Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in Virginia Tech recruiting
2022 quarterbacks
The 2021 class isn't fully settled, of course, but the coaching staff has used some of its time that would otherwise have been spent hosting visitors to campus and working camps this Summer to take steps toward the 2022 class. Of course, that's been an ongoing process (they've also issued plenty of 2023 offers already), but the honing-in has really gotten under way.
Today, we'll focus on the most important position on the football field, quarterback. The staff has offered 17 players at the position, and while two are already off the board (Brady Allen to Purdue and Beau Pribula to Penn State), there are plenty of top options still available.
It's clear given the pattern of offers - and particularly the recent ones - that the staff believes it
should and
can pursue top players at the position. An Austin-area player with offers from Oklahoma and Texas (Quinn Ewers), a New Jersey four-star with options throughout ACC and Big Ten country (Steven Angeli)... they aren't backing down from anyone. At the quarterback position, which tends to have a different overall process than any other on the field (players more willing to go anywhere in the country to find best fit and relationships than some other positions, prospects making commitments much earlier in the cycle than the averages elsewhere on the field), it's a gamble worth taking, particularly early.
This is also a spot where the staff is
really banking on the playing of a full season: the coaches have plenty of confidence in Hendon Hooker, and the team on the whole, to have the type of success that will turn heads, and nowhere more than at the QB position. With a wide net cast already, even missing on the top targets gives them the opportunity to sell 'we offered early, remember!' to what are more backup options down the road.
Boone being patient
Kemah (Texas) Dickinson 2021 offensive lineman Canon Boone has seemed like he's cruising toward a commitment for quite some time now. With an official top three of Colorado, Mississippi State, and VT (though the Buffs don't seem as realistic an option at this point), he still maintains that he's going to perform his due diligence before making a decision, however.
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That said, I'll be stunned if he makes it to the end of August without ending his recruitment. Our boots on the ground in the Lone Star State
and sources within the Hokies program are confident that Virginia Tech has a comfortable lead on the field. The latter group feels that the timeline is pretty close to wrapping up.
With Boone's being a little more coy about it, I won't place any deadlines on an expected date, but certainly stay tuned to his recruitment.
Tackles?
That raises an important question, however: with a third sub-6-5 player in the offensive line group (should Boone commit), where are the realistic tackle options? Honestly... it's a good, and fair, question.
North Carolina three-stars Andre Canelas and Diego Pounds seem to be trending in opposite directions in the eyes of recruiters (VT is the only Power-5 program on the former's list of favorites, while Pounds has blown up and now seems more interested in the Alabamas of the world), with VT in the middle ground where it seems like both or neither could still be possible - but in a spot not nearly as strong as previously.
In-state three-star Griffin Duggan is intriguing to me (though he hasn't been as hot a prospect in the eyes of the staff) not least of which because he has the requisite size and athleticism - a rarity among realistic lands - and is a teammate of top 2022 running back George Pettaway.
Mostly, though, I think the top target here - and it does seem like the staff is content to land one "true" tackle, with the faith that a shorter guy can hack it there (and to be fair, there's a recent history of success with that in Blacksburg), with Miletic beginning his career on the edge if necessary - is going to be Maryland two-way standout Chris Adams. Off a knee injury during the 2019 season, he's flown a little more under the radar. A VT team that's currently in strong shape probably doesn't regret that he was unable to impress at summer camps, drawing higher-level attention.
For the time being, it does seem like the staff is narrowing in on a few top targets at the position. Nonetheless, a group that's very satisfied with casting a wide net on the recruiting trail doesn't seem interested in doing
that to close out the OL group in 2021.
