Guys, Kelly and I are hunkered down in the lobby of our hotel right now before making the trek back to V-A. She'll add some more notes as well, but wanted to pass along a few tidbits now that the weekend is over.
The big news happened earlier this morning. Not sure if it's really out there much (I noticed he hasn't tweeted), but Indian River (Va.) LB
Jaquan Yulee told us his top two are Alabama and Virginia Tech. He's making his announcement on Monday at his school. I know he tweeted out he's gonna "shock the world", but I'll still be surprised if he doesn't pick the Tide. The Hokies have done a very impressive job of staying in this one until the very end. Over the past few months, I've been saying Alabama is everything but a sure bet for his commitment. But Virginia Tech has made this interesting. He was actually probably more pro VT this weekend than when I've talked to him before. Odds are still overwhelmingly for Alabama, but we'll see.
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I'll start more recently here, since we just finished up the Quarterback Challenge today, but there's been some chatter with Spring Hill (Tenn.) four-star QB
Tylin Oden and Virginia Tech. Oden committed to Louisville last month. He told me that offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler has been in contact with him multiple times over the past few weeks. Oden through a very good ball today and while he's skinny as a rail, he has a good frame and has a strong arm. But Oden told me that he has no plans to visit Blacksburg and considers himself solid with the Cardinals. I'd still at least keep an eye out here, though.
The other QB we watched was Oscar Smith (Va.) three-star
Shon Mitchell. He had an extremely strong showing at our Atlanta camp to earn an invitation to the Rivals Quarterback Challenge. And while he looked ok yesterday, he struggled quite a bit today. He has flashes, but when he's off, he's really off. And today, he was really off, finishing with a negative score (based on hitting target, close to target and negatives for bad misses). VT offered last fall and the only other offers came just recently from Wake Forest and Charlotte. Good basis here, though and you can tell he'll grow plenty more. He likes the Hokies most right now, though a lot can happen in the next year, when he likely decides.
VT has made HUGE strides in Pennsylvania and more than I realized until I got to Baltimore. Rivals100 RB
Miles Sanders, who committed to Penn State last summer, said he'll most likely take official visits to Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech this fall. He still made it very clear that he's committed to the Nittany Lions. And it sounds like the Panthers have the edge if he were to decommit. But with Sanders liking the Hokies and not visiting yet, that's huge. You never know, if he does visit.
The other guy I hadn't heard mentioned with VT much is 2017 four-star DB
Lamont Wade. He has a very strong interest in the Hokies and says he's visiting soon, though no visit is set yet. He won't camp this summer, but could visit for the camp in July. Ohio State and Pittsburgh look like the favorites here, but assistant coach Torrian Gray is really keeping his interest and if he visits, the chances should go up. Penn State and West Virginia are also worth watching here.
Finally, the other guy to really take note of is American Heritage (Fla.) WR Dredrick Snelson. A one-time Miami commit, Snelson keeps saying he's opened things up and now has a top five of Miami, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Florida State, and UCF. But honestly, Snelson has been all over the place. There's been mention of a lot of other schools, like Notre Dame, Ohio State and others, so it's tough to cut through what's legit and not in some ways. The Hokies are hanging around as a darkhorse for sure. But right now, it's not clear if he'll even visit or not.
LOTS more updates coming, including stories and video as Kelly interviewed just about every VT target present this weekend.
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