2022 running back:

New Virginia Tech football offer: Samuel Brown

He's still almost guaranteed to redshirt (missing the first week-plus of camp, and not being a game-ready guy to begin with puts him behind the curve there) - though I guess it doesn't matter if the eligibility clock doesn't freeze this year - but getting him with the team is nice:

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I think this receiving corps is really exciting:

Hokies have added weapons in the passing game

A small step forward for Turner/Robinson, and you can easily replace (or exceed) the production of the departed players by committee.

Obviously the right thing to do for the players... obviously a financial hardship for a lot of programs, though.

NCAA eligibility clock to pause?

Ashton Smith:

Hokies in the top four for Texas forward

Hokies schedule to take on the Deacons Oct. 24.
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The lack of a Fall season in Virginia will probably hold his ranking down, unfortunately. But I think there’s still plenty to be excited about:

Analyst: Asbury can be an early contributor

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

Kenji Christian

We're just a few days away from commitment day for Pinson (Ala.) Valley three-star running back Kenji Christian's commitment date.

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Rivals Southeast Analyst Chad Simmons has done a great job keeping HokieHaven subscribers in the loop on the ins and outs of the final days here. There's also been a consistent theme: Virginia Tech is right at the top of the pile.

The question, naturally, would be whether the Hokies want or need another tailback with two of them already in the fold (three-stars Chance Black and Malachi Thomas). Every indication I've received is that - especially thanks to the size of the class that will allow for a few "best-available" prospects to sign, regardless of their positions, it's full steam ahead in accepting a commitment. The staff likes Christian enough to keep his offer fully active.

The slight twist is that the other finalist, Ole Miss, desperately wants him. The Rebels are continuing to push hard, and while the Hokies aren't not pushing, the amount of attention the Mississippi coaching staff is putting in could be enough to make that 11th-hour pass. The VT staff just can't justify using the same amount of resource energy (particularly with the coaches' attention divided from the recruiting trail now that Fall camp is under way) on a three-star guy (even if they evaluate him at a higher level than that) at a position where they've already landed two other players they prioritized more.

My personal take is that, while I do think VT manages to hold on and land him in the end, if Ole Miss is able to wrest him away, it's probably not the most damaging recruiting loss.

Khalil Dinkins

Pittsburgh-area athlete Khalil Dinkins - the son of former NFL tight end Darnell Dinkins - has been on Virginia Tech's board at a couple different positions for several months now. Capable of playing linebacker or defensive end, he seems to have settled on the tight end position for his college preference.

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While that remains a key position of need (one of the very few still-unfilled in the 2021 cycle), the Hokies have been only on the periphery of the recruitment for a while. Pitt (the hometown school and Dad's alma mater) and Penn State have long had an edge on the field.

At this point, with Robbie Ouzts and (the suddenly very quiet) Jordan Dingle greater priorities for the Hokies, Dinkins has faded from the staff's recruiting board. The resultant slide in his eyes - with an official narrowing of the list coming in the not-so-distant future - will probably see the parties go their separate ways when he cuts down his options.

Ozzie Hoffler

Speaking of players whose lack of attention from Virginia Tech has helped shape their recruitments, remember Ozzie Hoffler? The three-star defensive end out of College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy took an unofficial visit for one of the junior days this Winter, and it seemed like a matter of time before he committed to the Hokies. In fact, he told HokieHaven that it was only a matter of getting in his due diligence with a few other visits before making his choice, with VT way out in front.

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It would be unfair to say the coaching staff ghosted him at that point, but their changing priorities (including a shift to defensive ends that they like quite a bit more - with good reason, in fairness) left that option off the table for him, essentially.

Hoffler has other suitors, and will still end up in the Power-5 (it seems like Kansas State is developing a solid lead in his recruitment). It is interesting that a player at a high-profile program - Woodward Academy has produced two dozen three- or four-star recruits in the recent past, including 2019 Hokies signee Tahj Gary - faded from the board in the way he did. It may be telling that VT hasn't offered 2022 Rivals250 running back Damari Alston, either: the connection-building at Woodward Academy is tough, and Hoffler's recruitment proves that they're not interested in taking players just to develop pipelines.

As always, thanks for reading Tunnel Talk, and feel free to use this thread to discuss the contents herein.

A couple 2022 targets in here who could end up top-250 players when all is said and done:

Making the case: Prospects knocking at the door of the Rivals250

I'll have a bit more analysis on the Hokie targets therein a little bit later on this afternoon. For now, here's the full list:

https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals250/2022

Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in the world of Virginia Tech football recruiting.

Kelvin Gilliam

We've made no secret of the fact that Highland Springs (Va.) 2021 defensive lineman Kelvin Gilliam is not realistically going to choose the Hokies when he makes his pledge this weekend. VT made up ground after being completely out of his recruitment for a long stretch, but there was both not enough and somehow too much time to close the gap. The team ran out of runway, and didn't have the urgency quickly enough (especially with the coaching transition this offseason, which introduced position recruiters that have a much better vibe with him, but needed to get their feet under them early on).

The Hokies don't even get a passing mention in what amounts to a commitment preview from our Oklahoma site, and he's widely expected to choose to become a Sooner come Saturday.

There's no need to beat a dead horse here, but even with the improvements the Hokies have made recruiting home turf, they simply have to be more of a factor in some of the state's power programs, and the inability to do that is most stark at Highland Springs. Not only is it perhaps the top talent-producer in the state in recent years, but the Springs are coached by former Hokie Loren Johnson, as well.

A recent initiative to get former lettermen more involved in the program is obviously not directly related to that situation (it's long overdue anyway), but can only help there. Either way, it looks like there's still plenty of help needed in the medium-term.

Collin Sadler

I shared a story yesterday about an upcoming trimmed list for 2022 offensive lineman Collin Sadler. The Rivals250 tackle has more than two dozen offers, and wants to trim to a more manageable group.

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Home-state Clemson - under an hour away from his home - is the overwhelming favorite, and he's widely expected to end up a Tiger.

However, Virginia Tech's interest in these recruitments (slightly depressing though it may be) has to be just as much about staying on a top prospect's list until the end for PR purposes and projecting the image of a big-time program to other recruits as anything else, at times. It does sound like the Hokies expect to be on Sadler's trimmed list, which is a positive. It should also be the bare minimum for a program with VT's history, especially when the staff got the first offer on the table, and he's visited Blacksburg on multiple occasions (something you couldn't say about any program other then Clemson).

If that baby step forward does indeed come to fruition, and VT stays alive for Sadler, it sends a message to other four-star prospects that it's a program players with their rankings should be interested in. It also gives the Hokies an outside shot to make the swipe if they prove on the field they they're trending back toward national power status.

If they don't make the list... well, the incremental improvements being made on the administrative and management side of the recruiting process (in organizing a board and contact with players) may take a bit more time to really jell. But it needs to happen faster.

Cameron Ball

Staying on the offensive line but switching back to the 2021 class, I'm hearing that Georgia three-star Cameron Ball is likely to make his college commitment this weekend, but I don't think Virginia Tech will have a hat on the table (perhaps in a less literal sense of the phrase, with press conference-style announcements obviously uncommon nowadays), much less be the destination.

He's a taler kid, but a pure interior prospect. More importantly, he hasn't been a hotly-pursued prospect for the staff... basically ever. Ball was more a "fire-and-forget" type of offer that this staff sends out to see if they can get some serious traction. When he wasn't immediately very interested, they sort of moved along.

Your mileage may vary as to whether the philosophy of sending out a ton of those offers is wise (I don't really have a problem with it, though I do think there are more effective broad strategies for a program in VT's position in the recruiting world). In this case, it got the Hokies into a top 12, but Georgia Tech is the hometown school and heavy favorite.

...and the commitments to fill future needs have had some additions, as well:

Virginia Tech scholarship count and needs: Fall camp kickoff 2020

Kenji Christian has talked to both Ole Miss and Va Tech a lot the last few weeks, and at different times, there has been rumors of him ending up at both schools.

He is set to commit next week, on his birthday, August 24, so in between now and I will continue to dig and see what I can find out.

Hearing more about VT TODAY, but that could change tonight or tomorrow.

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Virginia Tech was first to offer Collin Sadler (midway through his junior year!), but tons of other massive names have entered the mix:

First big decision nearing for elite 2022 OL Collin Sadler

He'll narrow to a top 15 soon, and the Hokies need to make the cut. Even if they don't land him in the end (which is a tough ask), proving that they're able to prioritize and keep the attention of guys that they were first to offer - usually a massive advantage, particularly when they live in pipeline areas - means a lot for perception, anyway.

You can see what the coaches like about him, and some of the holes in his game can either be coached up (or rendered irrelevant by moving him to a more natural position in college):

From the film room: Canon Boone

Not really a high-ceiling guy, but the type who can go out and get the job done the way the coaches will want.

Raheem Blackshear denied immediate eligibility

Honestly, if he hadn't redshirted last year (and therefore doesn't have a redshirt to use this year), it would probably make a little bit more sense from a roster/depth standpoint to redshirt this year. Instead, that's a year of eligibility he'll never get back.