This was inevitable:

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Y'all are aware I sort of always though he is a good-not-irreplaceable player from a talent perspective (how it reflects on the staff's insistence on throwing good money after bad in insisting on recruiting Texas with limited results - and how losing him may make those results even more meager - may be another question):

The impact: Hokies lose Neville pledge

I'll have more on this in Tunnel Talk later this morning/early afternoon, but Matthias Barnwell won't be on the board for long:

Matthias Barnwell close to a commitment

A little Cliff's Notes version of what you can expect later: no guarantees, but not expecting Virginia Tech here.

Welcome to another edition of Tunnel Talk. Today, a 2021 prospect pushes back his recruitment while a 2023 standout moves his up, and an update on the hoops side.

Skyler Bell

While Watertown (Conn.) Taft School wide receiver Skyler Bell has named top groups on a couple of occasions that didn't include VT, that doesn't mean the door is closed for the Hokies with the 6-1, 185-pounder. He pushed back a commitment that had been planned for a couple weeks ago, which leaves the door open for other schools.

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I wouldn't say anyone other than Georgia Tech, Iowa, and Northwestern has suddenly burst into the list of favorites-within-favorites (VT is joined by Rutgers and Wake Forest among his other "final six," while it's likely West Virginia and Wisconsin are serious options since offering after that list was established). However, choosing not to commit May 20 - I would assume largely because he wanted to commit to Iowa, and the Hawkeyes encouraged him to take his time - means that Virginia Tech is still in the hunt.

The Hokies have turned up the heat, with a couple virtual visits taken to Blacksburg (for what it's worth, I know it's become the term du jour during quarantine, but I'm not a huge fan: it's just FaceTiming with coaches, like plenty of interactions with them have almost always been), and he mentions that the staff is probably giving him the most attention of anyone.

So where would he fit in? I don't think he's top priority right now, but he's certainly an option in the event that the Hokies have a greater need - say, Latrell Neville opts to follow Dematrius Davis to Auburn, rather than remaining committed to the Hokies - and the extended timeline at this point allows Virginia Tech to stay in the hunt without needing to know specifically if they'd want him in the class come Signing Day.

Mathias Barnwell

I posted a story from our Penn State site earlier this morning on in-state 2023 DE/TE Mathias Barnwell, and although he's just in the process of wrapping up his freshman year of high school, the future Rivals100 prospect out of Spotsylvania (Va.) High is zeroing in on a commitment. It should come at some point next week.

Who will it be? He names Penn State, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech as his final three, but it's pretty easy to assume the tier scheme within that cohort. The Nittany Lions have always seemed on top, while VT is right in the mix, and Tennessee - while not out of the hunt - seems mostly like a name sort of thrown into the mix to add a bit of intrigue. He hasn't given turndowns yet, but the comparative confidence in State College versus Blacksburg may be telling: the PSU coaching staff is feeling very good, while the VT group is mum so far.

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Never say never, but the rosiest scenario for Virginia Tech right now seems to be that he would either push the decision back, or that he reconsiders (there's a ton of time before Signing Day 2023) down the road.

Gianni Thompson

On the hoops side, Massachusetts wing Gianni Thompson is down to a final seven, and that includes Virginia Tech. It also includes BC, UMass, Penn State, Providence, Richmond, and Temple. His priorities in making a decision are connections with the staff and the role he'd play on-campus, both of which bode well for the Hokies.

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He's mentioned that the Hokies are among those putting the most attention into his recruitment, which ticks the first box. For the second, the Hokies are selling him on a Landers Nolley role. At 6-7, 180 pounds, but the game of a perimeter player, that's an easy comparison to make. I certainly wouldn't contend that he's on Nolley's level, but the stylistic fit is pretty solid.

This one could ultimately come down to how much the Hokies continue to prioritize him, because the primary factors (and some of the secondary ones, like playing major-conference ball, though that's a little more nebulous on the hoops side of things) are strong for the Blacksburg Boys. Some of the others have the benefit of proximity to home. What wins out in the end will probably depend upon simply where he ends up most comfortable.

Welcome to the latest edition of Tunnel Talk, with the latest updates and insider buzz from the world of Hokies and recruiting.

Miletic is massive

The surrounding factors may not be the type that make Hokie fans very excited about the most recent commitment for Virginia Tech: Danijel Miletic is a foreign prospect who was unranked at the time of his pledge (since given a two-star rating). His highlight film spans two years and still manages to be barely over three minutes. His other offers - despite having visited (and in several cases camped at) several Power-5 programs last year - come from East Carolina and UCF.

However, I certainly saw some really encouraging signs in that highlight reel, brief though it may have been, and the Virginia Tech coaching staff is even higher on Miletic than I am. They're enamored with his potential, and supremely confident that they can provide the coaching he needs to get technique up to snuff (they wouldn't be in their positions if they were anything less than confident). It's safe to say they see him as an incredibly underrated sleeper right now. I take a slightly more measured tack, but I'm squarely in their camp that this guy's boom potential is worth the bust risk. The pieces are there.

At this point, he doesn't have plans to play his final high school season in the U.S. - that would be optimal for beginning the transition to a higher level of play, and (less importantly) give a bit of context for scouts to rank him accurately. The possibility won't be dismissed out-of-hand, but given the state of the world politically and from a global health perspective, you can certainly understand why it's unlikely that a change in course is made.

An interesting elimination

Virginia Tech was trimmed from the list by local(ish) linebacker/athlete Prince Kollie out of the Bristol area recently. For a guy who visited a couple times before even picking up an offer... that may have come as a bit of a surprise (for me, too: he always expressed interest in the Hokies when we'd spoken about recruiting). Certainly the staff's delay in offering - not until after the likes of Tennessee and a few other Power-5 programs had entered the mix - didn't help.

However, a bit of position confusion played into it, as well. Every school except one is recruiting Kollie as a linebacker - and you shouldn't have to guess by this point which was the exception. The Hokies consistently told the 6-0, 200-pounder that they wanted him as a safety. He wouldn't explicitly say that was the reason Virginia Tech didn't even make his top 10, but reading between the lines, it's hard to have any other interpretation.

Of course, the staff's delay in offering can indicate a bit of skepticism about his fit anyway, and selling him on a position he's not as interested in can be another form of slow-play without ceasing recruitment altogether. For all the staff's faults or mistakes on the recruiting trail in recent years, talent identification has rarely been one: if there was indeed intent behind these decisions, I won't judge it too harshly in the short-term.

Lawson links

I mentioned in his new offer post that there are some pretty obvious connections with 2021 linebacker/athlete Keli Lawson, and that remains the case. He attends the alma mater of student-assistant Dylan Rivers (who took a medical retirement from playing early this offseason), and there's familiarity with not only the prospect, but his high school program, as well.

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While the Hokies weren't in the door first (Virginia joined a couple of Group of Five programs on his early list), they certainly made the biggest impression on the young man's mind. The concept of following in the footsteps of a taller linebacker like Tremaine Edmunds, and having the freedom Edmunds did in his role - to say nothing of VT developing him into a first-round draft pick - is enticing.

I haven't directly asked Lawson what the endgame for his recruitment is, but if it's any time soon, the Hokies are in the best position to wrap him up.

Horrible news

https://www.wric.com/news/local-new...lled-at-clarion-hotel-in-richmonds-northside/

He's a loooooong way from finished product, but there's a lot to like about his potential:

From the film room: Danijel Miletic

Certainly thought he'd wait out a few more offers, but certainly the staff won't be complaining that he was ready:

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More to come

Including a number already on the Hokies' radar:

East Spotlight: Five 2023 prospects to watch

He's only on the periphery of the Hokies' recruiting board right now, but VT has his mind (largely by virtue of being by far his biggest offer):

Dawain Lofton down to eight, including Hokies

Including a top 2022 center that VT was in on early:

Three-point play: Hokies in early for talented big

Important message on multiple fronts (and the natural cynic/realist in me understands that one of those fronts is recruiting):

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Recently offered Erin Outley:

Hokies among the top 10 for Arkansas TE Erin Outley

I actually think there's a pretty good opportunity for the staff to recruit the Narual State a bit - unlike Texas, it isn't loaded with tons of programs (or surrounded by them, when you consider the LSUs and Oklahomas of the world) that are going to be too stiff of competition to beat out. The University of Arkansas... is probably never going to be more than a flash-in-the-pan once a decade or so at any point soon.

Meanwhile, the connections from individual coaches' time in the region (including several at Memphis, of course), can be a boost, as well.