The Hokies picked up one of the biggest pieces left on the board today with a pledge from Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding cornerback Mansoor Delane. Although he's a middling three-star prospect, he's exactly the sort of guy that the Hokies get ahead of the curve on, and are
very happy to land - he's a guy whose ranking has been hurt by the lack of a junior season. The Hokies also came close to missing on him. The tide turned in a major way in recent weeks, but it wasn't so long ago that he'd had a plan to commit to Maryland - going so far as to start shooting his commitment video to the Terps.
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"He gave the Maryland staff a silent verbal weeks ago and made a MD commit video and people got in his ear to go elsewhere," said a source close to the Terps.
So what changed?
Relationships he forged on the recruiting trail were important to the end stages of Delane's recruitment. He heard many, many more positive things about Virginia Tech than he did Maryland. The return visit to Blacksburg for the Hard Hat Hunt (I'm not positive if that was previously scheduled, or came after the feedback he received) allowed him to see enough to know that he prefers VT to UMd.
What's more, one of those relationships, with Baltimore St. Frances Academy three-star Cam Johnson, could pay dividends for the Hokies as the class continues to develop. Johnson is one of the few top DB targets left on the staff's board. He and Delane forged bonds on some of their visits, and have expressed interest in ending up at the same school. More importantly, it may be
Johnson who helped sway Delane toward VT, not the other way around. This would obviously mean the man who encouraged Delane to become a Hokie may very well be next.
"He and Cam grew tight, and that was a big part of it. Apparently Cam Johnson's mom convinced Mansoor’s parents he should go elsewhere [other than Maryland]," said someone close to Delane. "I would assume Cam Johnson is headed to VT, too. It just seems like Delane and Johnson’s parents are set on them both going to VT from what I’ve heard."
An old adage in recruiting goes "if you have the mom, you have the kid," and we'll see if it ultimately rings true in these crucial recruitments.
