Our story/interview on Curtis Jones at the Under Armour All-America Camp. As I mentioned on the INsider post, now that Fultz has a Kentucky offer, the odds there are slim. So expect VT to make more of a run at Jones: http://rvls.co/1RoOn2E

Sophomore defensive back, C.J. Reavis, has been dismissed due to a student conduct decision that they are appealing. He hasn't made any tweets or announcements about it yet. Hopefully more details to come.

What are your thoughts on what happened? Who do you think will be next in line as safety if he is found guilty?

another supposed lean down.

http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2015/july/9/2016-cb-wayne-davis-commits-ohio-state

Thought this had already posted, but I must have hit something wrong. Just a heads up that Hylton (Va.) 2018 RB Ricky Slade will be visiting July 24-25 for a visit and the Hokies' barbecue.

Guys, this is the first week of all the pre-season award watch lists to debut and today might have been the most impressive one for VT. The entire starting defensive line, Luther Maddy, Corey Marshall, Ken Ekanem and Dadi Nicolas were all named to the Nagurski watch list, given to the nation's top DL:

http://t.co/M9RaBFRpmM

Big stuff coming out today on RB Shai McKenzie, who had his court date this afternoon. He'll be able to play this fall, but will still serve disciplinary action:
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Busy first two days at the Under Armour All-America camp! Here's our video breakdown of some of the top storylines with the Hokies targets on hand, namely five-star guard Markelle Fultz:

Guys, just a heads up, Kelly and I are in Charlotte the next couple of days covering some Hokies targets on hand at the Under Armour All-American Camp. Most notable is VT's top target for 2016, Markelle Fultz.

We'll have full interviews, INsiders and photos coming!

Hey everyone! Jason and I just finished up day 1 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here are just a few thoughts on today, and Jason will add to this too.

The combine lasted all afternoon as the players slowly rolled in. They were mainly measured, photographed, and interviewed today. They ran a few drills to test speed, height, and agility. Afterwards the guys shot some baskets and played around. The real action starts tomorrow and we'll be getting you full coverage for the practices and games. I got to interview almost all of the VT targets today, and the rest we will get tomorrow. The players we have seen so far are Raiquan Gray, Kodye Pugh, LJ Figuerora, Eric Hester, Nickeil Walker, Trevon Duval, and Ty-Shon Alexander. Markelle Fultz will be arriving tomorrow.

It was more of a relaxed first day. One of my favorite parts of the drills was when they had to test how high they could jump. With so much power and force, I was impressed with what each player brought. I didn't actually realize how difficult it was to jump that high until I tried myself; I couldn't even make the lowest mark.

I loved getting to talk to the players one-on-one. I was surprised because every single one of them seemed genuinely grateful to be at the camp - very humble and eager to gain experience. I learned a few fun facts about them, such as hopeful engineers, shoe-lovers, music-players, and more! All of those interesting facts and basketball/recruiting talk will be uploaded soon!

More towards the end of today, some of the players, including Raiquan Gray and Nickeil Walker, were basically having a "dunk-off." It was just a friendly way of messing around and trying out some stylish, yet difficult, dunks and shots. It was entertaining and amazing to watch these talented players test their skills with attempts at pro-style basketball shots.

I am looking forward to day 2 tomorrow, stay tuned and we'll keep you updated!

Again, this one will come down to VT and Maryland, but Tino Ellis tweeted this earlier:
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Guys, we'll do this week's chat at our normal time of 12:30 pm ET tomorrow. But a head's up, unless something comes up, we'll plan on doing next week's chat, July 17, at 3 pm ET. That will be those who voted for that time's opportunity to join.

For this week, we've got tons to talk about, with the release of Rivals' 2017 rankings, plus a lot going on at the Under Armour All-America Camp in Charlotte and VT targets there. So take advantage of this opportunity and get all your VT-related questions answered! And as always, if you miss or can't make the chat, you can catch the replay, post any question you have on The Gobbler or email directly if you wish. Hope to see you all on the chat!

Chat link: http://bit.ly/1G9GIJS

Guys, the first Rivals250 for 2017 was released today and the Hokies have a strong presence as usual. Below are the VT targets and their new ranking:

DT Eric Crosby, Ocean Lakes (Va.), No. 106
LB David Adams, Central Catholic (Pa.), No. 110
DT Darnell Ewell, Lake Taylor (Va.), No. 111
WR Tarik Black, Cheshire Academy (Conn.), No. 112
QB Chase Brice, Grayson (Ga.), No. 127
LB Robert Beal, Norcross (Ga.), No. 129
LB Drew Singleton, Paramus Catholic (NJ), No. 144
WR Ryan Jones, Ardrey Kell (NC), No. 145
OL Cesar Ruiz, Camden (NJ), No. 156
DE Xach Gill, Wake Forest (NC), No. 162
DE Tyjuan Garbutt, Riverbend (Va.), No. 171
OL Josh Lugg, North Allegheny (Pa.), No. 196
LB Avery Roberts, Concord (Del.), No. 209
LB Ellis Brooks, Benedictine (Va.), No. 212
OL Robert Hainsey, Gateway (Pa.), No. 215
DT Grant Gibson, Mallard Creek (NC), No. 218
Safety Derrek Pitts, South Charleston (WV), No. 226
DE Yetur Matos, Chancellor (Va.), No. 237
LB Nathan Proctor, Lackey (Md.), No. 239
DE Jake Lawler, South Mecklenburg (NC), No. 244
OL Marcus Minor, Dematha (Md.), No. 246

Kelly and I have been busy covering a dozen VT basketball targets on hand at the Under Armour All-America camp, including five-star Markelle Fultz. Even coach Buzz Williams was on hand last night, the first night of the open evaluation period for coaches.

Just a sampling of our coverage on a lot of important basketball recruits and what you're missing if you're not a subscriber!:

That's what I want to know. That's when the news picks up.

where is Settle, Allenye and Arnold?

talk to me JS

In the article linked below Rivals100 OL Landon Dickerson talks about Michigan, Auburn, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Florida State and South Carolina. He has set official visits to Michigan and Auburn and has set an unofficial visit to Florida State.

Article: Two officials set for R100 OL Dickerson

Just had to share this. Laughed harder than I have in a while.
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Guys, I spoke last night with Wando (SC) 2017 four-star WR OrTre Smith, No. 61 in the Rivals100. No VT offer yet, but the Hokies have their eye on him.

Assistant coach Zohn Burden has reached out, but so far no offer from VT. Smith said he actually camped at VT as a freshman, so he has a little bit of familiarity. But right now, it's a mater of waiting on an offer, which should come at some point.

Smith has nine offers, but the one he really is waiting on is Clemson, which hasn't offered. I watched Smith have unbelievable camps at the Rivals Camp in Charlotte and the Five-Star Challenge, so the talent is certainly there. It's very, very surprising he doesn't have more offers.

So far, Smith's lone visit this year was to Clemson and in the next week or two, he'll be at Florida State, with hopes to see Florida and Georgia, too.

More of a wait and see here, but VT had better offer soon or they'll be left out. Here's the full story: http://rvls.co/1dK34La

Looking at tickets for september 7th against OSU and one of my companions really wants to get an aisle.

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Guys, I posted this on our Twitter a little while ago, since I forgot I took two photos from the same angle. As I posted a few weeks ago, when I was in Baltimore for the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by Under Armour, I got a tour of the Baltimore Ravens' practice facility. It's obviously much more expansive than just a facility and includes weight room, meeting rooms, coaches offices, TV studios and much more.

But here's a way to compare just the indoor practice facilities themselves. VT's on the left, Ravens on the right.
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What do you guys and gals think the score will be and why.

Guys, on Saturday, VT coach Buzz Williams was on the air with Matt Hatfield of VirginiaPreps.com to talk basketball on ESPN Radio 94.1 in Tidewater. If you missed it, listen here (17:56 runtime): https://ct.yimg.com/mr/uploads/914/1701391.mp3

Happy Independence Day Hokies! I don't like calling it the Fourth of July because I feel like a lot of people lose sight of why we celebrate this day to begin with.

From our HokieHaven.com family to yours, wishing you all a happy and safe holiday!

Continuing our updated breakdowns of the recruiting area for the Hokies. I'll be breaking down where VT stands in the states it recruits, plus DC and the northeast, since the Hokies are only up there sporadically.

As always, what's posted here, STAYS HERE. Don't de-value your own subscription by giving away information to others who don't pay like you do. It's also a violation of our terms of service and will result in the termination of your subscription.

Most Recent Offers:
NONE

Top targets:
OL Richard Merritt, Archbishop Carroll (DC), four stars, No. 74 in Rivals100, No. 6 OG -- Searels
OL Jauan Williams, Archbishop Carroll (DC), four stars, No. 125 in Rivals250, No. 10 OT -- Searels
LB Aaron Hansford, St John's College Prep (DC), four stars, No. 249 in Rivals250 --- Burden
CB Deon Jones, Archbishop Carroll (DC), four stars, Rivals100 to watch for 2017 -- Burden

Recent Rivals Stories On VT DC Targets:
Merritt from HokieHaven.com, July 1: https://virginiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1779695
Hansford from Rivals.com, June 18: https://virginiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1775990
Williams from HuskerOnline.com, June 4: http://virginiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1771933

Overview:
It's a bit quiet for the nation's capital right now in recruiting for the Hokies, save for one school, Archbishop Carroll. Virginia Tech had a trio (Merritt, Williams and Jones) from there visit for its spring game in April, but outside of that, it hasn't made a ton of noise, past getting Woodson (DC) three-star cornerback signee DuWayne Johnson this past February.

THE top target in DC remains Merritt, whom the Hokies have made one of the top priorities at offensive line for a while now. Merritt is still very much open to VT, saying that he loves assistant coach Stacy Searels and that he believes Searels will "take care of me." So far, that's been one of the only visits Merritt has made, which could really help the Hokies. Though a few Big Ten teams are in pursuit, the other two main players are Florida State and Florida, while Maryland will remain a contender until the end. Merritt said he grew up a Noles fan, but has never visited. He'll get that chance July 15, on a swing to visit both Florida schools. That could likely swing the pendulum in favor of FSU, but for now, almost by default, VT is in the lead. The big thing is when Merritt will be able to have surgery on a fractured ankle, which could alter his visit plans.

Williams has been open to the Hokies, but not nearly as high as his teammate. He also had good things to say about his VT spring game visit, but has looked more elsewhere. Maryland remains a very viable option, though he'll also make the Florida swing with Merritt. Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State are a few others in the hunt for Williams, who's visited nearly every school with Merritt. But with Merritt waiting word on surgery, we'll see how that affects his visit plans as well. Williams hadn't passed the SAT until recently, prompting him to look at Marshall and others, but with a better score, VT and others will be back in play.

Jones is a big-time recruit for the 2017 class. He's been more of a recluse thus far, with interviews, but has remained wide open in his recruitment. Getting him to visit for the spring game was a big deal. Jones visited Clemson and Alabama this spring, but hasn't done much traveling since the VT spring game. The Hokies will need to get him back on campus this fall to stay in the hunt.

VT has made a few other sniffs in DC, including with Hansford and Abdul Adams. But Adams seems firm for the moment in his Michigan State commitment, while Hansford has listed a number of other schools he's looking at, like Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, North Carolina, Duke and Notre Dame, but hasn't made much of a mention of the Hokies.

Rivals national team analysis:
"They've got a couple of offers out to uncommitted guys in the 2016 class, the big one being Richard Merritt. He's the one who's taken the hardest look at the Hokies so far. I think they certainly stand a fighting chance. Other than Florida State, that could be the only other ACC team he's really taken a hard look at. But you've gotta look at some Big Ten teams and a couple of SEC teams as ones who could be out in front for him. Merritt is really the only big one VT has left for 2016.

In 2017, Virginia Tech has offered Deon Jones, a big-time defensive back. Other than Jones, they don't have a whole lot going in DC. There are a couple of guys I think could be offer guys, especially if you look at St John's, with Tyree Johnson, a three star athlete. And there are some other guys who are going to emerge in the area that I think Virginia Tech will get on pretty early."

-- Rivals.com mid-Atlantic analyst Adam Friedman

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