Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in Hokies recruiting
Jaden Keller
Bristol (Tenn.) Tennesee High 2021 athlete Jaden Keller will make his college commitment tomorrow, and his recruitment has been an interesting one from a Hokie perspective - and the perspective of a couple other programs.
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The 6-4, 195-pounder is ranked by Rivals as a safety, but most schools have him on their recruiting board as either a linebacker or a hybrid. The Hokies had been lukewarm on him at times, as had the other favorite, Tennessee. That goes a long way toward explaining how those programs are joined by the likes of Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Western Kentucky on his list of finalists. This recruitment has long been about "will UT or VT take him" rather than "which school does he like the most." The answer to the former wasn't always "yes" for either of the programs that were the obvious answers to the latter.
At this point, the Hokies have a couple extra spots to play with in the class, and the spot that they'd been half-holding for another defensive back (Christian Charles off the board to Tennessee, of all places, opens it up) is available to Keller, who they see as a hybrid linebacker who could potentially grow into an ILB. I actually think his potential along that development track is much higher than a 5.6 three-star - but there's a lot of growth and projection necessary along the way, thus the rating. Given that the Hokies are willing to take him, they should win this battle. Another commitment could be on the way tomorrow.
New 2021 offers
Meanwhile, the coaching staff continues to evaluate options for the remaining
needs in the 2021 class: wide receiver (which they've re-evaluated as a need after previously thinking they didn't need to necessarily replace Tray Curry in the class), offensive line, and defensive tackle.
That's meant a number of new offers in recent weeks, and given the state of the recruiting cycle, plenty of those offers have gone to players who are already committed to other schools or have established favorites. Even guys who have broken onto the scene with solid senior years - such as Houston-area OL Remington Strickland - have bigtime programs in pursuit because of the relatively limited number of players on the open market in this strange, strange recruiting year.
It will be tough for VT to beat out many of those programs, of course (particularly with the Wake Forest flop taking the Hokies out of the national conversation less than halfway through the year), but that's part of why a wide net is being cast. Of course "wide net, limited follow-through" has been an unfortunately common trend with this group. We shall see which players they truly intend to follow through on going forward.
Tyler Banks
The Hokies offered Crewe (Va.) Nottaway 2022 linebacker/Ath Tyler Banks yesterday, and the cousin of senior MLB Rayshard Ashby seems a safe bet to end up in the class. Although he's a high school quarterback, most schools - Hokies included - like him on defense in the long run. He has potential there, but it's easy to see why the staff was patient on a guy who has limited experience at his future position. I (and they - see Kam Chancellor and Bucky Hodges, among others) like the potential for a HS quarterback to smoothly transition elsewhere.
That said, Banks had been ready to commit to Boston College over the weekend, so the Hokies' offer was a bit of a now-or-never proposition (or they could have played for a flip later in the process - and possibly earned it - but that's not a tightrope they were interested in walking). With no commitment in the books and a Hokie offer on the table, an eventual VT commitment is all-but assured unless the staff changes its mind on whether he's a take.
His commitment may not be imminent, but I'd say it's eventual.
virginiatech.rivals.com
