Continuing our 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.
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Most Recent Offers:
OL
Stewart Reese, Fort Pierce Central (Fla.), four stars, No. 22 OT, No. 35 in Fla -- Searels
WR
Daquon Green, Tampa Bay Tech (Fla.) (2017) -- Gray
QB
Joey Gatewood, Bartram Trail (Fla.) (2018) -- Loeffler
Top targets:
WR
Dredrick Snelson, American Heritage (Fla.), No. 123 in Rivals250 -- Wiles
DE
Pat Bethel, Vero Beach (Fla.), four stars, No. 23 SDE, No. 30 in Fla -- Wiles
RB
Jalin Buie, Trinity Christian (Fla.), No. 8 APB, No. 53 in Fla -- Wiles
QB
Rex Culpepper, Plant (Fla.), three stars, No. 15 P-S QB, No. 54 in Fla -- Loeffler
TE
Jacob Mathis, Berkley Prep (Fla.), three stars, No. 25 TE, No. 56 in Fla -- Gray
LB
Dominique Ross, Trinity Christian (Fla.), three stars, No. 47 OLB, No. 60 in Fla -- Wiles
DT
Justin Andrews, Kathleen (Fla.), three stars -- Gray/Wiles
DT
Jarrod Hewitt, Venice (Fla.) three stars -- Wiles
Recent Rivals Stories On VT FL Targets:
Hewitt from ScarletNation.com, May 27:
https://virginiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1769543
Snelson from BlueandGold.com, April 21:
http://virginiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1759476
Mathis from TideSports.com, May 21:
https://virginiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1768056
Bethel from TheWolfpacker.com, May 22:
http://virginiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1768281
Overview:
For nearly every school in the country, Florida is a vital state for recruiting. Virginia Tech dabbles more than anything, so it's tough to say it's that vital to the Hokies. They pick and choose, but when they find gems, like Rivals250 quarterback Dwayne Lawson last year, they go after them hard. The same is the case this year. But it's also because they recruit only certain areas. Assistant coaches Torrian Gray (Kathleen) and Charley Wiles (DeLand) are both from Florida, but Gray typically recruits only around Tampa and Lakeland, while Wiles goes from Jacksonville down to just south of West Palm Beach.
For 2016, there's some big offers out. But the most realistic one right now is Bethel. Virginia Tech stopped by this spring and his interest is definitely there. He's been relatively lightly recruited thus far and hasn't taken visits outside the state of Florida. But Bethel "half-jokingly" said in a story last month that he didn't like any of the Florida schools growing up. He'll get out of the state this summer hopefully, but this one might come down to official visits this fall. And right now, the Hokies would be in line to get one. Watch NC State, West Virginia and a few others here, as this one is still very open.
Virginia Tech is still flirting with Snelson, ever since he decommitted from Miami in December. But while this would be the best chance at an elite from the state right now, it's a long shot at best. Snelson has kept the Hokies in the mix, though. He included them on a top 10 that he released in late April that also included Florida State, Clemson, Miami, Florida, Ohio State, Louisville, Auburn, West Virginia and Notre Dame. He's showing Virginia Tech love on Twitter, so it's at least worth keeping an eye on.
The Hokies will typically also be in the mix with any recruits from national powerhouse Trinity Christian in Jacksonville, especially after landing Isaiah Ford in 2014. While Buie hasn't shown a lot of interest, Ross has at least been listening. He's widely thought to have Miami, North Carolina and UCLA at the top, but Virginia Tech is still in the mix. He'll have to visit for the Hokies to have much of a shot.
And keeping to form, Virginia Tech has also, probably smartly, gone for some overlooked players in the state. Andrews is at Gray's alma mater and has shown interest, while Hewitt put the Hokies in his top five, along with Rutgers, Pittsburgh, South Florida and Purdue. He's actually probably the next of the targets in the state to decide, but if he doesn't get to Blacksburg before he does, the odds are slim to none for Virginia Tech.
Finally, keep an eye on some of the 2017 guys the Hokies have offered, all of whom are under the radar. The one underclassman not under the radar is Gatewood in 2018, the only player in that class who will be at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge presented by Under Armour. Already not great odds there, though right now.
Rivals national team analysis:
"They've got offers out like everybody else, maybe even overextending a little bit. I don't know that they're gonna get the guys they're really after, like Snelson and Bethel. The way Florida is, it's tough to get those first and second-tier guys out of the state. That next level after that I think is where they can have some success. There are a lot of good players, so that next level isn't much to shake a stick at.
I like the guys they're after. Bethel, maybe we had him a bit overrated at first. I saw him at his spring game and he looked good and impressive, he just didn't stand out as a top 250 player in the country. That kind of guy should be dominating football games and making an impact. He was just kind of a dude. Maybe they will have a shot if some others drop out and that's not a shot at Virginia Tech. It's tough for anyone to get guys like that. Clemson, Alabama has some luck, but unless you're Florida and Florida State, it's tough. I think Miami's class might disintegrate so maybe that's where Virginia Tech has some luck. If I'm Virginia Tech, I'm still very involved with those guys.
The Andrews kid I could see going to Virginia Tech. He went to the Rivals Combine and actually did pretty well. He's kind of a light defensive tackle right now, but he's the kind of guy who won't grab the offers from the Florida States of the world. But when you put weight on him, he might be that high caliber guy. He needs to add some weight and some size."
-- Rivals.com southeast analyst Rob Cassidy
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