Kenji Christian is a Hokie!

Jared Gibble is a Hokie!

Is it too early to get an update on practices? How are they going? Are they not full-contact, full-speed yet? At what point can we look for positional battles and performance updates? Tks.

Virginia Tech 'controlling the controllables' through the unknowns of COVID

Some really insightful stuff from Justin Fuente.

I haven't given his film the full review yet, but I think fans are going to be pleasantly surprised in the long run. Certainly, this commitment takes a lot of pressure off the staff at one of just a couple remaining positions of need:

Class impact: Jared Gibble to VT

Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in Hokies recruiting.

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Virginia Tech's current recruiting class is filling out, and the names on the recruiting board - even at the positions where there are needs - are starting to dwindle.

We'll touch on defensive tackle in a moment, but let's look at tight end and offensive line. There are some decently impressive names on the recruiting board, still, but perhaps not the combination of quality and attainability that gives the coaches the ability to rest easy at night. They'll continue evaluating new players, but for now, the gameplan seems to be on flipping a couple prospects.

Charlotte tight end commit Jared Gibble has seen his attention from the Hokies pick up with a snap of the fingers.

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Gibble, from Winston-Salem (N.C.) Oak Grove has long had interest in the Orange and Maroon, but only recently has that become mutual in any serious way. If VT offers, expect a flip.

The offensive line targets are a little more undefined - does Andrew Canelas still have an active offer? The Hokies are iffy at this stage. Do they want to wait for a guy like Chris Adams (and do they even consider him purely an offensive tackle? - even if there are more of them on the board.

Taking advantage of Jacksonville connections to pursue Minnesota commit Austin Barber has been a longer-term process than the more-sudden pursuit of Gibble, but the staff would like to flip the big man from the Gophers.

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Certainly, thanks to building most of the class at this early stage (a trend around the country, too), the staff will have opportunities to continue beating the brush to find more players to pursue.

Tyleik Williams

As noted last night, in-state defensive tackle Tyleik Williams is slated to make a commitment this week, and things have trended hard in the direction of the Buckeyes. With a favorites list of Alabama, LSU, North Carolina, Ohio State, South Carolina and VT, you can imagine that a lot of the endgame of his recruitment boiled down to who'd take him (and when).

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It should come as no surprise that only a couple of his "finalists" have had room for him. Ohio State's changing needs up front have made him a priority in the a quick (and short-term) timeframe. Read into that what you will about when they have - and haven't - considered him a take. Read what you will into the fact that he's now in a hurry to make a commitment.

I've long tried to maintain a level head about VT's in-state recruiting, in part because a lot of the context that's gone into recent struggles has changed (previous coaching staff's lack of success on the field, the recent coaches who were largely responsible for the struggles closer to home moved on after last season), and in part it's not crucial to do well close to home to be a strong team - and even a strong-recruiting team.

But to prioritize Williams for a few months (and to be fair, the Hokies hadn't prioritized him for some time before their recent re-push into Northern Virginia) and potentially end up an afterthought the instant OSU shows more than token interest... wouldn't be a good look.

Rebounding at DT

Assuming Williams does indeed become a Buckeye this week, there are still a few DL targets with whom the Hokies are in good standing. Quite frankly, it doesn't change a ton in the big picture (simply lop Williams off the top) as I posted yesterday.

Of course, for that to be a success (sans Williams), the staff would basically have to close out perfectly with the listed defensive linemen. In reality, the recruiting board there will have to expand as well, barring a surprise from the four-star Thursday.

Virginia Tech made up a ton of ground in recent months... but I've put in my Rivals FutureCast for Ohio State at this point;

Tyleik Williams sets decision date

Down to five finalists;

Wade Taylor now focused on a final five

High school football started in Alabama over the weekend. Here's Kenji Christian's first game, along with a look at who will and won't be playing this fall (with the tentative schedules for those who are):

HokieHaven Friday Night Lights 2020: Week One

Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in the world of Hokies recruiting.

Kenji Christian

Pinson (Ala.) Valley 2021 running back Kenji Christian is still on-track to make his commitment early this afternoon, and it remains an Ole Miss v. Virginia Tech battle. I've had my Rivals FutureCast locked on the Hokies for a few weeks now, and I don't anticipate changing that pick before his pledge.

Christian could still surprise and go with the Rebels, but I'd say VT is a fairly safe pick right now.

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So where would the 6-2, 190-pounder fit into the class? VT already boasts a couple running backs in Chance Black and Malachi Thomas, but both have different skillsets to each other - and from what Christian has on offer. He's a well-rounded, power-but-speedy player - more similar to a finished version of Black (who will likely stay a little more slender to be a multi-position threat) than Thomas, who's a slightly undersized power grinder.

While the staff hasn't explicitly brought it up, I do wonder if Christian's athleticism and framew could see him end up on the defensive side of the ball, should he end up a Hokie. The coaches have been less adamant about landing another safety and passed on an additional linebacker (after losing Donovan McMillon to Florida and Jordan Poole to NC State at those respective positions). A guy who could grow into either of those spots could be intriguing, even if the first choice is running back.

That's just me musing, though: while these coaches - and the Hokie staffs over the longer course of time - have willing to move athletic players to other positions (almost always offense-to-defense) to maximize their potential, that's probably a question for further down the road if Christian picks VT today.

Defensive line

While there hasn't been a ton of recent movement (even the emergency Dead Period doesn't hold a candle to the recruiting slowdown that takes place when a team enters fall camp), the staff options on the defensive line continue to become a little bit clearer as time drags on. The weekend's update to the hotboard really underscored where things stand.

Tyleik Williams, (maybe) Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, and Devin Lee are the legit options at pure defensive tackle, while Robert Jackson is essentially the lone remaining option at that DE/DT tweener role. There aren't really any pure pass-rushers on offer, and if the Hokies still want to add one (if they don't think they can develop that extra gear off the line from the existing commits), it'll probably be a new target, rather than a re-emergence of a previous prospect whose VT interest has fallen by the wayside. With a 2020 season delayed until Spring 2021 in many states, getting new evals in may be a difficult task.

Should VT seal the deal on the two players they're in best position with - Williams and Jackson - and add them to a DE group that includes Mattheus Carroll and Cole Nelson, that's a pretty good group, even if it's not going to be a game-changer from a star rating perspective. Add a true pass-rusher, even if it's a guy from another position rather than an every-down rusher (I think Keli Lawson's future could be as that Tremaine Edmunds rusher, and although he's 60-plus pounds away, even a hand-in-dirt DE role could be his future), and this is exactly the type of group the staff needed.

It'll be a little bit developmental, but with underclassmen contributing now (and not losing a year of eligibility even if they play in 2020), there's time to let those players get up to their potential.

2022 in-state

The recent release of the Rivals250 for the rising junior class didn't give a ton of warm fuzzies about where the Hokies stand with in-state talent in 2022. Of the four Virginians making the top 100, VT is little more than a fringe team for a few of them.

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Rice has previously visited VT, including for a junior day this Winter, but seems more focused on national programs (this will be a theme), and those that have recent history of major on-field success.

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Similarly, Murphy has his eyes on the Alabamas, Clemsons, and Ohio States of the world. Even though Virginia Tech has improved its standing among Northern Virginia prospects, national powers have an advantage here.

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Givens is an elite local prospect - something that's not particularly common in Southwest Virginia - and the staff's inability to remain atop his mind is, quite frankly, an exemplar of the ways in which they've seemed to lose this state: not keeping the expected level of attention, not making the right political moves (VT did a poor job keeping a few other Lord Botetourt players on the hook, including Troy Everett who wanted to commit but ended up at Appalachian State when VT wasn't an option for him despite a recent offer), and so on. Fortunately, that doesn't mean their pursuit is over, and there's plenty of time to take the right approach going forward. We shall see if that comes to fruition.

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At this point, I would call the Hokies a tentative favorite for Holloway. Locking up a player like him would go a long way toward changing the narrative in the Commonwealth.

Devin Taylor officially added to Hokies secondary

(Like I said before, it doesn't really matter one way or another because he's going to have a single year and be on scholarship during it, but this basically confirms the distinction of true scholarship player rather than preferred walk-on).

Doesn't affect scholarship numbers beyond this year, but you always love to see kids who arrived with no promises work hard and earn a scholly:

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All positions on one board now... and you can see that the number of players still truly being pursued by the staff is narrowing in a major way:

Virginia Tech Hokies 2021 recruiting hotboard

Any other potential additions to the class would almost certainly be guys who don't yet hold offers, or are currently committed to other schools.

A great guy and underrated player:

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Easy to root for him to make it through to the active roster when the season begins.

Devin Taylor:

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Will do some more digging and see what the full story is. He's listed as a grad transfer in the Portal, and I assume this is probably more similar to a preferred walk-on situation (though with a few scholarships unaccounted for right now, that's basically the same thing as bringing a one-year guy in as a full-scholarship player anyway).

...including a number of prospects from Virginia are benefitting from a move after the Commonwealth canceled this Fall's football season:

IMG Academy benefits from other states canceling football