I want to preface this one with the fact that I haven't been able to confirm any details of it from the VT end of things (and I'll be honest - been more concerned with the recruiting process today and haven't asked around yet), but from the other side of the equation, a semi-credible rumor that I want to pass along. If we're giving a 10-point scale of how seriously to take assistant coaching rumors, this is like a 3 for now.

THAT SAID, a source in Georgia reached out to me to ask if I've heard anything about contact between the Hokies and Georgia offensive line coach Matt Luke.

This would be an interesting one for the Hokies: obviously a guy who's just a couple years removed from a head coaching gig in the SEC - and is currently an Assistant Head Coach and position coach for a national power - is someone who's going to take some convincing if he's going to join Virginia Tech. Whether that's a financial investment (VT probably can't outbid UGa by any stretch of the imagination) or a title (he's already AHC for the Bulldogs), it's tough to imagine that there's a ton the Hokies can do. The one exception, of course, would be a coordinator title. He was Co-OC for Duke and then Ole Miss before getting promoted first as an interim and then full-time in Oxford. Would being a Co-OC again be enough of a career-advancement move for him? Have things fallen apart with the other reported OC hire, Jacksonville Jaguars tight ends coach Tyler Bowen? As with the ability of the Hokies to give him much more than he already has in Athens, those both seem unlikely.

He's also a Mississippi native who's spent most of his career in the SEC. The connection would be that at two of his non-SEC stops (Murray State in 2000-01 and Duke 2008-11) he overlapped with Hokies defensive backs coach Derek Jones. That's some personal vetting, and also exposure to the fact that he's an ace recruiter, having landed a number of five-star offensive linemen, albeit mostly at programs that were going to land them anyway (and maybe have ways to lure recruits that aren't available to Virginia Tech). We know that Brent Pry is going to focus on that as a crucial way to build his program - and failing to do a good enough job with it is a big part of why the Fuente tenure never panned out.

I'll be continuing to poke around with sources a bit, but just wanted to give you guys something to keep in mind. There's still a lot of flexibility in the way this staff can be filled out, and if Bowen isn't going to be OL coach along with OC (or if he's not going to be the OC at all - might be worth returning to college as a position coach just to get away from Urban Meyer), Luke is an interesting name that's been floated to me.

Coming out of a visit weekend that's heavy on commits, there are typically only a few interesting stories. There are certainly fewer interesting interviews from players who don't have any intrigue surrounding their recruitments.

"It was great," from John Love, and
"It went good" from Kyree Moyston... not exactly state secrets here.

However, the big development is first that the Hokies have shored up a couple of potentially-wobbly commitments.

Sources in Blacksburg indicate that Gunner Givens (getting a serious run from UNC) is going to end up sticking with the Hokies. There was some - legitimate, after multiple visits to Chapel Hill - fear that the Heels would have a real chance to flip him. He's extremely close friends with in-state five-star (and Carolina commit) Zach Rice, and there's an element to that program that has a 'sexier' vibe under Mack Brown, despite extremely disappointing results on the field. The strength that the new Hokie coaches have shown in pushing back - albeit with an unspoken assist from the family, which has always wanted him close to home - is a good sign for the future of recruiting here: closers gotta close.

Of course, it's long been the position of Hokie Haven that if Givens were to stick, so too would in-state running back Ramon Brown. The two have a friendship forged on the recruiting trail over the past few years, and their destinations aren't necessarily linked because they want to be a package deal so much as because each has a respect for the other on and off the field (and Brown sees a talented lineman as an important piece of his future success on the field, of course). Brown's signing details for Wednesday are still not set in stone, but by this point, it's settled that the team he'll be signing with is Virginia Tech.

The final commit that there was some question about was Reid Pulliam. He's long been sold on VT, of course (though he committed in November, I've shared that he gave me his commitment quotes well before that, back in September). And he hasn't personally expressed any shakiness in his recruitment. But when his teammate and friend D'Andre Martin was semi-unceremoniously dumped from the VT class, you want to keep a close eye on how relationships are being managed there. Feel free to breathe a sigh of relief, because both the Life Christian Academy and Pulliam ends of the VT relationship survived unscathed (assist to South Carolina, too, given that the Gamecocks pushed hard to flip Martin and saved the Hokies from having the tough conversation with him. VT got what it wanted and didn't have to look like the bad guy).

As for uncommitted players, Brody Meadows has not gotten back to me yet. This is odd, given that he and I have a long-standing relationship (remember, he visited Blacksburg a ton as an underclassman), and he's never been much of a pain to get ahold of. One of the recruiting rules of thumb there is either he's poised to flip and doesn't want to spill the beans, or he had a bad time at VT this weekend and doesn't want to be a bearer of bad news. Fortunately in this industry, the prospects aren't the only knowledgable party to the conversation, and I can confidently say based on other conversations that the former status, not the latter, is the one that applies here.

I actually haven't even been able to confirm that Meadows's teammate, Xay Bradshaw, also made it to Blacksburg. He's tentatively planning to wait until the traditional Signing Day to make his choice, so it may not be significant. If Meadows flips from Virginia, there's a major foot in the door to keep the recruitment cooking here as long as the Hokies want.

Another UVa commit is firmly in the Hokies' crosshairs, as I first reported a couple weeks ago. Keyshawn Burgos was in town (I believe for an unofficial visit, though the distinction is not important at this stage). We'll see how much headway Tony Elliott can make in the first few days of his tenure in Charlottesville, but he has ground to make up: I'm expecting a flip unless the circumstances change.

(Of course, we'll be adding elsewhere for guys who are not yet committed)

Hokie Haven Friday Night Lights 2021: The final tally

They started putting 'em up late last night. I'll run through some here (and of course once the guys get off-campus, begin to catch up with them):

Login to view embedded media

If he picks VT, here's the player and what the process looks like at this stage...

Hokies offer transfer target Kobie Turner

Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media
Hearing positive reviews coming out of their visits to Blacksburg this weekend. If the over/under for how many of these guys end up signing with VT, I'm taking the over.

Givens comes in No. 231 on updated Rivals250

...Ramon Brown also dropped slightly, taking him out of four-star status.

Thje onetime Hokie target (and former FSU running back) will continue his career at Marshall:

Login to view embedded media

The former Hokie suits up for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL. You can watch at 6 on ESPN2:

Usually once a transfer starts visiting new schools, the chance he returns drops to near-zero:


That said, man does this ever indicate the grass isn’t always greener, and with a slot-friendly coordinator coming in, have to think it’s a big mistake to look around for the sake of looking around when you’ve already found a good fit.

Bot that it’ll affect his decision (and he’s got people in his ear who maybe don’t have his best interests in mind), but from our perspective it’s a reminder that these decisions aren’t always going to follow logical patterns.

And then there was one: Devin Farrell is the last future Hokie still in high school action (pending a couple potential commitments who are still in action in-state), with a state title game tonight:

Hokie Haven Friday Night Lights 2021: Week 16

Whose out there? Everything I read makes it out to us pounding the rock. 55 : 45 run pass ratio. So who is best available to teach that philosophy?

An interesting (and potentially very good) hire:

Login to view embedded media
Elko was on Whit's list, though it never got to a point where he got the serious vetting process because Pry was (much) higher on it.

As you all know (unless you missed the insider notes earlier this week), I expect this to ultimately end up with a commitment.

Login to view embedded media

Will be special teams coordinator and an offensive assistant (ends any hope anyone might have had for Shibest sticking around). Don’t know a ton about him, will have to look into him a bit here.

Not quite a situation like the previous player to decommit (where the staff encouraged him to look for another option), but another where the player's talent and the calculus of whether or not it made sense to take a guy who might transfer after a couple years if he wasn't seeing the field, etc. ...he's one they'd have been happy to keep, but they aren't losing sleep over this decommitment, either:

Jakson LaHue decommits from Virginia Tech

You are going to see a common pattern of the many coaches that are supposed to be "the next hot shots, "or "genius's" at the non P5 schools that get a job at the P5 schools. The common factor in failures rests in two things. They had a small sample size (not many years at the non P5 school) and they had an elite QB for at least 2 of those 4 winning years. When you put those two together, you can get skewed numbers statistically. In summary, the sample size is to small. Add an elite QB, and you get what could be great records, but if the coach would have been at the non P5 school for 2 to 3 more years, you would have seen his true coaching abilities or lack of ability to win.

Herman at Houston- Only there for 2 years. 2 years folks as the Head Coach. 2 years is a couple of plays go your way and you get a solid record. It's not long enough to evaluate a guy's ability to win. He also had a top notch QB that helped that record. Texas took the bait.

Brown at WVU, and formerly at Troy. At Troy for a total of only 4 years, and a losing record his first year and in his last 3, he had a QB for 2 of those 3 years that actually made an NFL roster for 1 season.

Fu at Memphis. Guess how long? Only 4 years, and his first two seasons were losing seasons. He only had 2 winning seasons and guess what, a future NFL QB to help that record. Va Tech took the bait and fell hook, line, and sinker.

Napier at Louisiana. The exact same thing above. He's been there only 4 years as Head Coach. His first year record was around .500, and his last 3 years, a QB that is now projected by some to possibly go as high as the 4th round who has started there the last 3 years. See the pattern? It's fools gold in my opinion.

Now, Chadwell and why I think he's DIFFERENT. 10 year sample size, not 2 or 3 or 4 years, but a decade of sample size as a Head Coach and oh yea, he's won at 3 different schools at 3 different levels of college football. Greenville, Charleston Southern, and Coastal. When you have a decade of success, you have large enough of a sample size to rule out "good luck" or the effects of elite QB's. When you do it at 3 different schools and at 3 different levels of college football, it wreaks of his likely incredible ability to be successful at Va Tech.

Urban Meyer, I know, only 4 years as a HC before taking over Florida, but........he was at 2 different schools with 2 different QB's at Bowling Green and Utah. That's a bit different than just coaching at 1 school for 4 years, and lets be honest, Utah wasn't P5 yet back then, but they were kind of one of those 5 non P5 schools in the country that had P5 type status. Same thing applies to a team like BYU today. Yes, BYU is still non P5, but BYU's level of play over the past 40 years is one of those few schools that has the reputation or prowess of a P5, and of course they go in the Big 12 soon.

In conclusion, I know many of you like Napier, but I'm warning you, it's the EXACT same pattern as many of the one's above who have failed. It's almost identical. It's a short sample size and he has had an elite type QB, and it's the perfect setup. Could he be the next Frank Beamer? Maybe, he might do very well, but I'm just pointing out that his resume and patterns is near exact as the one's listed above who did not succeed. Chadwell on the other hand is a slam dunk for success. 10 years is simply to long, it's a large sample size that rules out statistical anomalies.

Didn't manage to get the INSIDE the Tunnel up before it started leaking:

Login to view embedded media
While he was a hot name a couple weeks ago, I'd mentioned that the buzz had died down over the past several days.

Well, that changed when I touched base with folks in athletic administration last night (as promised yesterday). The lack of buzz was more about a matter of timing than his having dropped off the radar. The hire hasn't officially been announced, but with national media - such as ESPN's Adam Rittneberg - hopping on it, you can take to the bank that the deal is basically done.

Let’s start with CBP. Lots of folks seemed like this wasn’t what they were hoping for, and maybe that’s still the case. After watching his pressers though he was extremely genuine in everything he said. I didn’t look at it as coach speak, I looked at it as this is real from this guy. So I’m sold and I’m going to trust him.
Then we get Quinn. This dude is a coaching machine obviously. Taking Savanah State to an 8-2 record with zero help from the admins. And if I understand correctly this is without a weight room? Just reading bio was impressive to me. Taking a former HC and bringing on board as a position coach is big. Appears he is very liked by schools and recruits.
Jones has DBU written all over him. With what he’s done at each step of the way tells me it won’t be long at all before we pull high caliber recruits and get back to what we remember from our hay days.
Chris Marve is intriguing but I like what he’s all about. With his Florida ties and the places he’s been and the things he’s done has me fully on board
All this being said I and thrilled with these hires. I really feel that once the dust settles, we might not have the flashy names, but my god we some hungry coaches with proven track records. I hope the offensive side goes this well

...another unsurprising one:

Login to view embedded media

Tim,
Any news on when we will start seeing Offense staff hires?

Alex Orji's dad:

Login to view embedded media
Marve was Vanderbilt's primary recruiter for both of Orji's older brothers (Alston is a senior, Anfernee a junior).