Despite the noise he tried to make to the contrary in recent weeks, never really seemed like the Hokies were going to swing him back:

Login to view embedded media
It'll be interesting to see if he's a guy who the staff could shake loose if they want to really make a push closer to Signing Day.

Antwon Jackson:

Report: Hokie hoops assistant on the way out

A little more offseason stability would have been preferred, of course, but if you're going to lose one of the three assistants, he's probably the most-replaceable.

No Hokies in attendance, but still some interesting looks at a guy who was previously committed to VT, and some others who we should be seeing take the field in Lane Stadium for the opposition in a few years' time:

https://virginiatech.rivals.com/news/woody-s-world-ranking-the-elite-11-finalists

Seems to be working for UNC. Have him hire good assistants and recruiters. Rebuild!!! It just seems we are loosing too many in-state stars. Just a suggestion.

I noted in last week's editions of Tunnel Talk that the commitment of Shawn Asbury would likely have a positive impact on his teammate, 2022 running back Tevin White. While the duo has been unable to travel together in recent weeks for obvious pandemic-related issues, the good vibes have certainly been contagious nonetheless. (Uh, excuse that pun).

Asbury took a walkaround visit to Blacksburg over the weekend, and while White was otherwise-occupied with a trip of his own to Knoxville, Tenn., the younger teammate made it to Blacksburg today. High school coach John Harris sends along a photo of White hanging out with the Frank Beamer statue:


There's obviously a long way to go in White's recruitment, and Penn State built a sizable early lead for the early four-star from North Stafford High. The fact that he's also taking non-visit visits to Tennessee shows that there are many contenders in the recruitment.

However, breaking the ice in the region around DC (Stafford is probably far enough out that you wouldn't call it a DC suburb proper) is just as important, and a guy like Asbury's commitment is going to help there. If and when the season returns and the emergency Dead Period comes to an end, and the duo has a chance to make the trip together, it could help the Hokies make even bigger strides for the 6-1, 210-pound White.

Login to view embedded media
As much as some of the struggle in the Tidewater can be frustrating for fans of VT recruiting, the fact that similar struggles in other should-be pipeline areas seem to be getting cleared up is a major boost.

@Adam Gorney and I teamed up to break down the decommitment:

Sting Factor: Tyas Martin's decommitment from Hokies

My lower sting factor number definitely has a couple assumptions (that VT will replace Martin with a guy like Tyleik Williams, and also that the decommitment will inspire the staff to be a little more reasonable when it comes to expanding the geographic footprint), so there's quite a bit of wiggle room in there.

From Eric Bossi:

Hokies close to offering Ian Schieffelin?

He's a guy who's so far from a finished product that it's hard to evaluate anything beyond potential (and a wide range of possibilities when it comes to the likelihood he'll reach that potential):

From the film room: Keli Lawson

Welcome to the latest edition of Tunnel Talk, with the important topics in Hokies and football recruiting.

Naquan Brown

At this point, I'm not expecting Virginia Beach (Va.) Ocean Lakes defensive end/outside linebacker Naquan Brown to pick Virginia Tech when he announces his commitment tomorrow. LSU has long been the favorite, and if the Tigers are ready to accept his pledge, I expect that's who he'll choose. Indications at this point are that LSU will indeed take his commitment.

Login to view embedded media
You can see that there are some complicated machinations at play in Brown's recruitment, and if LSU won't take him, it seems Pitt is more likely than VT.

Simply put, he's a guy that schools don't really know what to do with. He's a pure pass-rusher without the lateral mobility or experience to play as a linebacker except in specific situations. He also weighed in at 185 pounds over the weekend, so his body type and skillset really don't mesh particularly well in the eyes of some. At the very least, top-end schools would prefer having the Fall to continue to evaluate him and see how his body fills out.

Your mileage may vary as to whether the Hokies should have kept the heat on him for political purposes, even if they're not 100% on his talent. Is it better to prioritize him and keep folks in the 757 happy (with the risk that you may want to drop his commitment down the road and make them even more upset in the long run)? Is being a little more up-front about cooling off on his recruitment the wiser choice (with slightly hurt feelings now, but no potential major hurt feelings down the road)? There's always the opportunity to try to snag him late, anyway.

Indeed, the Hokies' top 2020 signee is a guy who fell into their laps (not that there wasn't heavy competition for Alec Bryant) because he'd made an early commitment to LSU, then the Tigers decided he wasn't good enough for their class. VT was happy to have him - as they should be. There are plenty of players that LSU may not want who are plenty good enough to play for the Hokies. Down the road, could Brown end up being one?

We shall see if the situation in the 757 warms up a bit as the 2021 signing periods approach, but for now, let's just say VT's better long-term play would be if the state's No. 5 rising senior commits to LSU tomorrow, not Pitt (or even VT).

Simplicity of recruiting in-state

As you can tell from the novel about Brown above, there are no easy decisions when it comes to building and maintaining pipelines, and it's not made any easier just because it's on home turf.

There are players who don't get along with one another to the degree that they'd say "if he commits to School X, they're off my list" (at least privately - that's obviously something that'd never go on the record). There are coaches who get feelings hurt quickly and take time to recover, there are fair and unfair perceptions, etc. It's a complicated equation.

Fortunately, coaches around the state (less so in the 757, as discussed in yesterday's TT, but there will be opportunity to make things right in the long term) are starting to see that Virginia Tech is serious about being a recruiting factor at home. As always, I want to underscore that you don't need to build a class from in-state or in-region, but you have to at least do the right things to keep coaches happy enough that they aren't going to work against you. For all the petulant-child routine we've seen at times from certain members of the Hokies' staff about "actually, we aren't ignoring in-state players," the people who mattered didn't see it that way (and the petulant-child routine only served to further fray those relationships).

It'll take time to heal, but the process is under way from a relationship-building perspective.

Earl Miller

We're expecting a July decision from Miami-area defensive tackle Earl Miller, and likely a positive resolution for the Hokies. VT is Miller's biggest offer, his virtual visit last week went well, and he doesn't want to drag out the process.

Login to view embedded media
The Hokies have a need at defensive tackle. They'll probably take three in the class, particularly if they can get two with Miller's build - sort of in-between as a bigger strongside defensive end or a smaller penetrating tackle (in-state four-star Kelvin Gilliam fits this bill, as well). A commitment from Miller wouldn't preclude VT from taking Gilliam and more nose-tackle-shaped Tyleik Williams from in-state, should they be able to lure both.

Miller and I have been trying to catch up for a longer conversation to get the details on the endgame of his recruitment, but for now, I'd expect it within the next couple weeks.

2022

You can really see who the current realistic targets are now. If you're a fan of Bullock and Black, you should be happy either way.

Virginia Tech Hokies 2021 recruiting hotboard: Offensive backfield

If the Hokies can pick up a second running back from among these priorities, even better.

The latest in Virginia Tech football recruiting.

Jordan Poole

After he narrowed his list of contenders to three remaining schools a couple weeks ago, Westboro (N.C.) North Stanly 2021 linebacker Jordan Poole has made some noise about approaching an early decision, though it hasn't been truly set in stone. His preference was to make that choice this week, but we shall see if that happens.

Login to view embedded media
Regardless, his destination is not one that's obvious. It looked like an NC State-VT battle around these parts, but a source close to him told Hokie Haven this weekend that it had seemed like the Wolfpack and South Carolina looked like the most realistic options. The constant has always been NC State, and that still feels like the most likely landing position to me. I do feel like VT is more likely than South Carolina, despite what the source mentioned to me.

We shall see if Poole even makes his commitment this week. As noted above, it's not locked-in for the time being. And indeed, if it extends into the season (assuming there is a season in the form we're familiar with), that could be good for a Hokies team that looks to have a strong year on the field. If he does commit this week, it could ultimately be for the Hokies anyway - he's one of the quieter kids out there when it comes to giving away his hand.

Isi Etute

A couple stories this weekend on Virginia Beach (Va.) Cox 2021 linebacker Isi Etute should indicate where things are trending for a player who plans to end his recruitment within the next couple weeks: the Hokies are in good shape here.

Login to view embedded media
Etute is a brand-new addition to the VT offer board, and in fact a fairly similar player to Poole once he fills out his frame a bit: a mobile linebacker who's not the biggest in terms of height or mass, but can get the job done. It's tough to expect anyone to have the intelligence of All-ACC linebacker Rayshard Ashby, but certainly from a physical perspective, that's the mold a lot of these guys are cut from. The staff likes him a heck of a lot more than his two-star rating (and certainly, if he develops just a bit heading into his senior year, there's a likelihood he shows enough on the field to improve that rating as he shows the direction his potential is heading in).

I have a hard time seeing him end up at either of his other finalists, NC State or West Virginia, as long as VT wants him. There's obviously a finalist in common with Poole, and I've already noted above that they're fairly similar players. One recruitment could certainly end up impacting the other (though from a Hokie perspective, the utter dearth of linebacker signees the past couple classes probably means there's an opportunity to take extras if the Hokies have a chance at both).

757

The weekend's GAME Academy camp in Virginia Beach indicated that there's plenty of work for the Hokies to do in re-planting their flag in an area that had once been a Hokie stronghold. It'd be unfair to say there was an explicit anti-Hokie sentiment expressed at the camp, but certainly the vibe was not favorable. There are obviously reasons that may explain the feeling without extending into future classes: the camp was run by a coach recently fired by the Hokies, in tandem with a trainer whose son (Tony Grimes) has never seemed to vibe with the Hokies (and who seems destined to pick ACC rival North Carolina this week).

Still, the Hokies have to continue controlling the controllables when it comes to having a bigger presence and a more favorable standing among players in the region. They don't have to go and offer/land every Power-5 player from the Tidewater, but the perception that they aren't giving prime recruiting territory its fair due... may be more fair than they'd like to admit.

Landing a player like Etute would certainly help. Evaluating and offering top-caliber players from the 757 earlier in the cycle would, too. Some have said it feels like - fairly or unfairly - a backup plan when dozens of Texas offers go ignored by prospects in the Lone Star State, and nothing more than that. Even if that's overstating things (and from my perspective, it is, at least a bit, but there's a legitimacy to the over-emphasis on Texas, too), there are some hurt feelings that will take some time to heal.

I've long said that VT doesn't need to build the entirety - or even majority - of its classes from home turf. But doing so little that it builds up enemies on home turf is damaging in the long term. It has seemed like those bridges were starting to rebuild. The feelings at this weekend's camp indicate that there's much more building to do.

Login to view embedded media
He isn't going to commit until July 11th but I think VT has a great shot here. Stay tuned.

My apologies, forgot to post this one up yesterday. With an assist from @RivalsFriedman

Analyst: Chance Black can do a little of everything

From @Josh Helmholdt:

Midwest spotlight: Five who will decide before visits resume

Suffice to say, plenty of college programs have seen more than a two-star prospect when evaluating his film this Spring:

Hokies in the final three for in-state LB

As I've said a few times in the past week-plus, Shawn Asbury's commitment is a big boost here (I'm not certain VT would have made the cut if not for Williams's friend committing over the weekend):

Hokies in the final six for Tyleik Williams

I'd say there's a reasonable shot to land him now, which is a big step in the right direction in both his recruitment and on the trail more generally.

Rivals’ Mike Farrell explains his choice from earlier this week in a debate with Adam Gorney:

Fact or fiction: Pickett over Hooker?

(For what it’s worth, I’m of the opinion that not only is Pickett over Hooker the wrong choice, it’s not even a reasonable option.)