When there's a coaching change, it's only natural for the recruiting class - even one that's mostly complete - to go through its own transformation, as well. We're already seeing that with VT's 2022 group now that Brent Pry's staff is (partially) in place, and the coaches who have been hired have had their chance to make their evaluations of both the current roster and players in the Class of 2022.
Outgoing
D'Andre Martin and Jakson Lahue were two of the most-obvious players to decommit from the group (because of a talent evaluation and a lack of connections to a new staff, respectively), and both have now done so. You can throw Matthew Hoffman into that list when he makes official what has been obvious for a while now: that he's not going to end up signing with VT unless circumstances change, despite still technically appearing on the commitment list.
The rest of the group (give or take kicker John Love - nothing relating to his talent, but staffs are always quirky with how they evaluate specialists) is pretty much composed of guys that the staff wants and will work to make sure they hold onto, largely with confidence that they can. A guy like Malcolm Jones - who's always a little mysterious in how seriously he's invested in VT after the coaching change... but who also doesn't have many other high-profile options - is going to be a bit of an unknown until he's a bit more transparent in his feelings or starts setting up visits to other programs.
Holding on
With the above said, there are definitely some commits that the staff will have to work to hold onto.
Gunner Givens is an obvious one. He's flirted with North Carolina consistently after picking VT over the Heels this Summer, including a late-season game visit, and his official visit to Chapel Hill last weekend. Sources close to him and the program (and it's worth noting: Givens himself was pretty unequivocal when I asked him directly) indicate that he's still very much expected to end up in Orange and Maroon. But his close friend Zach Rice is consistently in his ear, and UNC is hosting him because they believe there's a chance to get the flip. It will still be a contested battle here.
Defensive back Mansoor Delane is another one to keep an eye on. Michigan State is poking around in a major way, and there was discussion of a visit to East Lansing for this weekend. That would be in place of a trip to VT, so it's significant. As with Givens, the family's strong preference is to stick with the Hokies. Sources with MSU indicate that their confidence in making it happen is low, so the Spartans may have moved on from him. But it's certainly worth noticing (particularly if he's not at VT this weekend).
Perhaps the one to watch most seriously is in-state DT Lemar Law. While I've noted in the past that he was underrated on the basis of his prior film, he was even better as a senior, and that has others taking a look. VT's coaching hire - while it will probably be good in the long term - didn't provide immediate thawing to the icy relationships in the 757, so it's not a layup to retain a guy who's always hoped to be a bit more of a "national target" than "guy who picks the best close-to-home option," and there's on-field work to do to ensure that the Hokies can be the choice for guys with either of those feelings (in the way that UNC is, despite not much more on-field success, and being just as close to the area).
With those situations in mind, the Hokies are hosting a big visit weekend for the commits this upcoming weekend, prior to a dead period that extends from the week or Early Signing Period until the middle of January. Shoring up as many of those commitments as possible - and of course setting up for as many of them as possible to actually sign in a week and end the Hokies' need to divide its attention with them - is the priority here. Who shows and who doesn't could be the factor that indicates how much work there is to do before the traditional signing period in February (and this could be the first busy February - Signing Day proper - for the Hokies since the Early Period was instituted.
New targets?
I noted that Virginia commit Keyshawn Burgos would be a player to keep an eye on after the firing of Bronco Mendenhall, and the three-star quietly took an official visit to Virginia Tech over the weekend - at a time when there was obviously a lot of hectic stuff going on, he still got a chance to check out a school... he may have checked out earlier, had it been an option for him earlier.
Burgos now plans to announce a final decision between the Hokies and Hoos next week. That will likely come on Wednesday in a ceremony at the school, but it also wouldn't surprise if "official" word comes before that.
The Hokies showed only passing interest in Bluefield (Va.) Graham duo Brody Meadows and Xayvion Bradshaw during the tenure of Justin Fuente (in Meadows's case, that's despite the fact that he visited a ton of times trying to get the staff to offer). Coaches at the high school indicate that the Orange and Maroon have renewed interest in them. Flipping Meadows from Virginia wouldn't necessarily be the most exciting recruiting news - unless you think the Fuente staff just whiffed on its evaluation of him - but Bradshaw has been set to decide between a number of mid-majors and middle-tier Power-5 programs... and Notre Dame. The coaching change in South Bend and some interest from the Hokies has left the door open in a big way.
The difficulty? Graham High plays a state championship game on Saturday at noon, so it'd be literally impossible for them to take a full official visit (which by NCAA rule can last 48 hours - but a quiet period Sunday and then the Dead Period beginning Monday combine to mean there aren't 48 hours straight to fill) before the December Signing Period. Their state title game is fortunately nearby - in Salem - so a quick trip to VT is the hope. We shall see if that's enough to lock down a commitment or two in time to sign next week.
I'm also considering a FutureCast for the Hokies when it comes to in-state LB/Ath Tyler Banks. The question in his recruitment has always been "how serious is the mutual interest?," and it would behoove the staff to be a little bit more proactive in that regard with an in-state semi-legacy kid. And it seems like they're doing just that.
The future
Some of the longer-term future of the recruiting class, at this point, may be more contingent upon waiting until the dust settles after the December Signing Period to see who's available for February. It's not ideal, but the pace of officially announcing hires and clearing coaches through both VT and NCAA compliance (which is largely a formality, but it's not a formality that takes place instantaneously, either) might make it tough to close every recruitment by a week from today.
That would also give the staff a chance to have 20-plus guys locked in (knock on wood) and not have to divide attention as many ways, while seeing who is still on the market for a February signing, and potentially going after higher-profile players with the ability to be a little more focused on fewer names. Those plans are not set in stone yet, so like everything else in the wake of a coaching change, there are some moving pieces here.
Stay tuned for all the updates as the recruiting process unfolds in the final week before the Early Signing Period.
Outgoing
D'Andre Martin and Jakson Lahue were two of the most-obvious players to decommit from the group (because of a talent evaluation and a lack of connections to a new staff, respectively), and both have now done so. You can throw Matthew Hoffman into that list when he makes official what has been obvious for a while now: that he's not going to end up signing with VT unless circumstances change, despite still technically appearing on the commitment list.
The rest of the group (give or take kicker John Love - nothing relating to his talent, but staffs are always quirky with how they evaluate specialists) is pretty much composed of guys that the staff wants and will work to make sure they hold onto, largely with confidence that they can. A guy like Malcolm Jones - who's always a little mysterious in how seriously he's invested in VT after the coaching change... but who also doesn't have many other high-profile options - is going to be a bit of an unknown until he's a bit more transparent in his feelings or starts setting up visits to other programs.
Holding on
With the above said, there are definitely some commits that the staff will have to work to hold onto.
Gunner Givens is an obvious one. He's flirted with North Carolina consistently after picking VT over the Heels this Summer, including a late-season game visit, and his official visit to Chapel Hill last weekend. Sources close to him and the program (and it's worth noting: Givens himself was pretty unequivocal when I asked him directly) indicate that he's still very much expected to end up in Orange and Maroon. But his close friend Zach Rice is consistently in his ear, and UNC is hosting him because they believe there's a chance to get the flip. It will still be a contested battle here.
Defensive back Mansoor Delane is another one to keep an eye on. Michigan State is poking around in a major way, and there was discussion of a visit to East Lansing for this weekend. That would be in place of a trip to VT, so it's significant. As with Givens, the family's strong preference is to stick with the Hokies. Sources with MSU indicate that their confidence in making it happen is low, so the Spartans may have moved on from him. But it's certainly worth noticing (particularly if he's not at VT this weekend).
Perhaps the one to watch most seriously is in-state DT Lemar Law. While I've noted in the past that he was underrated on the basis of his prior film, he was even better as a senior, and that has others taking a look. VT's coaching hire - while it will probably be good in the long term - didn't provide immediate thawing to the icy relationships in the 757, so it's not a layup to retain a guy who's always hoped to be a bit more of a "national target" than "guy who picks the best close-to-home option," and there's on-field work to do to ensure that the Hokies can be the choice for guys with either of those feelings (in the way that UNC is, despite not much more on-field success, and being just as close to the area).
With those situations in mind, the Hokies are hosting a big visit weekend for the commits this upcoming weekend, prior to a dead period that extends from the week or Early Signing Period until the middle of January. Shoring up as many of those commitments as possible - and of course setting up for as many of them as possible to actually sign in a week and end the Hokies' need to divide its attention with them - is the priority here. Who shows and who doesn't could be the factor that indicates how much work there is to do before the traditional signing period in February (and this could be the first busy February - Signing Day proper - for the Hokies since the Early Period was instituted.
New targets?
I noted that Virginia commit Keyshawn Burgos would be a player to keep an eye on after the firing of Bronco Mendenhall, and the three-star quietly took an official visit to Virginia Tech over the weekend - at a time when there was obviously a lot of hectic stuff going on, he still got a chance to check out a school... he may have checked out earlier, had it been an option for him earlier.
Burgos now plans to announce a final decision between the Hokies and Hoos next week. That will likely come on Wednesday in a ceremony at the school, but it also wouldn't surprise if "official" word comes before that.
The Hokies showed only passing interest in Bluefield (Va.) Graham duo Brody Meadows and Xayvion Bradshaw during the tenure of Justin Fuente (in Meadows's case, that's despite the fact that he visited a ton of times trying to get the staff to offer). Coaches at the high school indicate that the Orange and Maroon have renewed interest in them. Flipping Meadows from Virginia wouldn't necessarily be the most exciting recruiting news - unless you think the Fuente staff just whiffed on its evaluation of him - but Bradshaw has been set to decide between a number of mid-majors and middle-tier Power-5 programs... and Notre Dame. The coaching change in South Bend and some interest from the Hokies has left the door open in a big way.
The difficulty? Graham High plays a state championship game on Saturday at noon, so it'd be literally impossible for them to take a full official visit (which by NCAA rule can last 48 hours - but a quiet period Sunday and then the Dead Period beginning Monday combine to mean there aren't 48 hours straight to fill) before the December Signing Period. Their state title game is fortunately nearby - in Salem - so a quick trip to VT is the hope. We shall see if that's enough to lock down a commitment or two in time to sign next week.
I'm also considering a FutureCast for the Hokies when it comes to in-state LB/Ath Tyler Banks. The question in his recruitment has always been "how serious is the mutual interest?," and it would behoove the staff to be a little bit more proactive in that regard with an in-state semi-legacy kid. And it seems like they're doing just that.
The future
Some of the longer-term future of the recruiting class, at this point, may be more contingent upon waiting until the dust settles after the December Signing Period to see who's available for February. It's not ideal, but the pace of officially announcing hires and clearing coaches through both VT and NCAA compliance (which is largely a formality, but it's not a formality that takes place instantaneously, either) might make it tough to close every recruitment by a week from today.
That would also give the staff a chance to have 20-plus guys locked in (knock on wood) and not have to divide attention as many ways, while seeing who is still on the market for a February signing, and potentially going after higher-profile players with the ability to be a little more focused on fewer names. Those plans are not set in stone yet, so like everything else in the wake of a coaching change, there are some moving pieces here.
Stay tuned for all the updates as the recruiting process unfolds in the final week before the Early Signing Period.
