Assuming things don't go sideways with the Hokies' upcoming decision schedule (and I don't expect they do), a couple key pieces of the class should be in the boat soon:
July 6: Chanz Wiggins
July 13: Keylen Adams
(I think Troy Stevenson picks Georgia Tech July 9, and Alex Taylor won't be an option come July 29 because the Hokies will have moved along with a couple other top-flight wideouts in the fold, and one more that they're waiting on - about which more in a moment).
So what happens from there?
Mekhai White doesn't have a decision date set in stone yet, but is expecting to make his choice before his season begins in late August. Even if the Hokies win out for Wiggins and Adams, I think there's room for him. It's an interesting case, since colleges (including the likes of Georgia) have seemed to have him highest on the board, but the rankings and perhaps even the Hokies' staff ranks him behind the other pair of in-state guys. If they do both pick Virginia Tech, I would bet he firms up a commitment date in short order: either he wants to secure his spot in the class, or the filling-out of the Hokies' wide receiver group pushes him toward Maryland, the other program near the top of his list.
He's always been high on Virginia Tech, and while he sometimes is the sort of nice kid who tells people what he thinks they want to hear (he's let staffs from multiple colleges believe that he was ready to pick them in the past, for example), the Hokies have been at or near the top even as other programs were rumored to be No. 1. How that survives through a changing numbers situation in Blacksburg as the staff fills out its wide receiver room is unknowable - even White probably doesn't quite know how he would/will react to a class with two WRs in it.
Like White, Cole is a kid who wants to make a summer decision, but hasn't settled on a date yet. Over the four open weekends in June, he took official visits to Penn State, VT, Georgia, and Miami, in that order. The Hokies and Bulldogs have long been considered the favorites, and it seems like Cole sort of favors the Bulldogs. The issue for UGa - if you can even call it that - is a class that may not have a ton of room. Georgia already has four-star Damarcus Riddick in the fold, and it's been no secret that the top player in Virginia, Kristopher Jones, is trending in the Dawgs' way, as well. With 22 pledges already on board, and Jones potentially making No. 23... is there scholarship space (both overall and at the LB position) for even a guy who's a top-150 player nationally? Possibly not (must be nice to be a Bulldogs fan, to be honest).
Should Georgia run out of space, it makes Virginia Tech the obvious choice, right? That would follow logically, though I would certainly expect Cole to step back and take an overview of his recruitment, and possibly take another official visit somewhere in the final weekend of July when the window briefly reopens. But given that he has wanted to be committed by the time his season begins, it would be a positive for the Orange and Maroon - maybe more like a silver lining for missing him - if Jones takes that spot in Athens. In the end, Cole likely extends recruitment into Fall.
And what's the deal on offensive line? With three commitments already on-board - depending on how you classify Andrew Hanchuk - the staff wants at least one more.
Peach State three-star Web Davidson seems the top option at this stage. While there are other players on the board (Keyonte Arrington and Isaac Cannizzaro visited during June, for example), Davidson's trip to Blacksburg in mid-June seemed to be mutually beneficial in terms of building his bond with VT and vice versa. He's not clear of the field to the extent that he'd have right of first refusal before any offensive lineman commits, but there's still something to be said for turning away Moritz Schmoranzer (poor Mo: turned away by VT twice in the span of four months) because there are options out there the staff likes more. With the three guys already in the fold, this is a position group the staff can be selective with.
I'll skim past DT, since I haven't gotten a feel for where Eric Mensah stands after his official visit.
Will the Hokies take another defensive back, even with four in the fold (and some of them positionally versatile, but as it stands, three corners and one safety)? In the grand scheme, I don't know if they will. But I do think there's a specific kid they'd take: Minnesota commit Zahir Rainer.
Rainer picked the Gophers over VT and others in early June, and while it wasn't an upset by the time the commitment happened (Minny had trended for a little while), early in the class he had felt like one of the most obvious shoo-ins for the Hokies in the 2024 cycle. That doesn't mean all is lost when you don't land him - and heck, it doesn't even mean he comes completely off the board. I've talked regularly about how important Trinity Episcopal is to the Hokies' longer-term plans in the state, and WRs coach Fontel Mines's relationship with TES assistant coach (and recruiting coordinator) Wali Rainer is a big piece of that. Landing Rainer's son would go a long way toward firming up those connections!
Rainer's younger brother Khalid, a 2027 CB/Ath, camped at Virginia Tech for the final session in June, and the family was in tow. Our Minnesota site reached out to me to ask if the Hokies had any sort of feel for the elder Rainer (an indication that the Minnesota coaching staff is at least a little worried), and while the Hokies aren't going to push right now, knowing that they have connections to work if they do want to make Zahir a priority before the end of the cycle is a positive. I would keep an eye on him for now, even if the recruitment is not going to be toward the front-burner at any point soon.
July 6: Chanz Wiggins
July 13: Keylen Adams
(I think Troy Stevenson picks Georgia Tech July 9, and Alex Taylor won't be an option come July 29 because the Hokies will have moved along with a couple other top-flight wideouts in the fold, and one more that they're waiting on - about which more in a moment).
So what happens from there?
Mekhai White doesn't have a decision date set in stone yet, but is expecting to make his choice before his season begins in late August. Even if the Hokies win out for Wiggins and Adams, I think there's room for him. It's an interesting case, since colleges (including the likes of Georgia) have seemed to have him highest on the board, but the rankings and perhaps even the Hokies' staff ranks him behind the other pair of in-state guys. If they do both pick Virginia Tech, I would bet he firms up a commitment date in short order: either he wants to secure his spot in the class, or the filling-out of the Hokies' wide receiver group pushes him toward Maryland, the other program near the top of his list.
He's always been high on Virginia Tech, and while he sometimes is the sort of nice kid who tells people what he thinks they want to hear (he's let staffs from multiple colleges believe that he was ready to pick them in the past, for example), the Hokies have been at or near the top even as other programs were rumored to be No. 1. How that survives through a changing numbers situation in Blacksburg as the staff fills out its wide receiver room is unknowable - even White probably doesn't quite know how he would/will react to a class with two WRs in it.
Like White, Cole is a kid who wants to make a summer decision, but hasn't settled on a date yet. Over the four open weekends in June, he took official visits to Penn State, VT, Georgia, and Miami, in that order. The Hokies and Bulldogs have long been considered the favorites, and it seems like Cole sort of favors the Bulldogs. The issue for UGa - if you can even call it that - is a class that may not have a ton of room. Georgia already has four-star Damarcus Riddick in the fold, and it's been no secret that the top player in Virginia, Kristopher Jones, is trending in the Dawgs' way, as well. With 22 pledges already on board, and Jones potentially making No. 23... is there scholarship space (both overall and at the LB position) for even a guy who's a top-150 player nationally? Possibly not (must be nice to be a Bulldogs fan, to be honest).
Should Georgia run out of space, it makes Virginia Tech the obvious choice, right? That would follow logically, though I would certainly expect Cole to step back and take an overview of his recruitment, and possibly take another official visit somewhere in the final weekend of July when the window briefly reopens. But given that he has wanted to be committed by the time his season begins, it would be a positive for the Orange and Maroon - maybe more like a silver lining for missing him - if Jones takes that spot in Athens. In the end, Cole likely extends recruitment into Fall.
And what's the deal on offensive line? With three commitments already on-board - depending on how you classify Andrew Hanchuk - the staff wants at least one more.
Peach State three-star Web Davidson seems the top option at this stage. While there are other players on the board (Keyonte Arrington and Isaac Cannizzaro visited during June, for example), Davidson's trip to Blacksburg in mid-June seemed to be mutually beneficial in terms of building his bond with VT and vice versa. He's not clear of the field to the extent that he'd have right of first refusal before any offensive lineman commits, but there's still something to be said for turning away Moritz Schmoranzer (poor Mo: turned away by VT twice in the span of four months) because there are options out there the staff likes more. With the three guys already in the fold, this is a position group the staff can be selective with.
I'll skim past DT, since I haven't gotten a feel for where Eric Mensah stands after his official visit.
Will the Hokies take another defensive back, even with four in the fold (and some of them positionally versatile, but as it stands, three corners and one safety)? In the grand scheme, I don't know if they will. But I do think there's a specific kid they'd take: Minnesota commit Zahir Rainer.
Rainer picked the Gophers over VT and others in early June, and while it wasn't an upset by the time the commitment happened (Minny had trended for a little while), early in the class he had felt like one of the most obvious shoo-ins for the Hokies in the 2024 cycle. That doesn't mean all is lost when you don't land him - and heck, it doesn't even mean he comes completely off the board. I've talked regularly about how important Trinity Episcopal is to the Hokies' longer-term plans in the state, and WRs coach Fontel Mines's relationship with TES assistant coach (and recruiting coordinator) Wali Rainer is a big piece of that. Landing Rainer's son would go a long way toward firming up those connections!
Rainer's younger brother Khalid, a 2027 CB/Ath, camped at Virginia Tech for the final session in June, and the family was in tow. Our Minnesota site reached out to me to ask if the Hokies had any sort of feel for the elder Rainer (an indication that the Minnesota coaching staff is at least a little worried), and while the Hokies aren't going to push right now, knowing that they have connections to work if they do want to make Zahir a priority before the end of the cycle is a positive. I would keep an eye on him for now, even if the recruitment is not going to be toward the front-burner at any point soon.
