First media availability will be Thursday, but there are some definite questions that would be nice to have answers for by the time game week rolls around:

This year's edition of the HokieFest will have some different characteristic than those of past years: there's not a huge visit list, and over half the recruits expected in attendance are already committed to the Hokies' 2024 class. However, there are still some interesting storyline to watch.

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That starts with offensive lineman Web Davidson, who is one of the top two or three targets still on the board for the Hokies (the others - linebacker Chris Cole and receiver Mekhai White - are at Tennessee and taking a break from the visit grind, respectively). While Davidson is important to the VT class, the staff doesn't feel an urgency to push for a commitment right now. They're willing to let Davidson move through the process at his own pace. This will be his second visit to Blacksburg in just over a month (he took a midweek unofficial in June), and that's obviously a positive.

That's all to say that, while the staff isn't planning to pressure for a commitment, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for Davidson to feel ready nonetheless. His parents and brother Whit (a potential hoops target down the line - he's a 2026 wing who already stands 6-7) will be along with him, and if the staff knocks the visit out of the park, it could earn some movement.

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The highest-ranked underclassman is one from the Trinity Episcopal pipeline (that school will be heavily represented among the uncommitted targets... might be interesting to see if Minnesota S commit Zahir Rainer sneaks on in). Robinson has been to town before - he earned his offer after an impressive performance at camp last Summer - and staying on the mind of a top in-state player is obviously a priority here. That's also the case for classmate Deuce Edwards, who the VT staff rates much higher than his current three-star status - and I agree with that - though he's iffy on whether he'll make it in. He'd likely be a carpool sort of guy with some of the other TES players.

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Chesterfield has been kinder to the Hokies in recent classes than even the rest of Richmond (a broader area that has obviously served VT well), and Williams is a kid who's made multiple past visits to campus. He's pretty high on VT, and as his body continues to develop, he should be a major prospect to watch. He has an early Hokies offer, but his senior year will nonetheless be important for setting the bar of what level prospect he is.

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I like Overton a lot. He strikes me as a future slot receiver (though the staff considers him an RB at this time, those distinctions are obviously fluid at this stage). He's the nephew of Freedom head coach Daryl Overton, and a family connection to a top DC-area program would be nice. Virginia Tech has laid good groundwork with him, and will continue to do so. Obviously if they don't feel a need to display urgency in the case of Web Davidson, guys from a class younger don't need a full-court press by any stretch.

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Wrapping up with a bounce back to the 2024 class. I'm not certain if the staff will have scholarship space for a kicker (nor if Lipinski is one whose level is scholarship-worthy - evaluating kickers is notoriously difficult), but this is a guy who's visited a bunch of times. Even if not a scholarship candidate, a preferred walk-on opportunity seems possible here - and it would probably take Power-5 scholarship offers for him not to take that chance with VT.

Before Fall camp gets rolling, let's get a mailbag going! Drop your questions here (any football/basketball/recruiting/other and off-topic questions), and I'll answer them laster this week.

Who's not rated high enough? Anybody overrated?

Ali Jennings on the talk-show set before podium time.

Gives a big grin when they talk about the Old Dominion win against VT last year (he was on the other side in that one, of course).

I was totally shocked to see Tuten rated the #1 Running Back in the ACC by PFF. Is that a legit assessment over the likes of Will Shipley and FSU's stable of running backs? If so, my optimism for VT's offense just sky rocketed!

At ACC Media Days:

Forgot to post about it yesterday, but junior OL Jesse Hanson will miss the season with a medical issue (and it may turn out to be serious enough to threaten his career). Since the nature of it is undisclosed, I'm not interested in speculating, but even if he's a guy who has struggled when he's seen the field, you don't want to be down any options when trying to build back up front.

I'll have live updates here as they roll. Might not be a ton of interesting stuff from most coaches, but whenever anything VT-related comes up, I'll drop it here.

Starting with commissioner Jim Phillips, which should be a bit more relevant.

He's done one of the best women's hoops jobs of anyone in the country the past few years. Well deserved:

Since my off-topic attempt went over like a lead balloon a couple days ago, let's get a conversation topic that's a little more in our wheelhouse.

What it says up top: how you are you feeling about in-state recruiting? Maybe more important: how did you feel a few months ago, and how does it compare?

A follow-up piece to the one I published in January (inked at the top of the story). Safe to say the Hokies are knocking it out of the park:


Very few guys committed elsewhere that the staff actually wanted: Peyton Lewis (though even that one is a little questionable based on how his recruitment played out), Bodie Kahoun, Fletcher Westphal (possibly same as Lewis, though likely the staff didn't move on until they realized that Westphal had), Zahir Rainer (not done yet), and a couple guys who moved out-of-state, anyway.

A top-50 pledge for the women’s hoops program:

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The latest from @ConnorMardian10:

Here's the whole thing:

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I'll have a story with a couple key quotes up later

Commitment on the way:

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Some thoughts on where the class goes from here... and if it leads to Virginia Tech's first top-25 group in a half-decade.

#WATCHLISTSZN is upon us:

The latest from @ConnorMardian10's Summer series: