We're a couple days removed from Clemson transfer Tavien Feaster's official visit to Blacksburg. Now that the dust has settled, what are we hearing about the former four-star's re-recruitment?
The Virginia Tech end of things remains extremely confident. As noted in the story earlier this week, the Hokies did everything they possibly could have done. Landing him at this point is more about if Virginia Tech is the sort of place that he wants to spend his time more so than if the staff and program did everything possible to sell him on it. His feel for the program (and importantly, confidence that the run game will be solid) is something that's in his control only by that point.
The Hokies still feel pretty good about him - in fact, I'd say they believe Blacksburg will be his transfer destination - which would obviously be quite the boost.
From Feaster's end of things, though, the Hokies sound like an underdog in this race still. He intends to see a couple other schools (Texas has gotten particular mention), but it's one closer to home that seems the most likely landing spot: South Carolina. He's taken a couple unofficial visits to Columbia since entering his name into the transfer portal, and even though it looks unlikely that he'll use an official visit to go there, the proximity makes it an easy trip and a program he's pretty familiar with.
The catch is that the Cocks face off against Clemson annually, and if Feaster's coaches at Clemson don't want to play against him, it's possible that they try to block a move to SC (how that would impact Virginia Tech as a potential destination, given the Hokies could be an ACC Championship Game opponent, is as-yet unknown).
"He definitely wants to make sure he has other options in case Clemson does something crazy," like block his first-choice destination, someone close to Feaster said.
The fact that there's no deadline for a decision can be a bit of a mixed bag for the Hokies: it definitely gives VT time to make up ground on South Carolina if necessary (or possible), but it also means that there's a potentially long wait to find out Feaster's final decision. If Clemson tries to prevent him from going to South Carolina, what's to stop them from doing the same about another potential opponent in VT (and that would leave the Hokies less time to respond, as well).
Once Feaster's final couple classes begin to wrap up (he'll be immediately eligible after completing them and graduating), the picture may become clearer. For now, though, it's a little cloudy, depending upon whom you ask.
The Virginia Tech end of things remains extremely confident. As noted in the story earlier this week, the Hokies did everything they possibly could have done. Landing him at this point is more about if Virginia Tech is the sort of place that he wants to spend his time more so than if the staff and program did everything possible to sell him on it. His feel for the program (and importantly, confidence that the run game will be solid) is something that's in his control only by that point.
The Hokies still feel pretty good about him - in fact, I'd say they believe Blacksburg will be his transfer destination - which would obviously be quite the boost.
From Feaster's end of things, though, the Hokies sound like an underdog in this race still. He intends to see a couple other schools (Texas has gotten particular mention), but it's one closer to home that seems the most likely landing spot: South Carolina. He's taken a couple unofficial visits to Columbia since entering his name into the transfer portal, and even though it looks unlikely that he'll use an official visit to go there, the proximity makes it an easy trip and a program he's pretty familiar with.
The catch is that the Cocks face off against Clemson annually, and if Feaster's coaches at Clemson don't want to play against him, it's possible that they try to block a move to SC (how that would impact Virginia Tech as a potential destination, given the Hokies could be an ACC Championship Game opponent, is as-yet unknown).
"He definitely wants to make sure he has other options in case Clemson does something crazy," like block his first-choice destination, someone close to Feaster said.
The fact that there's no deadline for a decision can be a bit of a mixed bag for the Hokies: it definitely gives VT time to make up ground on South Carolina if necessary (or possible), but it also means that there's a potentially long wait to find out Feaster's final decision. If Clemson tries to prevent him from going to South Carolina, what's to stop them from doing the same about another potential opponent in VT (and that would leave the Hokies less time to respond, as well).
Once Feaster's final couple classes begin to wrap up (he'll be immediately eligible after completing them and graduating), the picture may become clearer. For now, though, it's a little cloudy, depending upon whom you ask.
