whats going on out there? Stoked about the new regime and can't wait to see what it looks like on the offensive side

From VT:

"Turner Sports and CBS Sports have added Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Buzz Williams as guest studio analyst for the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship airing across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV. Williams will join the Atlanta studio team for Regional Semifinals coverage on Thursday, March 24, and Friday, March 25."

As always, what's posted here, STAYS HERE. Don't de-value your own subscription by giving away information to others who don't pay like you do. It's also a violation of our terms of service and will result in the termination of your subscription.

Guys, I just got off the phone with Dudley (NC) three-star QB Hendon Hooker. As you know, I posted last week that Hooker visited Notre Dame March 12-13 and then stopped at VT on his way back.

Yesterday, Hooker tweeted that he has a final six of VT, Notre Dame, NC State, Pittsburgh, Missouri and North Carolina A&T. Right off the bat, I can tell you that NC A&T is only on there because Hooker's dad played there.

I've been told by our sources at our Notre Dame site that the Irish aren't taking another quarterback in the class. They got a commitment two days ago from three-star quarterback Avery Davis. But it sounds like if ND was taking another QB, it might be the favorite.

In talking to Hooker, it also sounds like he really liked NC State, when quarterbacks coach Matt Canada was there. But Canada went to Pittsburgh, which Hooker has never visited. Hooker has also never visited Missouri and didn't have much to say about the Tigers.

After talking with Hooker, knowing the circumstances and knowing how close he is with Mook Reynolds, VT is the overwhelming favorite. Hooker has a great relationship with Justin Fuente and offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen. He said he loves the new offense and "Mook being there just made me feel at home."

Hooker will be announcing his decision on a local TV station Thursday morning on their morning show. He told me it will be 11 am at the very latest, so likely a little before then. Hooker told me he'll send me more details when things are more finalized over the next few days.

I will post the front seven guys because that's what i'm looking at. Apparently our new S&C coach is making them earn it in the weight room. Finally some guys with some girth and size to them. I got tired of mid 90's sized guys we sent out there to try and stop power rushing teams. Now we have some size to combat that. Here is a list...

DE:

Ken Ekanem- 6'3'' 255
Seth Dooley- 6'6'' 239
Darius Fullwood- 6'4'' 262
Houshun Gaines- 6'4'' 231
Trevon Hill- 6'5'' 234
Vinny Mihota- 6'5'' 270

DT:

Woody Baron- 6'1'' 275
Harry Lewis- 6'0'' 270
Tim Settle- 6'3'' 344
Steve Sobczak- 6'1'' 300
Ricky Walker- 6'2'' 288
Nigel Williams- 6'4'' 295

LB:

Tremaine Edmunds- 6'5'' 236
Carson Lydon- 6'2'' 237
Raymon Minor- 6'2'' 221
Jamieon Moss- 6'2'' 220
Andrew Motuapuaka- 6'0'' 235
Anthony Shegog- 6'3'' 212

Guys, if you missed it, VT fired Dennis Wolff today:
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Jason;

Why is there no coverage ot wrestling ? We have a top 10,, actually top 5 team, and no mention of it.

Hey guys! It's been a while and I am so glad to be back covering Hokie football.

Today was the first day of spring practice for the media and there was a LOT to be said. Here are some of the main points:

- Fuente was pretty general today, but made it clear that there are multiple components to building back this program: a solid instillation on all three sides of the ball, player identification and goals.
- The 5 QBs will all have a chance at taking the starting job with more of a give and take system.
- Bud Foster calls Tim Settle a "big body..." He has worked to drop his weight and would like him to drop a little more. He's a guy that "we're counting on" and will get a lot of work this spring.
- Defensive tackle is a solid position for the Hokies but they are looking for "play makers."
- Former VT football player Cody Grimm will work alongside the defensive side of the ball as a graduate assistant.

There will be more to come in my breakdown later today. Be on the lookout for more on today's first spring practice.

Hires coach from Stephen F. Austin.

VT's baseball stadium is getting a new name and a much needed face lift. Union Bank is putting $3.5 million towards improvements in exchange for the naming rights for 10 years.

I'll write more about this in my Around The Bases this week, but this is huge. This is the kind of commitment that VT needed for the baseball program. It's not a revenue producing sport, so monetary gifts from the outside were always going to drive a renovation, which is crucial. VT's facilities right now, while they have been upgraded in recent years, still are pretty poor. I'd argue that VMI's are pretty much on the same level, if that tells you anything.

I can't wait to see the design specs for what they have planned, but I suspect it's going to be some first class stuff. Then maybe they'll be able to get enough excitement to really go to a program that can compete each and every year in the wicked tough ACC.

http://www.hokiesports.com/baseball/recaps/20160321aaa.html

Oklahoma St. just hired Brad Underwood from Stephen Austen! Now we have to keep the rest of the drooling dogs away from Buzz.

As always, what's posted here, STAYS HERE. Don't de-value your own subscription by giving away information to others who don't pay like you do. It's also a violation of our terms of service and will result in the termination of your subscription.

Guys, just wanted to pass along that Dudley (NC) three-star quarterback Hendon Hooker just wrapped up a visit all day with Virginia Tech. He got to Blacksburg last night, stayed the night and visited with the Hokies' staff all day today, which included also touring around a little bit.

Hooker drew a lot of attention when he drove all the way to Notre Dame for a visit over the weekend. But he also made it a point to visit VT today. So despite plenty thinking Notre Dame is the favorite, I don't think that's the case.

Hooker played seven on seven and is good friends with Mook Reynolds. That whole group from that area of North Carolina is very close. And Hooker spent a big part of last night and today hanging out with Mook, too.

I've been texting Hooker, who just left VT's campus about 45 minutes ago. We'll be talking shortly for a full story, but wanted to pass this info along first. FULL INsider and story on Hooker coming.

I see TSL is blowing up saying Buzz is headed to TCU.....anyone have any insight?

Guys, I spoke to Kendall Fuller at VT's pro day, to get the latest on his knee and everything else he has going on with Draft prep:
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Guys, was just told by a VT staff source that the Hokies hosted a visitor today. Jacksonville Mandarin (Fla.) three-star LB Aundre Ricardo-Kearney spent the day in Blacksburg. We'll have more coming, including on if the Hokies offer him, but definitely something to watch.

Ricardo-Kearney visited Wake Forest yesterday. We'll have full coverage coming on his visit and where VT stands.

We all know about the rumors about Buzz going to TCU or Okla. St. after this year. Certainly Whit will do everything possible to keep him here. Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the whole thing is what I saw in an article yesterday, when Seth Allen was asked about it. " He's a very loyal guy. If he decides to leave, I know he'll let the players know first. If he does go, I know a lot of guys will try to go where he's at."
If he goes and we lose most of our best players, everything he accomplished this year will be for nothing. It'll be like Ground Hog Day, starting over again and again and again.

Guys, I've gotten away from posting all the new offers and I promise I'll get back to it. I tweet them all, but I'll post on here as well.
New offer tonight by VT to Plain Dealing (La.) four-star ATH Keldrick Carper.
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They acted like they didn't know what to do all game with that scrappy SFA team.

Guys, if you haven't already, Yahoo! has a promo this year in which the best bracket wins $50,000. Obviously not the billion-dollar bracket from a few years ago, but still a pretty damn good deal. Free to enter:
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On this week's podcast, we go over the run Virginia Tech basketball continues to make. How big is it to reach 20 wins? And what has to happen to get another win, Friday night at BYU? Plus, we recap the Hokies' pro day. What can we take from it and what can we look for with the NFL draft next month?

Join publisher Jason Stamm, senior writer Doug Bowman and former VT DT Derrick Hopkins on episode No. 51 of our FREE podcast, as Hopkins also shares his pro day experience.
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On this week's podcast, we go over the run Virginia Tech basketball continues to make. How big is it to reach 20 wins? And what has to happen to get another win, Friday night at BYU? Plus, we recap the Hokies' pro day. What can we take from it and what can we look for with the NFL draft next month?

Join publisher Jason Stamm, senior writer Doug Bowman and former VT DT Derrick Hopkins on episode No. 51 of our FREE podcast, as Hopkins also shares his pro day experience.
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Virginia Tech has offered big time 2018 tight end James Mitchell

As reported by our Adam Friedman, Cox (Va.) four-star DE Jordan Williams has named a top nine that not surprisingly, includes the #Hokies:
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Guys, just wanted to pass on our coverage. Full post game recap plus story and video of Buzz Williams afterward:
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Take a break from watching the NCAA Tournament. Or if you're like me, watch and chat about the latest with Virginia Tech athletics! We're back at our normal time, 12:30 pm ET tomorrow for this week's chat. Plenty going on with pro day, Hokies basketball and lots of recruiting. Come join us and get the latest! Get the very most out of your subscriptions and chat with us!

Chat link: http://bit.ly/1Rnc6AH

As always, what's posted here, STAYS HERE. Don't de-value your own subscription by giving away information to others who don't pay like you do. It's also a violation of our terms of service and will result in the termination of your subscription.

Guys, my first nugget of info doesn't even have to do with pro day. Junior CB Brandon Facyson was walking around on crutches with a brace on his right knee. He had some loose cartilage on his patella tendon that recently had to be cleaned off. He'll miss all of spring practice, but should be back in plenty of time for fall camp. Sounds like more of a precaution to keep him out all spring.

Wide receiver Isaiah Ford looks a lot bigger and chiseled. And for good reason. He told me he's gone from 179 pounds during the season to 191 now. That should allow him to take more of a pounding during the season.

RB JC Coleman is really marketing himself as Darren Sproles. He told me to make sure I mentioned it and also talked about it in formal media interviews. That might be the best successful guy of his size to compare to, but it'll be interesting to see if someone takes a chance on him in free agency.

DE Dadi Nicolas had a very impressive pro day. I'll have to double check the time, but he said he was told that he ran a 4.65 40-yard dash, which is a pretty good time. At 239 pounds, he's also put on some much-needed weight, which a Jacksonville Jaguars scout told him was very good to see. The biggest knock on Nicolas is he needs a lot of work in pass coverage. He's too small to be a defensive end, so he'd have to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 in all likelihood. I'm starting to think he's more of a fifth round pick, but someone will take a chance on him. A Colts scout also kept checking on Nicolas.

CB Kendall Fuller and DT Luther Maddy did not participate in drills. Maddy did do the bench press,but I haven't seen the number that he did. Fuller seems pretty content not to do any work in front of scouts before the draft. Maddy on the other hand, wants to have a separate pro day April 19 and hopes he can get some NFL scouts to attend. Maddy has knee tendinitis and had a procedure done last month on it. Still not 100% yet.

It seems like the Falcons, Lions and the Steelers are most interested in TE Ryan Malleck. He mentioned the Steelers, but a Falcons scout also threw to him and seemed to be very interested. The Steelers' tight ends coach, James Daniel, was also very involved in Malleck's drills and showed some big interest.

Also weird to see, but former Miami coach Al Golden was on hand. He's now with the Detroit Lions as tight ends coach, so that's certainly something to watch with Malleck. There's certainly interest there.