As you might expect, with only a few slots left, not a ton of targets remaining, either:

Virginia Tech Hokies 2021 recruiting hotboard

The OT and DT ranks aren't particularly inspiring, but if the Hokies land even just player from each, the pressure is alleviated in a major way.

...broke down the film of the top four Class of 2022 in New Jersey. The Hokies have offered three of them, so it's a good first look at some of these guys:

Breaking down the film on the top four 2022 passers in New Jersey

The coaching staff has moved relatively slowly when it comes to prioritizing (and making players feel that priority level) the position in the 2022 class, so they're certainly being very thorough, even with the 2021 class mostly completed.

2022 OL Gunner Givens:

Hokies in early top 12 for top local athlete

Absolutely must must must land a kid from around the corner if you want to prove you're serious in the state (which wouldn't always be the case, but with the hole that's been dug and the current perception, it's necessary).

Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in the world of Hokies recruiting.

Keeping an eye on commits

Virginia Tech's success in recruiting the Southeast depends on a few different factors. Early identification and strong relationship-building are a couple of them (as we've discussed regularly, prioritizing and maintaining contact has not always been). The risk in recruiting areas where you don't already have pipelines becomes obvious when a prospect that you have long valued higher than others... starts to get increasing notoriety with success on the field. I've mentioned Kennessaw (Ga.) North Cobb wideout Tray Curry as one option here - with a move in high schools, the potential for increased production could see others get hip to what I believe is a clear four-star talent.

Another is Pinson (Ala.) Valley running back Kenji Christian. The Yellowhammer State is notoriously difficult to pull players away from if you're not an SEC program. It takes a national recruiting power (Ohio State, Clemson, USC, et al) to change that, and VT hasn't been a national recruiting power ever, and particularly not recently. All that is to say that LSU is monitoring him for an offer, and gearing up for a hopeful flip if and when they do issue the offer.

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Christian let me know that he's pretty confident that the Tigers will offer, but that he's solid with the Hokies. Of course, he can't say otherwise without the LSU offer in-hand, so the staff is working overtime to make sure he knows how much he's valued, while at the same time left hoping that Ed Orgeron's crew doesn't pull the trigger.

2022 tailbacks and numbers

Speaking of running backs, that's one of the positions where the staff seems headed into the next class with plenty of realistic (and talented) options. Obviously, we've talked a lot about North Stafford (Va.) four-star Tevin White - not just because the Hokies are in good position, but because of what landing him could represent to other players in the state of VT as the place to be - but there are others, including impressive ones in the Commonwealth.

Suffolk (Va.) Nansemond Academy four-star George Pettaway is one who continues to hear plenty from the coaching staff. He's sort of a Chance Black-type multi-tool threat, and landing him wouldn't necessarily preclude the staff from taking another running back in the class should they manage to close the deal with him. Of course, the running back room is crowded already, and continuing to load up on prospect after prospect while there are significant needs at other spots can't be a multi-year trend.

A lot of how the staff wants to approach the position going into next year seems to be dependent upon what the final word is on the scholarship crunch that will result from the eligibility freeze for current student-athletes. If the NCAA says oversigned programs have to be back down to 85 scholarship players by 2022, for example (i.e. make it just a one-year exception), there's a lot less flexibility than what I'm hearing is another realistic option, temporarily making no squad maximum while the single-year limit on signees remains at 25. That would obviously mean schools have to taper to get back to 85 by the time the exemptions expire, but it's a lot easier to amortize those extra scholarships over three or four years than to figure it out all at once.

Robert Jackson

Back to 2021 to wrap up this edition of Tunnel Talk, we take a look at Warminster (Pa.) Archbishop Wood defensive lineman Robert Jackson. I've made no secret that he seems to be one of (probably the) top priority remaining in the class, at the very least earning that distinction among defensive linemen. The relationships he has with the coaching staff have long felt like an ace in the hole, but the inability to visit has held him back from really warming up to Virginia Tech.

Obviously, a kid who has gone on basically no recruiting visits is more affected than others by the extension of the emergency Dead Period. Logically, it seems that VT (which is pretty much only recruiting for three or so more spots, and doesn't necessarily have to wait out prospects for all of them) could still stand strong by focusing plenty of attention on him - and continuing to work in the Philly region to build more bonds. Don't forget that even on the current roster, Nasir Peoples and Raheem Blackshear are Archbishop Wood alums.

The waiting game looks like it'll have to continue, but given how few players are still on the board, the Hokies are willing to play it at least with Jackson.

Jaylen Martin is a wing with good size. He can score at all three levels but perimeter jumper could be more consistent. Martin has good strength, plays with plenty of confidence, and is a good athlete. He played "up" on a 17U team this summer and held his own nicely. Martin also carries a 4.0 GPA.

His high school head coach is Charlie Ward. Yes, that Charlie Ward.

It's an inconvenience, but not that big a deal for college coaches. It's an abject nightmare for prospects (particularly those with either very few options or those with tons of options):

NCAA recruiting dead period extended to January

Welcome to Tunnel Walk, with the latest inside the Virginia Tech program. Today, a look at recruiting in both football and basketball, but first, the current team...

Practice resumes

Virginia Tech's four-day pause in football activities is over, and the Hokies practiced again this morning. I wouldn't say they're out of the woods in terms of being past the virus (sources have indicated upwards of 50 players were quarantined due to positive tests and contact tracing, with more than 20 of those positive tests), but certainly there's confidence that it'll be a one-time blip and the NC State game won't be affected in just over a week's time. If the Hokies have further issues with the virus going forward, it will be a distinct event separate from the one they've gone through this week.

Today's work was understandably a little rusty (and of course, still short-handed - the four-day pause was to ensure that there wasn't spread at practice from unknown asymptomatic carriers, not to get those currently quarantining back onto the field). But the belief is that the team will be not only healthy - as healthy as can be expected - and ready to take out some aggression when the Wolfpack comes to town.

As for another current-team situation... regardless of the outcome of his legal issue, I've been given indication that Devon Hunter won't be expected back with the team. It would take a major revelation in court proceedings (which will likely end before any sort of trial with a plea deal, anyway). For a guy who has admitted to a strangling/choking incident while trying to explain the why of the event, the type of revelation that would be necessary has already been eliminated as a possibility, in all likelihood. It's the "what" that's an issue, even if a "why" makes it a little less egregious. The standards for remaining a Virginia Tech football player are different than the standards for avoiding a conviction.

Class of 2022

While offensive and defensive tackle remain priorities in the 2021 class, thew coaches have mostly moved onto the rising junior group. Wrapping up the class headed into the season has been their priority, both to get ahead on the next group and to focus on the on-field product for the Fall. The bizarre nature of this offseason meant that the staff couldn't do its evaluating in-person like is preferred during the Summer, so the "getting ahead" aspect (for a staff whose ability to get ahead is largely based around their evaluation skills being at a higher level than most Power-5 staffs) isn't quite as significant. Given that they can't host recruits at games for the foreseeable future - the emergency Dead Period currently goes through September 30, but it'd be a surprise to see no further extensions - the in-person contact that they typically do a pretty good job of during the year is on pause, as well.

However, with the unknown nature of scholarship numbers going forward (the 85 limit will be paused for at least next season, but nobody knows how the NCAA is going to manage it in subsequent seasons), the rush to get going in 2022 is less pressing than it might be in a typical year. The coaches are more in an evaluating-and-offering phase than pushing for commitments, though they're keeping on top of some key targets.

Carter Whitt

On the hoops side of things, Class of 2021 guard Carter Whitt will not play at Brewster Academy this season, as he'd been planning, and will instead attend a more traditional high school with the aim of joining his college program in January. A guy who had considered reclassifying to 2020... will do so in a half-measure, I guess?

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Virginia Tech has long been one of Whitt's top schools, but the move is good news for the current favorite, Nebraska. VT has done a good job recruiting Whitt, but there's ground to make up... and changes in the timeline of a player's recruitment while there's an established favorite is often good for that favorite. A Hokie recruiting class that's still looking for its first pledge may not find it in the player who's been atop the board for some time.

As always, thanks for reading. Feel free to use this thread for discussion of the topics herein or all things Hokies.

I'm touching base with sources, but as far as I can tell it's more a student-conduct violation than a legal one.

BREAKING: Devon Hunter suspended indefinitely

Rivals was back on the road last week for games in Alabama and Georgia. Saw a couple of Nebraska commits, a Virginia Tech commit, a Wake Forest commit, some elite underclassmen, some sleepers to know.

link: SIMMONS FROM THE ROAD

Virginia Tech has a coronavirus outbreak on the team, and won't be ready to go next week. More to come momentarily.

I'm assuming he'll be out for at least this year, and would be a little surprised if he's ever back with the program, given he essentially admitted to choking the alleged victim in his bail hearing yesterday:

The impact: Devon Hunter suspended

Massive week for Kenji Christian, a couple upcoming debuts, and more:

HokieHaven Friday Night Lights 2020: Week four

I haven't been posting these because the podcasts have been going up days (even weeks) late, and they're often dated, but here' my spot last Wednesday:

Audio: Tim Sullivan on ESPN Blacksburg's The Drive

Hokies are in the door early for this 2022 prospect:

New Virginia Tech football offer: Tyler Griffin

Had been either afternoon or evening, now it's confirmed as the latter:

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