When Virginia Tech offered Detroit Cass Tech cornerback
Kalon Gervin, it seemed like a fruitless endeavor. Although he visited campus with many of his teammates, it was just one stop in a day where the Technicians saw five different schools. With Gervin's commitment to Notre Dame at the time, the chance to pull a flip looked slim.
However, just over a week ago, Gervin decommitted from Notre Dame, re-entering the open market. That alone was a boost, but it still seemed likely that Michigan and Michigan State - the two schools who were considered the favorites when he made his surprising pledge to the Irish - were insurmountable obstacles, with other Midwest powers like Ohio State also likely to factor in.
At this point, though, the in-state schools have yet to make contact with Gervin (and with his status as Cass Tech's top prospect, that's almost certainly intentional, not just a coincidence - to the surprise and perhaps disappointment of those around Gervin), so it looks like, barring a change of heart from the Big Ten programs, they're unlikely to be possibilities for the four-star, despite his status as a Rivals100 player. That means he'll be re-evaluating his range of options... with one out-of-region school able to boast its strong tradition of defensive backs, his past visit, and likely a return this summer. He's also associated with some athletes that freshman Kalil Pimpleton trained with in high school (though they lived three-plus hours from each other, their training group has multiple locations).
The rumbling out of Cass Tech has VT sticking in Gervin's mind right now, and while that may not be a permanent state of affairs (again, he'll re-evaluate a number of potential contenders), it's certainly a positive. The Hokies are beginning to build a bit of cautious optimism when it comes to their shot to eventually reel him in, and Gervin
could be a key piece of the class should he opt to don Maroon and Orange at the next level.