Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in the world of Hokies and recruiting
Bryce Goodner
The Hokies finally pulled the trigger on an offer for Athens (Tenn.) McMinn County 2021 offensive lineman Bryce Goodner yesterday. The 6-3, 300-pounder has had strong interest in VT for months - some of it reciprocated - and entering the offer list probably turns out to be significant.
Of course, the timeline of events there is a visible representation of what the thought process has been behind the scenes. The staff waited to offer until they knew they'd be willing to accept a commitment from him. Decreasing confidence in higher-regarded linemen (per their evaluations, not necessarily according to the recruiting sites) on the board? Certainly. However, not all players who fit into that bin - even at positions of need - end up with an offer in a given recruiting cycle, so there's faith that he has athletic tools to work with.
That's all to say that it's extremely likely that the Hokies - his first Power-5 offer - end up with a commitment from Goodner in the long run. There's still a chance his recruitment cools back off and he ends up at one of his Group of Five options (we've seen that happen with other players who would seem to fall into many of the same categories, including local lineman Troy Everett), but for now, I'd take the Hokies over the field.
Devin Lee
Ola (Ga.) 2021 defensive lineman Devin Lee eliminated the Hokies from his top eight a few weeks back... but over the weekend, included the Orange and Maroon in his "final" six. We've seen how these lists can be nebulous, especially in a world where the prospects can't visit their favorites or finalists, but I would expect VT is on the list to stay this time.
VT's re-emergence has a lot to do with the staff prioritizing his recruitment more in the past few weeks. He's a strongside DE or defensive tackle tweener, and that's a position that they've tried to hold for in-state four-star Kelvin Gilliam. With the chances at Gilliam fading as his commitment approaches later this month (Aug. 22), ramping up the attention on others who fit that mold will be important.
Lee is also a guy who is appreciative of the staff paying attention to his home state (and region). It's not lost on the 6-4, 275-pounder that two of the three most-recent Hokie pledges hail from the Peach State.
Tight end
I've been beating the bush a bit lately for some additional context around South Carolina tight end Robbie Ouzts's final two of Alabama and Virginia Tech. It's sort of an odd couple in the recruiting world, at least in 2020.
Ouzts has perhaps joined Kentucky four-star Jordan Dingle as the top player on VT's tight end board, and while Dingle has gone mostly quiet in the past couple months, that's given Ouzts a bit more pub (and given the staff a bit more confidence about where they stand with him in comparison to Dingle - not that they've slipped with Dingle, necessarily, it's just not as clear as with Ouzts).
How hard is Alabama pushing for Ouzts? While he hasn't always been the top TE on the Tide's board (you could say the same for the Hokies), he actually is the top option on the board right now, according to our sources in the Yellowhammer State. If the Hokies end up with Ouzts, it will be a true head-to-head win, and that would be a big deal for the obvious reasons.
As always, thanks for visiting HokieHaven.com. Feel free to use this thread for recruiting discussion.
Bryce Goodner
The Hokies finally pulled the trigger on an offer for Athens (Tenn.) McMinn County 2021 offensive lineman Bryce Goodner yesterday. The 6-3, 300-pounder has had strong interest in VT for months - some of it reciprocated - and entering the offer list probably turns out to be significant.
Of course, the timeline of events there is a visible representation of what the thought process has been behind the scenes. The staff waited to offer until they knew they'd be willing to accept a commitment from him. Decreasing confidence in higher-regarded linemen (per their evaluations, not necessarily according to the recruiting sites) on the board? Certainly. However, not all players who fit into that bin - even at positions of need - end up with an offer in a given recruiting cycle, so there's faith that he has athletic tools to work with.
That's all to say that it's extremely likely that the Hokies - his first Power-5 offer - end up with a commitment from Goodner in the long run. There's still a chance his recruitment cools back off and he ends up at one of his Group of Five options (we've seen that happen with other players who would seem to fall into many of the same categories, including local lineman Troy Everett), but for now, I'd take the Hokies over the field.
Devin Lee
Ola (Ga.) 2021 defensive lineman Devin Lee eliminated the Hokies from his top eight a few weeks back... but over the weekend, included the Orange and Maroon in his "final" six. We've seen how these lists can be nebulous, especially in a world where the prospects can't visit their favorites or finalists, but I would expect VT is on the list to stay this time.
VT's re-emergence has a lot to do with the staff prioritizing his recruitment more in the past few weeks. He's a strongside DE or defensive tackle tweener, and that's a position that they've tried to hold for in-state four-star Kelvin Gilliam. With the chances at Gilliam fading as his commitment approaches later this month (Aug. 22), ramping up the attention on others who fit that mold will be important.
Lee is also a guy who is appreciative of the staff paying attention to his home state (and region). It's not lost on the 6-4, 275-pounder that two of the three most-recent Hokie pledges hail from the Peach State.
Tight end
I've been beating the bush a bit lately for some additional context around South Carolina tight end Robbie Ouzts's final two of Alabama and Virginia Tech. It's sort of an odd couple in the recruiting world, at least in 2020.
Ouzts has perhaps joined Kentucky four-star Jordan Dingle as the top player on VT's tight end board, and while Dingle has gone mostly quiet in the past couple months, that's given Ouzts a bit more pub (and given the staff a bit more confidence about where they stand with him in comparison to Dingle - not that they've slipped with Dingle, necessarily, it's just not as clear as with Ouzts).
How hard is Alabama pushing for Ouzts? While he hasn't always been the top TE on the Tide's board (you could say the same for the Hokies), he actually is the top option on the board right now, according to our sources in the Yellowhammer State. If the Hokies end up with Ouzts, it will be a true head-to-head win, and that would be a big deal for the obvious reasons.
As always, thanks for visiting HokieHaven.com. Feel free to use this thread for recruiting discussion.
