Full story coming, but 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, got another basketball recruiting update. I spoke earlier with Concord (NC) 2018 four-star guard Rechon Black. He's ranked No. 15 in the 2018 class.

Coach Buzz Williams is in on some big time guys, but this one could be the biggest and without question is in the top two or three. Black is the real deal. Only a sophomore in high school, he already has eight offers, from VT, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Clemson, Charlotte, Georgia Southern and Western Carolina.

Black said the three schools "showing me the most love" right now are VT, Ohio State and North Carolina. Buzz went to see Black play on Thursday and Black said that Buzz has been to see him play about three or four times, too. Black said Buzz and the Hokies have shown his mom love and "He’s a great guy, a real cool guy, real down to earth. I don’t know how to explain it." Black even told me that "They’re the reason I’m blowing up, really, since my freshman year, when I went to campus on an unofficial."

Black was also on hand at VT for a football game last year, though he can't remember which game it was. Black said he went through open gym with the players and called VT a "Beautiful place."

With Ohio State and UNC, Black said both have been coming to his games. He hasn't been to Ohio State, but has already visited UNC twice this season for games against Georgia Tech and Davidson. So right now, this one is between UNC and VT, but there's a LOOOOOOONG way to go. Buzz is doing an excellent job here, but he's gotta stay on it.

Can I get your e-mail address? Have a question for you.

Guys, with sadness that I share the news that VTSmitty, who posted on here for years, has passed away.
https://virginiatech.forums.rivals.com/threads/rip-vtsmitty.7500/
https://forums.rivals.com/threads/today-we-are-all-hokies-rip-vtsmitty.383406/#post-9809133

Full story coming, but 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 spoke a little while ago with 2017 LC Bird (Va.) three-star guard Mario Haskett, who VT offered about two weeks ago. Haskett was also on hand for the Hokies' win over Virginia last week.

This has more and more become a top target in Virginia for the 2017 class, along with Dajour Dickens and Aamir Simms. Coach Buzz Williams has been to see Haskett three times now for games. Assistant coach Isaac Chew has also been to see him. And Haskett said he also likes the Hokies a lot, especially after he visited in July and went through an open gym.

Haskett is a smart kid. He has a 4.2 GPA and offers from Harvard and Yale. Coach Tommy Amaker at Harvard has been to see Haskett three times already this season and that's where Haskett said he wants to visit next.

But what works in VT's favor is that Haskett said he wants to go into mechanical engineering, which we all know VT is a good place for. But Haskett said he also likes the system that the Hokies run, with all the down and ball screens. And when he visited VT last week, he toured the engineering department and with the game itself, said he loved the atmosphere.

Aside from Vanderbilt, Haskett said the others standing out a bit early to him so far are VCU, Vanderbilt and Providence. He told me he talks to Buzz and Chew on a daily basis. Right now, it sounds like the Hokies are in excellent position. Without question one to watch in the 2017 class.

Full story coming, but 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 Klein Oak (TX) two-star CB Nygel King, whom Virginia Tech offered last week. That offer came shortly after he decommitted from Houston.

King said he didn't want to get in any details about Houston, only that he's done with the Cougars and ready to go somewhere outside of Houston. He lives in the metro area. And right now, the two at the top are Utah and VT, though he's also considering Colorado and a few others, including Minnesota, Illinois and SMU.

With the Hokies, King said he was offered by assistant coach Torrian Gray. King told me, "I like his morals and his plan. He's done really good planning. He said he likes to play freshmen and If you can play, he’ll play you." King will be officially visiting Jan. 22, his first trip to Blacksburg and said he wants to check out the campus, the coaches and how the players are. King said he's well aware of DBU and is a big fan of Kam Chancellor. That's one of the players he tries to play like.

But it's not a definite that King will even make it to VT for that visit. He told me flat out that Utah is his front-runner. He said the Utes have been there since early in the spring and were the second to offer. He's visiting there Jan. 15 and it sounds like there's a chance he could commit there or after that visit. He likes his relationship with the coaches there. He told me he actually regrets choosing Houston over them initially.

There's a chance Colorado could get a visit on the final weekend if he hasn't made a commitment by the final visit weekend. Jan. 29, but I think he'll have his mind made up by then. VT likes King a lot, but I think if he enjoys his Utah visit like he think he will, he'll commit there. Otherwise, the Hokies will get a crack the next weekend. I don't get the sense that he's a kid who would commit, then visit VT anyway, but we'll see.

Full story coming, but 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 spoke earlier with Clearwater (Fla.) 2017 four-star running back Adarius Lemons, the Hokies' most recent offer, which came Thursday. Lemons is ranked No. 148 in the 2017 Rivals250.

Lemons told me he's now up to 15 offers, after VT offered and Colorado just before that. He told me he's looking for a coach who really wants him, but here's the kicker, he doesn't want to play in a spread offense. Lemons told me he wants to play in a pro style offense that lets him run the ball 20-25 times per game. He also told me that the only school he's visited is Florida but that, "I’m one of those guys trying to get out of Florida." Lemons said he visited Florida just because of proximity, for the Gators' season-opener in September.

Assistant coach Zohn Burden made the offer for the Hokies and told Lemons that he'll be dropping by his school next week. So far, Lemons said they've only talked on Twitter. He likes Burden, but said he doesn't like the offense VT will be running under Justin Fuente at first glance. The only thing Lemons said he knows for sure about the Hokies is that Michael Vick, his favorite player as a kid, played there.

Right now, the one school that stands out to Lemons is Kentucky. He's yet to visit, but Lemons said that's one of the first schools he plans to see this spring and possibly summer. Long way to go here, but the early chances don't sound great. It'll be tough to sell Lemons at the moment on the offense, but things change and if VT really wants him, it will have to stay on him.

Guys, i did a story on Latrell Williams a few weeks ago, as he's become a big target of VT. Last night, he decommitted from South Florida, after the announcement that WRs coach Ron Dugans was going to Miami. According to our friends at CaneSport.com, it's now between Miami and VT, with the Canes in the lead:
http://bit.ly/1JCfDaG
Login to view embedded media

Guys, Max Esterhuizen was on hand today for the Hokies' loss at Duke. Here's his game story: http://bit.ly/1Rsi6aO

As well as story, with video from Buzz Williams:http://bit.ly/1SaU2Jf

Great news!!! Bet Bud will be licking his chops whenever we play them..

Jason, when you asked about Fuente's Goals for the state of VA in recruiting he brought up "Coaches coaching Coaches". having Coaches like Foster actually go out and speak at clinics.

I'm left wondering, how involved was VT with having our Coordinators and Positional Coaches speak at High School clinics. Could this boost our profile in the 757 area more? It seems like the past 5-6 years the Southside of Hampton Roads has had a bit of a disdain with sending their kids to VT. Might VT's lack of involvement with Player clinics and Summer Camps in the 757 have contributed to it.

Thoughts?

It's been bad in the past but today is the worst i've seen. Awful.

35-16 Duke.

Fouls: VT 12 Duke 2.

Guys, I'll be on ESPN Blacksburg at 5 pm ET every Wednesday to talk VT sports and recruiting. I was on the show Tuesday, the first day for new host Paul VanWagoner, to talk about recruiting in general and what's going on with the Hokies.
Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media

Guys, I'll be on ESPN Blacksburg at 5 pm ET every Wednesday to talk VT sports and recruiting. I was on the show Tuesday, the first day for new host Paul VanWagoner, to talk about recruiting in general and what's going on with the Hokies.
Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media

Guys, with our site conversions coming, I wanted to announce that this is how we'll be posting our podcast each week. Our goal with the new improvements is for the site to be even more interactive and that means more with the message boards and the ability to now embed more platforms on the message board. That said, here's this week's podcast:

Lots going on this week, as Virginia Tech is coming off a pair of impressive wins to start the ACC basketball season. What can we make of the wins? And can the Hokies keep it up?

In football, coach Justin Fuente now has his coaching staff complete with the official announcements of Brad Cornelsen and Galen Scott. What do the additions mean and how will they fit in? Plus, new recruiting news, including Rivals250 target Jaquan Yulee, who just came back on the market.

Publisher Jason Stamm is joined by senior writer Doug Bowman and former Virginia Tech defensive tackle Derrick "Skip" Hopkins to break down these topics and more in installment No. 41, of our podcasts. We'll be conducting our podcasts every week during the football and basketball seasons, recapping the latest and giving you plenty of what to look for.
Login to view embedded media

Guys, our Adam Friedman already has a story up, but Rivals250 LB Jaquan Yulee announced his decommitment from Alabama today. Not a huge surprise, honestly. He still might have to prep for a season. No visits set now, but keep an eye on him with VT for Jan. 22: http://bit.ly/1ITl84V
Login to view embedded media

Guys, I should have posted this sooner but I have a sitdown interview with Fuente this afternoon. I wanted to give you guys a chance to post any questions you have for him and I'll try to get them answered.

Guys, with our site conversions coming, I wanted to announce that this is how we'll be posting our podcast each week. Our goal with the new improvements is for the site to be even more interactive and that means more with the message boards and the ability to now embed more platforms on the message board. That said, here's this week's podcast:

Lots going on this week, as Virginia Tech is coming off a pair of impressive wins to start the ACC basketball season. What can we make of the wins? And can the Hokies keep it up?

In football, coach Justin Fuente now has his coaching staff complete with the official announcements of Brad Cornelsen and Galen Scott. What do the additions mean and how will they fit in? Plus, new recruiting news, including a Rivals250 target that just came back on the market.

Publisher Jason Stamm is joined by senior writer Doug Bowman and former Virginia Tech defensive tackle Derrick "Skip" Hopkins to break down these topics and more in installment No. 41, of our podcasts. We'll be conducting our podcasts every week during the football and basketball seasons, recapping the latest and giving you plenty of what to look for.
Login to view embedded media

This guy seems to think so.

http://augustafreepress.com/buzz-williams-has-tony-bennetts-number-right-now/

Guys, we've pretty much known for a while that Galen Scott was likely going to join Fuente at VT and would coach linebackers. And honestly, because that's a demotion in some ways for Scott, who was defensive coordinator at Memphis, I wondered how that would work. Fuente announced new titles for both Bud Foster and Scott. Foster is now associate head coach, while Scott is assistant head coach.

My first thought is that he's trying to keep both coaches happy, but what do you think of the move?

Hi everyone,

It's time to help some Hokie alumni. Some of you may have heard about Matt & Kerri Rose, the owners at Forge Brew Works in Lorton. Unfortunately Kerri, who is a brand new mom, is sadly now fighting stage 4 stomach cancer. Yesterday, 20 local breweries got together at Forge’s neighboring brewery, Fair Winds Brewing Company, to brew a special Belgian ale called Kerri’s Cure. On January 29th, the beer will be available on tap at all 20 of these local breweries (list in the NBC link below) and all proceeds from the sale of that beer will go directly to the family to help with health costs.

Here’s a link to the story NBC did yesterday: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...t-Brewers-Wife-Battling-Cancer-364577711.html

If you’re looking for more information and updates on Kerri, the family has a GoFundMe page set up that she posts health updates to: Login to view embedded media
Please share as you feel appropriate. Go Hokies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot wait.

Great video I came across today from our friend Bud Foster, on a community service project by former Hokies star Darryl Tapp: Login to view embedded media

I know it's early but................................................................

North Carolina 3-0
Virginia Tech 2-0
Duke 1-0

Fact is Seth was a great coach for tech and they were fun to watch. That being said they were never disciplined on offense. I think Original said it also I think Buzz has a higher ceiling!
Congrats to the team 2-0 in the ACC!

Midseason list went through all the freshmen in the NCAA and Zavatsky made the list at #9

http://takedownwrestle.com/wrestling-news/college/top-ten-freshman-review/