As Brent Pry gets settled in and installs his coaching staff, one of the first tasks is to square away the 2022 group. Retaining JC Price - one of two recruiting coordinators for the team (the other was Adam Lechtenberg, concentrating on offense while Price concentrated on defense) - will allow for some continuity, and perhaps more importantly, some clarity for the kids.
That means we're also starting to get a bit of clarity for readers as to where things have been, where they stand now, and what might look like as we draw close to the early signing period.
Guys who don't (or didn't) know where they stand
It probably doesn't come as a surprise with a totally new coaching staff coming in (and some commitments whose value seemed higher to the old VT staff than the recruiting world in general) that some guys were - and some still are - worried about where they fit into the big picture. A few of those situations (notably Rashaud Pernell, who's
very excited about it!) have been cleared up. In the case of a guy like Pernell, who's sort of a tweener talent-wise and in terms of position, it behooves an incoming staff to give him the benefit of the doubt given how crucial his school is as an in-state powerhouse.
Others, like Tucker Holloway, are still open to exploring those other options because they don't know what a new staff will think about them. Holloway will visit Vanderbilt this weekend on an official. My personal take is that he's very underrated and the new staff would be wise to keep him. They'll need to be in-place and ready to communicate that (if they agree) pretty soon if they want to hold onto him.
Another guy in that situation is Matthew Hoffman. He picked up an offer from Albany last weekend:
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To put it simply, Albany does not offer kids because there's an opportunity to beat Virginia Tech head-to-head for a committed player. It happens because there's an expectation that the Hokies won't want him when a new staff is in place. Again, I can't speak for a new coaching staff before they even exist... but Albany may be onto something here.
Without running through every prospect (particularly because most of them fall into this category in one way or another), you can probably skim the lower end
of the recruiting class and see a few guys who will also be thinking about if they have non-VT opportunities - and if they
will still have a their chance with the Hokies come Dec. 15. Some in this situation - like D'Andre Martin - may benefit from the connections to their programs that VT
doesn't want to lose.
Guys that were going to have competition either way
You may very well have been able to put Pernell into this category at one point - he took an official visit to West Virginia the final weekend of the regular season (though I would maintain that was more out of an abundance of caution for his place in the VT class - as well as taking advantage of an opportunity that the recruiting process only provides once in a lifetime - than actually any chance that he would prefer Mountaineers over Hokies). But there are some other prospects who are going to get a serious poke from programs around the country.
South Carolina seems to be a particular opportunist, with Ramon Brown (I do not expect any shakiness in his commitment, particularly given that Ryan Smith is expected to remain on-staff), Reid Pulliam, and D'Andre Martin among the future Hokies that the Gamecocks want to wrest away. Quite frankly, Martin may belong in the previous category if not for an attitude of self-confidence, as well as his connections to Pulliam and talented underclassman groups at Life Christian Academy that the Hokies want to remain in strong positions with (it does also seem like Price and Teerlinck appreciate his potential in the long-term, even if he's a major project as things stand).
There's an obvious elephant in the room here, and that's local OL Gunner Givens. The family pressure to stay close to home ("pressure" may be the wrong word, especially because he's personally most interested in staying close to home) and the desire to stick to his word will play on his mind here. But he's genuinely interested in
at least not closing any doors just yet. He took an official visit to North Carolina on the penultimate weekend of the regular season - when the Heels hosted Wofford - and plans to make visits to Chapel Hill and Blacksburg before the Early Signing Period. If he's not 100% set in his decision by that time, it wouldn't surprise me if he waits until February to sign, and even sees a couple other programs on January visits. He consistently tells me "I'm still a Hokie" every time I ask him, and I think Blacksburg will be his destination in the end. But it's not a guarantee anymore.
A new target to keep in mind?
With Bronco Mendenhall's resignation from Virginia, I'm told to keep a Hokie-oriented eye on Hoos commit Keyshawn Burgos:
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VT is going to continue going all-in on the Commonwealth's important pipeline areas, and Burgos is a high-potential prospect from the Richmond area (uh, jury's still out on how the staff plans to repair or build in the DMV and 757 - that'll depend on who's hired. Retaining Smith is a good step in the Tidewater, but clearly not going to be a game-changer given he's been around for a couple years, and some of the key voices in that region are still not sold on VT or him). He's planning to look around, and Virginia Tech will have an open ear.
Stay tuned for much more to come as the Hokies' staff gets built out and the recruiting effects of that process are felt.
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