Welcome to Tunnel Talk, with the latest in the world of Hokies recruiting.
Kaedin Robinson
Brooklyn (N.Y.) ASA College is a familiar Juco name for Hokies fans, who will recall Jeremy Webb signing in the 2018 class - before multiple injuries led him to move on from Blacksburg this offseason. The latest name of note for the Hokies is wide receiver Kaedin Robinson.
Robinson picked up a VT offer yesterday... with the Hokies just beating the buzzer, given that he plans to make a college commitment today. UCF is the leader in the clubhouse, and the likely choice this afternoon. However, if the Hokies still push as the process goes on (and who knows if they will, with limited need for a two-year player in the 2021 class), there's a chance they end up with him. His main holdup with VT is an academic credit situation - not all of his classes will transfer to Virginia Tech, so he'd have to make up a credit or two to end up with the Hokies - but that's something that can be resolved this Fall if he is interested.
Unranked out of Asheville (N.C.) Reynolds, he was a Juco All-American last Fall, and widely expected to repeat that feat this season. The 6-2, 200-pounder is, at the very least, someone to keep in mind if the Hokies have a need down the road.
Cole Nelson
Johns Creek (Ga.) 2021 defensive end Cole Nelson is still on track to make his college commitment tomorrow. At this point, he's planning for some time around noon, though nothing has really been set in stone - it'll be a bit of a no-frills affair, clearly. I'm still feeling very good about the Hokies' chances in this one, despite the fact that he hasn't been able to take a recruiting visit to Blacksburg yet (he did the self-guided tour thing a couple weeks back - it's essentially become a necessity in the recruiting world).
The 6-3, 230-pounder isn't the biggest defensive lineman in the world, but he's certainly a guy who can at the very least maintain the production of the current group of defensive ends, and the staff hopes they can develop him to be even better than that.
New assistants
I've beaten the "lack of cohesive organization" drum a bit when it comes to evaluating the Hokies' struggles on the recruiting trail (particularly closer to home). It's been a frustration to see a staff - that has an exceptional eye for finding talent before anyone else - identify players early, and then fail to follow through with a concentrated recruiting effort. When you find players first, they shouldn't slip through the cracks as often as they have in the past two or three recruiting cycles.
Recent additions to the recruiting staff - Jeron Gouveia-Winslow and Corey Fuller - won't necessarily work specifically on that side of things. However, their additions have let them be some of the contact points for players, and that's streamlined the processes in the recruiting office. It will take a while before we really have a chance to evaluate any results in that process, but it does sound like things are headed in a better direction from a planning and execution standpoint.
So when will those results show up? On a small scale, it improves the chances with some remaining Class of 2021 recruits, but the first real fruits of that labor should be realized in the 2022 cycle. Obviously pandemic-related factors are playing havoc with all sorts of things in the recruiting world and beyond, but we're at a point in those respective cycles where the identification and prioritizing steps of the plan are relevant to the rising junior class (and younger players, as well) - the opportunity to play catch-up in 2021 is limited.
After a meager 2020 class, and what looks like an OK-but-not-going-to-make-everyone-forget-2020 group shaping up for this year's group, they'll have to be ready to knock 2022 out of the park to avoid a talent and depth gap on the roster in a couple years.
As always, thanks for visiting HokieHaven.com. Feel free to use this thread to discuss the topics raised herein.
Kaedin Robinson
Brooklyn (N.Y.) ASA College is a familiar Juco name for Hokies fans, who will recall Jeremy Webb signing in the 2018 class - before multiple injuries led him to move on from Blacksburg this offseason. The latest name of note for the Hokies is wide receiver Kaedin Robinson.
Robinson picked up a VT offer yesterday... with the Hokies just beating the buzzer, given that he plans to make a college commitment today. UCF is the leader in the clubhouse, and the likely choice this afternoon. However, if the Hokies still push as the process goes on (and who knows if they will, with limited need for a two-year player in the 2021 class), there's a chance they end up with him. His main holdup with VT is an academic credit situation - not all of his classes will transfer to Virginia Tech, so he'd have to make up a credit or two to end up with the Hokies - but that's something that can be resolved this Fall if he is interested.
Unranked out of Asheville (N.C.) Reynolds, he was a Juco All-American last Fall, and widely expected to repeat that feat this season. The 6-2, 200-pounder is, at the very least, someone to keep in mind if the Hokies have a need down the road.
Cole Nelson
Johns Creek (Ga.) 2021 defensive end Cole Nelson is still on track to make his college commitment tomorrow. At this point, he's planning for some time around noon, though nothing has really been set in stone - it'll be a bit of a no-frills affair, clearly. I'm still feeling very good about the Hokies' chances in this one, despite the fact that he hasn't been able to take a recruiting visit to Blacksburg yet (he did the self-guided tour thing a couple weeks back - it's essentially become a necessity in the recruiting world).
The 6-3, 230-pounder isn't the biggest defensive lineman in the world, but he's certainly a guy who can at the very least maintain the production of the current group of defensive ends, and the staff hopes they can develop him to be even better than that.
New assistants
I've beaten the "lack of cohesive organization" drum a bit when it comes to evaluating the Hokies' struggles on the recruiting trail (particularly closer to home). It's been a frustration to see a staff - that has an exceptional eye for finding talent before anyone else - identify players early, and then fail to follow through with a concentrated recruiting effort. When you find players first, they shouldn't slip through the cracks as often as they have in the past two or three recruiting cycles.
Recent additions to the recruiting staff - Jeron Gouveia-Winslow and Corey Fuller - won't necessarily work specifically on that side of things. However, their additions have let them be some of the contact points for players, and that's streamlined the processes in the recruiting office. It will take a while before we really have a chance to evaluate any results in that process, but it does sound like things are headed in a better direction from a planning and execution standpoint.
So when will those results show up? On a small scale, it improves the chances with some remaining Class of 2021 recruits, but the first real fruits of that labor should be realized in the 2022 cycle. Obviously pandemic-related factors are playing havoc with all sorts of things in the recruiting world and beyond, but we're at a point in those respective cycles where the identification and prioritizing steps of the plan are relevant to the rising junior class (and younger players, as well) - the opportunity to play catch-up in 2021 is limited.
After a meager 2020 class, and what looks like an OK-but-not-going-to-make-everyone-forget-2020 group shaping up for this year's group, they'll have to be ready to knock 2022 out of the park to avoid a talent and depth gap on the roster in a couple years.
As always, thanks for visiting HokieHaven.com. Feel free to use this thread to discuss the topics raised herein.
