Virginia Tech lost a pledge from Tink Kelley last Thursday, and while I've been continuing to put out content about it, I wanted to let the behind-the-scenes story get a little bit of its own shine and not get buried by coverage from the Hokies' game. So a bit on the backstory here.
Kelley is a kid who was flying under-the-radar a bit, with only Louisville beating Virginia Tech to the punch in offering among Power-5 programs. The Hokies always felt (and still feel, though they don't have a commitment from him anymore) that Kelley was a steal. The trick was going to be hoping other programs didn't notice him in time. With a really good start to his senior year, that was obviously going to be tough. Kelley had always made vague hints about visiting other programs, even when he felt solidly committed to the Hokies. The question was going to be if the right programs not only offered, but genuinely pursued him.
The No. 1 "right program" was always going to be Clemson, just a few minutes away from his home in upstate South Carolina. The Tigers began giving him indications last week that they were interested in an offer, and that was enough to pull back from VT. The "official" offer didn't take long to arrive. But how serious is Clemson about him? That's always been the question, and while the offer is there, it's still worth asking, given there are plenty of kids with Kelley's skillset that Clemson could land in a given class (though we're seeing not very many that VT has a chance to snag).
"He's a take," said a source in Clemson. "Dabo was always going to come back for him. He isn’t [a take] on talent alone. But his level at next-door Daniel, this still felt inevitable. He was definitely a Power-5 kid, and it shouldn't have taken a program like VT as long to offer as it did."
Clemson has shown a priority on landing prospects from D.W. Daniel High - and coming from that program can be an important tie-breaker on the priority list. The Tigers want to keep relationships at the school strong, and have always done what they feel they need to in order to make that happen. Have a kid with FBS-adjacent talent? If you're a friend of the program, a Preferred Walk-On opportunity is going to be waiting for him. If you have a guy with Power-5 talent, the Tigers aren't going to let him slip through their grasp and risk some of those positive relationships*.
At this stage, it doesn't look like Clemson will reverse course on him. The Tigers are very patient in issuing offers, and don't tend to blanket the country, region, or especially their state with non-committable options. When they offer, they tend to mean it, particularly for a kid they don't think is gonna wait long to commit. If something happens, and they ultimately decide they don't want Kelley to end up in their 2023 class, there's a legit shot that Virginia Tech is back in the driver's seat (and I wouldn't imagine that the Pry staff engages in the petty scorned-lover BS that Fuente's group did). However, at this stage, it seems like a longshot for Kelley to land anywhere other than right around the corner from his high school.
His cousin, athlete Thomas Williams, is still solid to VT - not least of which because it seems a Clemson offer is not coming for him - which is still a solid recruiting win (remember, the Hokies offered and landed him before they even really knew about Kelley), and in the end, it should continue to keep pipelines open in the Palmetto State.
* For what it's worth, this is the type of relationship-building that the previous coaching staff was famously horrible at in the Commonwealth, and that Brent Pry's group has done a much better job with. It takes time, though, which is how you see VT losing guys from Roanoke, the Tidewater, and Fairfax County to programs that have been at it longer, namely Penn State.
Kelley is a kid who was flying under-the-radar a bit, with only Louisville beating Virginia Tech to the punch in offering among Power-5 programs. The Hokies always felt (and still feel, though they don't have a commitment from him anymore) that Kelley was a steal. The trick was going to be hoping other programs didn't notice him in time. With a really good start to his senior year, that was obviously going to be tough. Kelley had always made vague hints about visiting other programs, even when he felt solidly committed to the Hokies. The question was going to be if the right programs not only offered, but genuinely pursued him.
The No. 1 "right program" was always going to be Clemson, just a few minutes away from his home in upstate South Carolina. The Tigers began giving him indications last week that they were interested in an offer, and that was enough to pull back from VT. The "official" offer didn't take long to arrive. But how serious is Clemson about him? That's always been the question, and while the offer is there, it's still worth asking, given there are plenty of kids with Kelley's skillset that Clemson could land in a given class (though we're seeing not very many that VT has a chance to snag).
"He's a take," said a source in Clemson. "Dabo was always going to come back for him. He isn’t [a take] on talent alone. But his level at next-door Daniel, this still felt inevitable. He was definitely a Power-5 kid, and it shouldn't have taken a program like VT as long to offer as it did."
Clemson has shown a priority on landing prospects from D.W. Daniel High - and coming from that program can be an important tie-breaker on the priority list. The Tigers want to keep relationships at the school strong, and have always done what they feel they need to in order to make that happen. Have a kid with FBS-adjacent talent? If you're a friend of the program, a Preferred Walk-On opportunity is going to be waiting for him. If you have a guy with Power-5 talent, the Tigers aren't going to let him slip through their grasp and risk some of those positive relationships*.
At this stage, it doesn't look like Clemson will reverse course on him. The Tigers are very patient in issuing offers, and don't tend to blanket the country, region, or especially their state with non-committable options. When they offer, they tend to mean it, particularly for a kid they don't think is gonna wait long to commit. If something happens, and they ultimately decide they don't want Kelley to end up in their 2023 class, there's a legit shot that Virginia Tech is back in the driver's seat (and I wouldn't imagine that the Pry staff engages in the petty scorned-lover BS that Fuente's group did). However, at this stage, it seems like a longshot for Kelley to land anywhere other than right around the corner from his high school.
His cousin, athlete Thomas Williams, is still solid to VT - not least of which because it seems a Clemson offer is not coming for him - which is still a solid recruiting win (remember, the Hokies offered and landed him before they even really knew about Kelley), and in the end, it should continue to keep pipelines open in the Palmetto State.
* For what it's worth, this is the type of relationship-building that the previous coaching staff was famously horrible at in the Commonwealth, and that Brent Pry's group has done a much better job with. It takes time, though, which is how you see VT losing guys from Roanoke, the Tidewater, and Fairfax County to programs that have been at it longer, namely Penn State.
