Within a week and a half, Virginia Tech will know its fate with a couple of four-star targets. One seems to be trending toward a decision for the good guys, while the other isn't... but a commitment to a different team may not spell the end of the recruitment.
First will be Greensboro (N.C.) Page four-star linebacker Alan Tisdale, who will announce a college commitment July 1 at a restaurant in his hometown. The 6-3, 206-pounder is the No. 19 outside linebacker nationally and the No. 13 rising senior in North Carolina. Louisville, Ole Miss, NC State, and Notre Dame are the other competitors (along with VT) from which he'll be making a commitment.
Nothing has really changed here: The Hokies had a feeling that he might commit on his visit for the spring game, and although he didn't (which he let us know beforehand was going to be the case), nobody has done enough to pull him away from a Hokie lean. We touched base with a source close to his recruitment, asking if VT was still the choice.
"I'd say that's a pretty safe bet," he said.
VT can use Tisdale in a number of roles, from being a nickel-type player with linebacker size, or even putting a hand in the dirt in pass-rush situations. He's just the type of hybrid defender that Bud Foster has implemented to great success in the past, and assuming nothing changes in the next eight days, the veteran coordinator will have the chance to put him to good use.
The other is a little less positive: At this point, it seems likely that four-star tight end Kyle Pitts does indeed pick Florida over the Hokies a couple days later at the conclusion of Nike's The Opening. The July 4 decision comes on the heels of Pitts's most recent visit(s) being to Gainesville, not Blacksburg.
As we've said in the past, though, VT probably won't give up even if they don't get fireworks on Independence Day. There are connections to exploit: he's taken multiple visits to Virginia Tech, and has two friends (wide receiver Darryle Simmons and defensive back Nasir Peoples) who are in the Class of 2018. They'll stay in his ear, even if he makes the wrong choice the first time around.
One longer-term effect a Florida commitment could have is a change in numbers at the tight end position. While the staff has seemed intent on landing a pair of tight ends in the class (local four-star James Mitchell is the other top target), if they don't get Pitts now, they may instead be content to just land one of their top two targets eventually.
"They'll still pursue him [even if Pitts commits to Florida]," a source said. "They'd be extremely happy to land either Pitts or Mitchell."
The either-or verbiage rather than an attempt to land both is a change, though perhaps just a slight semantic one. If the staff has the opportunity to land both, they'd still go for it.
First will be Greensboro (N.C.) Page four-star linebacker Alan Tisdale, who will announce a college commitment July 1 at a restaurant in his hometown. The 6-3, 206-pounder is the No. 19 outside linebacker nationally and the No. 13 rising senior in North Carolina. Louisville, Ole Miss, NC State, and Notre Dame are the other competitors (along with VT) from which he'll be making a commitment.
Nothing has really changed here: The Hokies had a feeling that he might commit on his visit for the spring game, and although he didn't (which he let us know beforehand was going to be the case), nobody has done enough to pull him away from a Hokie lean. We touched base with a source close to his recruitment, asking if VT was still the choice.
"I'd say that's a pretty safe bet," he said.
VT can use Tisdale in a number of roles, from being a nickel-type player with linebacker size, or even putting a hand in the dirt in pass-rush situations. He's just the type of hybrid defender that Bud Foster has implemented to great success in the past, and assuming nothing changes in the next eight days, the veteran coordinator will have the chance to put him to good use.
The other is a little less positive: At this point, it seems likely that four-star tight end Kyle Pitts does indeed pick Florida over the Hokies a couple days later at the conclusion of Nike's The Opening. The July 4 decision comes on the heels of Pitts's most recent visit(s) being to Gainesville, not Blacksburg.
As we've said in the past, though, VT probably won't give up even if they don't get fireworks on Independence Day. There are connections to exploit: he's taken multiple visits to Virginia Tech, and has two friends (wide receiver Darryle Simmons and defensive back Nasir Peoples) who are in the Class of 2018. They'll stay in his ear, even if he makes the wrong choice the first time around.
One longer-term effect a Florida commitment could have is a change in numbers at the tight end position. While the staff has seemed intent on landing a pair of tight ends in the class (local four-star James Mitchell is the other top target), if they don't get Pitts now, they may instead be content to just land one of their top two targets eventually.
"They'll still pursue him [even if Pitts commits to Florida]," a source said. "They'd be extremely happy to land either Pitts or Mitchell."
The either-or verbiage rather than an attempt to land both is a change, though perhaps just a slight semantic one. If the staff has the opportunity to land both, they'd still go for it.
