Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in Hokies and recruiting
Cole Nelson
Three-star Georgia defensive end Cole Nelson is still expecting to announce his college commitment by the end of the month, and that's... well, a look at the calendar indicates it's coming up pretty darn quickly here. The delays (or "indefinites" might be a better word to use) are the typical recruiting stuff - filming commitment videos, figuring out a plan for organizing how an announcement is going to go down, etc. - that you see all the time. That the recruiting season doesn't have a ton of urgency to it makes those minor things easier to let dictates things.
Login to view embedded media
What I'm saying is that any sort of last-minute decision-changing is not what's going on here. If you believe (as sources on both Nelson's end and the Hokies' side of things do) that Nelson has been preparing to commit to Virginia Tech, the outcome shouldn't be any different.
The clock is ticking... but there's no definitive date or time it's counting down to just yet. Even if Nelson pushes the recruitment into August, there's no hurry. Of course, the longer it goes, the more chance for other programs to make their pitches (and I've always been a little wary of Vanderbilt and more recently Indiana as contenders), but for now, status quo remains.
Days of our in-state lives
The soap opera continues on when it comes to Virginia Tech's reputation in its home state. Frankly, while the coaches shouldn't be absolved of blame, my view that there are some high school coaches (and other stakeholders in the well-being of prospects) that just want a little drama in their lives... only continues to increase. Of course, that they're creating that drama by reflecting negativity toward VT can still have tangible effects on Hokie recruiting, so it's a relevant storyline nonetheless.
The latest twist is that, as the Virginia Tech staff focuses a bit more on Virginia (and Maryland/DC fall into this category as well), that they're seen as picking up scraps. While that's inherently insulting to the seven players from the region committed to the Orange and Maroon, it does come from a kernel of truth: the staff focused on getting top talent from out of state (namely Texas) early in the process, and by the time serious attention was given closer to home, the relationships with some of the top players were playing catch-up with the programs that had always focused on them.
The guys they've ended up with are mostly ones to be excited about - in the long-term at least. They're mostly high-upside guys who aren't developed yet (or coming off injury), and with the right coaching up, can be exceptional players. That's the type of player VT was built on for years, with the occasional Vick/Tyrod/Fuller/Edmunds putting a high-end capper on the classes from the late 90s to the early 10s. It's still inherently riskier than players with similar - or better - upside that are closer to contributing.
There are reasons, including staff changes, to believe that this will get better (and the coaches can use it as something of an explanation to ease hurt feelings among coaches in the region). However, it does come back down to an organized and cohesive plan in attacking the recruiting process.
Chris Adams
One of those players who may not have the recruiting accolades but is considered a high-upside steal is Hagerstown (Md.) South three-star offensive/defensive lineman Chris Adams. Like Hokie commit Shawn Asbury, he's a guy who had a knee injury that kept him under-the-radar a little more (though he played the majority of his junior year before the injury).
Login to view embedded media
I've made no secret that he's quickly built a strong rapport with the Virginia Tech staff, and given the positive reviews I've recently heard of his ability, that's even more exciting. This staff's evaluations have generally been spot-on, and it sounds like he's the latest (even if the star ratings aren't going to wow anyone). If there's not high school football in Maryland this Fall - and things could be trending in that direction - other big programs may not come calling, and, well, VT should be able to beat out Syracuse for a kid from Western Maryland.
For a bigger kid, you worry about a knee injury (and the resulting inability to get true cardio workouts) meaning plenty of bad weight gets added, but given the unprecedented nature of the athletic landscape in a pandemic world, who knows if he'll have a chance to get back on the field for his senior year, or if whichever college he picks - and I've made it clear I think VT is the favorite - will ultimately be involved in his injury rehab, etc.
As always, thanks for reading. Feel free to use this thread for discussion of the information herein.
