Virginia Tech football just released a statement that the program will play Maryland in football again but not until 2026... relevant? What are everyone's thoughts?

...Three-star Bishop O'Connell (Arlington,Va) PF Nate Watson according to his AAU Coach.

Watson has been picking up HM interest and offers off of a solid season. Providence offered earlier this month. Watson took an unofficial to Maryland for their game vs Iowa.

Definitely a kid to watch.

I spoke to four-star DE Yetur Matos last night about his new offer from Tennessee and his top three of North Carolina, Penn State, and Virginia Tech. The only visit he has set up right now is to Penn State on February 27th.
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Jason,
Have you heard anything new?

Not sure how the new offense will affect this but here we go

QB: Jerod Evans
RB: Travon McMillan
RB: Sam Rogers
WR: Isaiah Ford
WR: Cam Phillips
WR: Greg Stroman
WR/TE: Bucky Hodges
OL: Jonathan McLaughlin
OL: Wyatt Teller
OL: Augie Conte
OL: Eric Gallo
OL: Yosuah Nijman

DL: Ken Ekanem
DL: Woody Baron
DL: Nigel Williams
DL: Seth Dooley
LB: Sean Heulskamp
LB: Tremaine Edmunds
WHIP: Anthony Shegog
DB: Brandon Facyson
DB: Chuck Clark
DB: Adonis Alexander
DB: Terrell Edmunds
DB: Der'woun Greene

Put 12 on each to account for different formations. Let me know what you guys think.

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Guys, I spoke earlier with Providence (NC) TE Drake Deluliis, who VT offered Jan. 25 and who visited the Hokies Feb. 6 for junior day. He now has five offers, most recently from South Carolina this past weekend.

With his VT visit, Deluliis said "the visit was amazing." He told me he toured campus and the facilities, looked at the academic side and said he "loved" the coaches. The coach recruiting Deluliis now is special teams coordinator and assistant coach James Shibest. They seem to have a very good relationship. Deluliis said Shibest even called him tonight before his basketball game, which happened to be a loss in his conference tournament that ended his season.

I get a very good feeling about the Hokies after talking to Deluliis. He told me, "I’d love to eventually be a part of it if that’s where I pick." So he's talking in some ways like he's already committed. Things change and he could certainly look elsewhere and so could VT, but right now, the Hokies are in good shape.

Deluliis liked his South Carolina offer, too, but I didn't get the sense that he was quite as impressed. He talked about the tradition there and the business program there (what he wants to major in). But North Carolina would be the one I'd look at most. Deluliis visited there for the Duke game and I get the sense he's very interested. Deluliis has no other junior days planned and again, VT is the only one he's been to.

Hi
I am a Penn State fan looking to buy tickets to the Pitt game on Sept 10, 2016. Anyone here interested in buying Pitt season tickets and splitting the cost? I would be interested in buying club tickets or lower level tickets between the 30's. If you are interested, please email me at psubeth@Comcast.net. Thank you in advance.
Beth

Just wanted to post this tweet I made earlier:
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Rape, assaulting teammates, coach cover up...yikes
http://www.si.com/college-football/...lunteers-sex-assault-lawsuit-teammate-assault

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Guys, I spoke just a little while ago with Chatfield (Colo.) three-star athlete Dalton Keene, who picked up a VT offer today. Keene had an offer from Colorado State since late last summer, then Nebraska and Iowa State also offered over the past week.

Honestly, this one might seem a little out there, but Keene is a kid who has been on the Hokies' radar for quite some time now. Keene's father and assistant coach Charley Wiles played together and roomed together at Murray State when they were in college. Keene then visited last June for both days of a two-day camp. He was back at VT last weekend for junior day. Keene hasn't visited any other schools for junior days to this point.

So Keene is very familiar with the Hokies. He seemed to pop on other radars after he competed in the Army National Combine last month. VT likes him as a tight end and linebacker. Nebraska likes him as a tight end, while Iowa State and Colorado State like him as a linebacker.

Keene told me he's really gotten to know Wiles well. He told me he liked getting to know the other coaches and touring the school when he visited for junior day, but probably the most telling things were when he told me Wiles was "awesome" and "He’s gonna be hard to beat." Keene also told me he was "extremely excited" today when he got the Hokies' offer.

To this point, Keene hasn't taken any other visits for junior days, which in itself is telling. But he's been to VT twice now and the relationship with Wiles is a big one. Still a ways to go, but sounds like the Hokies are the favorite here.

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Guys, I spoke earlier with LC Bird (Va.) three-star LB Isaiah Moore, whom we have as the No. 23 player in Virginia. He doesn't have a VT offer yet, only one from Old Dominion.

This is a case where I think VT will have to miss on a few linebacker targets for Moore to get an offer. He's on the radar, but one of the guys the Hokies like better is his teammate, three-star LB Rayshard Ashby.

Moore told me he did not make it to VT's junior day last weekend, but hopes to visit at some point this spring. He did visit for the Ohio State game. Moore told me he hasn't spoken to defensive coordinator Bud Foster much of late, but "If he calls, I’m answering." And that's another reason why the Hokies are waiting to see what happens with some of their other targets before offering. It just depends on who they strike with, on whether Moore gets an offer.

The only junior day he's been to was at ODU on MLK day. Moore plans to visit Wake Forest Saturday and Pittsburgh the following Sunday.

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Guys, I spoke earlier with LC Bird (Va.) three-star LB Rayshard Ashby. Big target here for the Hokies who visited Feb. 6 for junior day. He has offers from VT, Maryland, Marshall, East Carolina and James Madison.

First off, Ashby told me he has a top two of VT and Maryland. But the Hokies are in excellent shape here. Ashby also visited for the Hokies' games against Ohio State, NC State and North Carolina. On his junior day visit, Ashby said he liked seeing more of campus and talking to the coaching staff, even the new strength coach, Ben Hilgart. Ashby called the staff, "Cool, down to earth and always truthful."

Former assistant coach Shane Beamer was Ashby's recruiter, but now. he told me it's been a combination of defensive coordinator Bud Foster and assistant coach Galen Scott. Ashby said he likes the fan base at VT and feels like "They've got a great chance to compete."

Ashby plans on visiting Pittsburgh Feb. 28 and that's honestly his next best time for an offer. He wants to go to Maryland, but doesn't have a visit planned. With the Terps, Mike London is one of the main recruiters, though Ashby told me that he didn't offer while at Virginia. Look for a decision to come sometime in July, maybe June and right now, it sounds like the Hokies are the big-time favorite here.

Virginia Tech's Charlie Wiles recently sent out an offer to Dalton Keene a 3 Star out of Colorado. Apparently Keenes father is an old College Roommate of Wiles. Looks like were in good here.

Hey Jason, will you be posting a Recruiting Board thread for all of our offers currently out, and who is leaning towards VT?

In a TSL interview with Whit, Whit said in addition to adding more recruiting personnel, we also hired more quality control guys. Any insight to who they are and how many?

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Guys, I spoke earlier with Dutch Fork (SC) WR Austin Connor. He has a VT offer and visited for the Hokies' junior day last weekend.

Connor told me his only offer right now is Dartmouth. Connor has a 4.3 GPA, so as you can imagine, a lot of top academic schools, including Ivy League schools are in contact. Connor said he's heard from Duke, Wake Forest, App State, Columbia, Yale and Princeton. He also wants to go into engineering, which bodes well for VT.

Connor told me last weekend was actually his third visit to Blacksburg. He also took unofficial visits for the Hokies' games against Duke and North Carolina last season. The primary recruiter here is offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen and Connor said they talked at length about the offense VT will be running. It sounds like Connor, who is only 6'0" would be a slot receiver, but he told me Cornelsen hasn't gotten into specifics.

Obviously, Connor was on hand for two losses last season for the Hokies. But he told me he, "I like the atmosphere, how the fans are loyal. They can be losing by 21 and the fans are still hype." So he's still very high on VT.

Yesterday, Connor visited South Carolina. But it sounds like he wasn't overly impressed. He said they're in his top three schools he'd like to go to, "but they seemed interested in other players." Connor said the Gamecocks sent out about 6-7 offers, but obviously he didn't get one. And he sounds pretty bummed out that he didn't get an offer. Honestly, I can't tell of SC came in late, whether he would hold it against them or not, but right now I think that's the case.

Connor is now planning to be at Duke's junior day March 7 and is working on setting up a visit to Wake Forest. He'll be visiting some Ivy League schools, too. But this one is VT's to lose for the moment. He'll be waiting on other offers and didn't give any indication at a decision.

Where is Virginia Tech with its next defensive backs coach? What are some possibilities? And the Hokies surprised many with the commitment of Rivals250 DE Tyjuan Garbutt. What does the addition mean? Plus, VT basketball is still having its ups and downs. What does it mean to get Chris Clarke back and how will the Hokies finish?

Publisher Jason Stamm, senior writer Doug Bowman and former Hokies DT Derrick 'Skip' Hopkins are back on this week's podcast to talk about all that and more on episode No. 46 of our FREE podcast!
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I spoke to Rivals100 linebacker Justin Foster last night about his new offers from Notre Dame and Alabama. Foster added that he is talking to coaches from Clemson, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Stanford, and Tennessee a lot. His next visits will be to South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.

Story: Rivals100 Justin Foster adds Notre Dame, Alabama offers

Guys, just wanted to post the two latest Q&A's I've posted with VT's 2016 signing class, from Tavante Beckett and TJ Jackson:
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Sooner or later this was bound to happen. No spring practice if this happens The state can't pay their bills unless they raise taxes or shut stuff down. So if you had a choice do you cut academics, some sports, raise taxes, or raise tuition?

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Guys, I spoke just a few minutes ago with Glen Allen (Va.) three-star quarterback Alex Faniel. I'd called him last night and he just called me back before his school started at 9 am. Faniel visited VT Saturday for junior day.

Right off the bat, I'm gonna tell you that I believe Faniel is a huge Hokies lean after talking to him. Faniel has no trouble talking, which isn't a negative, but he likes to ramble a little bit. Before I even asked anything about VT, just asking about recent offers, he told me "I wouldn’t say I've narrowed it, but I do like a certain school, only because I went there last week." So I thought he would kinda beat around the bush a little, but then he just started talking about VT and his visit.

With that visit, Faniel said that was the fourth time he had been on campus. He told me that this visit was more for meeting the new staff. And it sounds like he really hit it off well with coach Justin Fuente and offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen. He said he talked quite a bit with new (hadn't committed yet) Hokies commit Tyjuan Garbutt and really liked the atmosphere.

As far as with VT specifically, Faniel said he likes the vision Cornelsen has and the offense he runs. Faniel feels like he's in the mold of Paxton Lynch from Memphis and said he would be used the same way. Faniel said he's about 6'6" and 230 pounds right now.

Faniel still has more visits he wants to take, including one planned to NC State Feb. 27, so this one isn't a done deal yet. He also wants to visit Virginia and Temple at some point soon, though no visits are planned. Faniel said he'd like to make a decision this spring, so this would be a guy who would be a candidate to decide, say, at a spring game. This might be one of the best odds right now for the Hokies, so keep a close eye on him. But again, it's not over yet.

This is the class that will go a long ways toward determining our future in the sport of FB. Sometimes I think many believe that the changes we made will solve all of our problems and they may but we have placed a tremendous burden on these guys.
Over the last five or so years, football in the ACC was changing with other schools making changes to strengthen their programs while we were doing the opposite. In looking at who is poaching our best I find that FSU,Tenn. Bama, Clemson,PSU, UNC, and Duke all very active in VA. and making great inroads . We are behind already for 2017.
Coach Fu has a mountain to move because at this point he is trying to swing guys that will or may committ before we even play a game. Even after that we must win to become a relevant program. Many guys do not want to join a team that is pedestrian (which we have been for a long time now) and many of the guys we are trying to get have only a vague memory of us as a power in the sport. Additionally if we get in a position of trying to get guys to flip from a better program that is very,very difficult (see this years failed attempts).
I believe that our AD has made the right choice in hiring Coach Fu. After what the man faced at Memphis and the results he had I am convinced that he not only understands where we are as a program but knows what to do to correct it. Also, I believe him to be a person of relentless pursuit. He had to be or he would never have accepted this position. The other candidates that were on the list with the exception of Hermann could not have done this job. We saw the same kind of thing when Whit hired Buzz. A relentless person who knew what he was getting into and one determined son of a gun.
Hokies we are really lucky to have Whit and everything he brings to the table. Things like Fu and Buzz.

Don't know if anyone noticed or not, but The VT Wrestlers won the regular season ACC last night defeating #3 NC State. #6 VT has become a force in the World of College Wrestling.

ACC released who VT and the rest of the conference will play in the ACC over the next two seasons:

Here's the Hokies' layout:
Virginia Tech 2016-17
Home/Road: Miami, Virginia, Clemson, Boston College
Home: Georgia Tech, Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Notre Dame
Road: Florida State, North Carolina, NC State, Louisville, Pitt

Virginia Tech 2017-18
Home/Road: Miami, Virginia, Duke, Louisville
Home: Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt
Road: Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, Syracuse, Notre Dame