough attention to USF commit Desmond Mamudi to flip him from USF, he's been letting me know about plenty of attention out of the VT coaches in the past 72 hours or so. We shall see if that slight dip in the level of love they were showing impacts things. Obviously we have seen that happen in previous recruitments, though in this one, I don't think it's a knock on the staff - there were reasons to believe that they were in good position for some of their other (more highly-regarded) targets and didn't need to sweat his recruitment as much before situations changed with those other players.

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We'll also see if they can make one last run at Ian Mathews, who looks likely to stick in SEC country if he commits this week. After initially planning to wait until the February signing period to make a pledge, he's narrowed his focus on Auburn (which fired its coach, changing the calculus in a big way), Ole Miss, and Georgia Tech. If he's not ready to pick between those - and the Hokies still have a need after the early signing period - a strong push is possible, or even likely.

Signing Day

The majority of Virginia Tech's class is all set to sign tomorrow, whatever happens at Whit Babcock's press conference today (though I've already indicated that sources say it's going to be positive news for Justin Fuente). Some of the guys who have been a little wary of signing without knowing Fuente's future (Canon Boone, Isi Etute, Nykelius Johnson, Da'Wain Lofton, Cole Nelson) will likely firm up their signing plans after today's press conference.

All told, the guys should have LOIs rolling in early in the morning - starting with Danijel Miletic, who can sign at 7 a.m. Central European Standard Time (six hours ahead of EST) - but some of them will have signing ceremonies later in the afternoon. I would expect nearly the entire class in the fold by the time Justin Fuente's noon presser begins, even though some of those ceremonies are long after that. The ceremonies are traditionally just for show with the LOI already submitted. That's particularly true of already-committed guys, and has been even truer in the age of an early signing period.

As always, thanks for visiting HokieHaven.com. Feel free to use this thread to discuss the topics herein.

I have a hard time believing you could find anyone worse than John Swofford, so thing are lookin' up!

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Justin Fuente has been very open that the Transfer Portal both giveth and taketh away. That could be the case specifically at the quarterback position this offseason. The Hokies lost third-stringer Quincy Patterson a couple weeks ago when the Chicago native opted to seek a transfer in the name of playing time. He didn't see a path to the field with Hendon Hooker and Braxton Burmeister both just one year ahead of him.

That means there's more depth needed (VT got down to the fourth-stringer this year, and now there are only three scholarship guys on the roster). The Hokies are in pursuit of a Mississippi state transfer - and a former four-star in the 2019 class - in Garrett Shrader.

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The 6-4, 200-pounder started for MSU as a true freshman (and put up a reasonable efficiency mark of 132.5, all things considered), but has been relegated to the bench and then a position-switch to wide receiver this year. He wants to be a quarterback, and that's behind his entry into the transfer portal. He's down to a trio of ACC options: Louisville, Syracuse, and your Virginia Tech Hokies.

I wouldn't get too excited about him - this isn't a transfer-up like Brock Hoffman or Khalil Herbert, it's a guy trying to find playing time - not least of which because the word I've received is that VT is running third here. However, it's still an indication of where things are likely to go at the quarterback position: if the Hokies lose one, the transfer portal (rather than loading up on multiple recruits in a class) is going to be the way they go to build that depth. I'll keep my ear to the ground to find out if any other quarterbacks currently in the Portal become serious targets. However, keep in mind that at least for this offseason, there's a delicate line to walk between guys who are good enough to be worth taking up a scholarship slot, but not so good that they're going to avoid a place that they won't immediately see the field.

With the future of the program looking settled for at least the next year, we'll fortunately be looking more at typical offseason news rather than the chaos of putting together a fresh recruiting class after a coaching change.

The latest on the world of Virginia Tech and recruiting.

Robert Jackson

Philadelphia DE/DT Robert Jackson has had a bit of an on-again, off-again relationship with Virginia Tech in his recruitment. The Hokies have never gone away completely (like they did with Devin Lee, for whom the Hokies are heavy favorite right now), but there have been stretches where VT has been near the top within the list of favorites, or languishing as an also-ran in a larger pack. That generally means - and comes as no surprise with this staff - a good recruiting pitch but inconsistent levels of contact in comparison to other suitors.

The staff has remained confident that they have the right connections and the right approach (even when some skepticism about their standing has been expressed to them), and for right now, at least, things are trending positively. While VT was outside his list of 5-6 within the top 10 just a few weeks ago, they're back in a small top group of just a handful of schools. That's not to say they'll land a commitment for sure, given his tentative plan has been to commit in February so he has a little more time to focus on his basketball season. But it's an improvement over the Hokies' previous standing.

A rapid climb also coincides with Georgia three-star Ian Mathews seeming to focus on schools a bit closer to home. A shift in focus back to the guy who's been on the recruiting board for a long time can obviously pay off. But it is also going to be a little frustrating from an external perspective to think how much more effective a focused recruiting effort from beginning to end would be, rather than too-often issuing an offer and getting in strong position with a prospect, then neglecting that recruitment to test the waters somewhere else, and going back to the original target only when the new one doesn't ultimately have much interest. In a lot of cases (Mathews is an exception since the Hokies were among the first Power-5 schools to offer), the second target is one whose ultimate lack of interest has been predictable, and a bit better focus on the recruiting trail would have been wise from the start. This is obviously not the only recruitment of position group that has followed a similar storyline.

All that said, I like Jackson a lot as a prospect, and if the Hokies can seal the deal, I think they've ended up with the better prospect right now (though Mathews may ultimately end up the better player - I wouldn't guarantee either outcome).

Commits sticking?

After Da'Wain Lofton firmed up his commitment to VT in the face of an opportunity from hometown TCU, it looks like - barring major developments in the next few days - the Hokies will sign everyone in the class who intends to put pen to ink in the December period. From Kenji Christian (through interest from LSU and other SEC programs, though they haven't offered and at this point he doesn't intend to wait them out) to Lofton, the class looks set. That includes the guys who have intended to enroll early - a much more nebulous group than in the past, since the benefits (and risks) of hitting campus a semester early are different than they've even been.

As noted above, there may be some mini-twists along the way (for example, there's a new head coach at the once-flagship university of South Carolina, a state where the Hokies have two pledges, neither of whom was interested in the Will Muschamp program), but things are solid for now.

Big-picture program

I know there's a post floating around the internet (it's made its way here, too) about donors lining up to fire Fuente - at the threat of refusing to continue supporting the athletic department. Speaking from sources in the AD side of things, simply put, it's either exaggeration or fabrication that there is a significant financial hit to the department for keeping Fuente (certainly to the extent that it'd be worse than the financial hit of firing him - saying "you don't get $100k unless you fire Fuente" and "I will pay part of the buyout to fire Fuente for that $100k donation" net out the same, except you also then have to undertake major administrative costs of seeking and hiring a new head coach, something the athletic department hasn't really prepared for). The AD also has plenty of people who are looking out for the good of VT no matter what who would more than offset people making those decisions on a petty basis. "I'm going to try to financially force you to cut the women's soccer program because I don't like the football coach" is very much a specific type of donor, and one whose motivations an AD as smart as Whit Babcock simply knows he can't cater to.

That's not to say everything is rosy in the leadership of the program, or that significant staff changes wouldn't be "gently suggested" to the head coach in order to maintain a little control over the direction.

But the optics (and financial realities) of firing a head coach in the pandemic atmosphere lean heavily away from the program making the ability to change. As much as Fuente and the players have said (and certainly meant) "we want to play, it's a blessing and an opportunity," etc. etc. all year, the pragmatic reality is that they were essentially forced - not on an individual basis, but by the momentum of institutions much larger than themselves - into having a season. The nature of that meant VT did it short-handed for basically every game this year, including without a top-10 draft pick from day one in Caleb Farley, and particularly early on without players at a ton of positions (and even more recently, their No. 2 corner, Jermaine Waller, has been unavailable, and the only two games he played in, he played literally without having been able to see the practice field). In any other circumstances, that situation - out of the control of any individual - wouldn't have seen VT on the field.

That's not to say Fuente is on stable ground, just that if he wasn't going to be fired in Babcock's mind before the season, the context (both financial and competitive) through which this season has to be viewed means the impact of wins and losses in 2020 is more diminished than it would otherwise be. I guess "safe" isn't really the right word when your job security rests on technicalities... and Fuente would still be extremely wise to beat Virginia - particularly if the Hokies have a chance to do it handily.

As always, thanks for visiting HokieHaven.com. Feel free to use this thread to discuss the topics herein.

Tim,

Read the press conference and no one believes for a second that Burmeister gives us the best chance over Hooker unless there is something very very wrong with him. I assume Fuentes didn’t forget the North Carolina game?

Seems very disturbing that he is trying to find a reason not to have Hooker start as if he promised Burmeister time to come and trying to keep his word.

So unless there is something we are unaware of which is possible this isn’t debatable and if he get one more year and starts Burmeister then he will have sealed his own doom!

We'll be chattin' here all game. Let's do it.

Starting with Khalil Herbert

Getting going momentarily.

2020 Virginia Tech Hokies football preview: Virginia

My predictions in the story. What have you got?

A 2021 OL:

New Virginia Tech football offer; Amari McNeill

I have a hard time seeing much work here unless Pruitt and co. get the axe.

the 2021 DE/DT, from our good friend Jason Stamm:

Jackson to choose from three

My thoughts on the matter were in yesterday's Tunnel Talk (basically that VT could have wrapped him up long ago with a more focused recruiting approach). He'd initially planned to wait to commit before the traditional signing period in February, but now hopes to make his pledge next week.

2021 OL Will Jones out of IMG Academy:


Turning down a bunch of FCS (including Ivy) and mid-major offers to walk on is a good pull for the Hokies. Getting players out of IMG is always good to develop the relationships there, too. Jones is a Virginia native, and of course that played a major role in landing him, but you can't have enough ties to a power program like IMG.

Senior highlights: Christian Moss

As y’all know, I’ve been pretty high onMoss since he arrived on the VT radar.

He'd initially told me he planned to commit Monday, so yesterday was sorta inconvenient because I was traveling. Alas, here's the story with his senior stats:

Christian Moss is a Hokie!

Three-star WR Christian Moss committed to Va Tech this morning and he is a good pick up for the Hokies.

He is a long, rangy WR with good body control. More of a long strider that covers a lot of ground. He has strong hands, and I really think if we would have had a normal spring/summer, he would have had another 10 P5 offers. I like this get for Virginia Tech.

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...likely the final hotboard until that time:

Virginia Tech Hokies 2021 recruiting hotboard

It'll be interesting to see how much remains in the class after that early signing period. It seems like there may be more of the class to finish up than we've seen in recent years (and even then, two, three, and one players have committed between signing periods in the past three classes).

Second Hokie commit (joining Bryce Goodner) to see his senior season end this way:

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