Welcome to the latest edition of Tunnel Talk, running through the inside scoop on Hokies and recruiting.
Bullock on the clock?
I spoke yesterday about quarterback Tahj Bullock, and how a planned trip to Virginia Tech - not technically a recruiting visit during the dead period, but a chance to check out campus nonetheless - would be crucial in landing him. He's gotten enough of the football side of things through electronic communication, and physically experience the school is important.
That tentatively-planned trip is no longer tentative: Bullock and his parents will head to town tomorrow and spend the weekend taking in the sights.
Of course, there are no guarantees that a visit (especially one in which the coaches aren't allowed to be guides) goes well. However, the expectation from all accounts is that it will. It says a lot - perhaps as much about his recruiting timeline and trying to stick to a schedule as it does about how Virginia Tech is capital-T capital-O The One - that he's heading to campus despite knowing that it can't be the full visit experience.
Sources close to the Rutgers program have indicated that the Knights' coaching staff has seen its confidence fully evaporate in recent days. A commitment to the Hokies this weekend isn't out of the question - and I've submitted my FutureCast in favor of the Orange and Maroon.
The good and bad in coaching changes
I've mentioned a few times some of the negatives from a recruiting perspective of having to make coaching staff changes. For example, a lot of relationships in the 757 went out the door when Zohn Burden was let go (though I've said the on-field and recruiting results probably necessitated that change). Of course, that's not the kiss of death: Darryl Tapp is doing a good job rebuilding some of those relationships, and some of the more-vocal "you shouldn't have let Zohn go" voices are... maybe looking for something to criticize about VT and picking low-hanging fruit, rather than actually analyzing that change? I guess that's the clearest I can put it without reading too much malice into their actions.
Anyway. There are also positives when coaching changes are made. Sometimes, it's an obvious case of replacing a poor recruiter with a good one (I would say that Tyrone Nix's departure and Justin Hamilton's hire prior to the 2019 season is an example - not that Nix is a poor recruiter overall, but his geographic expertise was a bad fit for VT and therefore the results were bad). Other times, though, it can be a matter of personalities lining up better with recruiting in a modern atmosphere.
Charley Wiles was a solid recruiter (particularly in North Carolina) for the Hokies through the head coaching transition, but he seemed to be halfway checked-out during the final year of the Bud Foster era. His personality type is also an extremely good fit in some situations: the good-ol'-boy schmoozing of high school coaches who like a guy who reminds them of themselves. That may seem like I'm being critical, but that's not the case. A big part of how Mack Brown was so successful at Texas and how he's turned UNC into a bit of a recruiting power seemingly overnight is because he's the master of it. Coaches in North Carolina (see: Wiles's previous success and now Brown's current success) love it, and it's a cultural fit for recruiting there.
It isn't the best fit, however, with a different type of prospect or family. Those who have a bit more... serious isn't the right word necessarily, but it's the closest I can think of... approach to life and the recruiting process aren't always enamored with it. Military families, for example - like you find a lot of in Metro DC and in the Norfolk area - tend to want a coach whose selling points are different than being able to guffaw with the high school coach: defined plans for the prospect's and team's success in the short- and long-terms are more intriguing pitches for them. I think Wiles will do a good job at NC State, but I think the combo of Tapp (a people-person who can sell his NFL success) and Teerlinck (the tactical, technical coach and developer) is going to play better on a staff that doesn't have Bud Foster's track record in its back pocket.
It's certainly been a better approach for in-state DE/DT Kelvin Gilliam (who has that military family background), and the coaching change has gone a long way in helping get VT back in the hunt. Some winning on the field could make the Hokies a favorite for him, when they've been more of an also-ran for some time.
"He's a by-the-book, hard-working sort of kid," a source at Highland Springs said. "With a military family, there just wasn't the personality to fit with Wiles."
Getting into Highland Springs in a more significant way has to be a priority for this staff. They're pushing a lot of the right buttons at this point, but there's a ways to go. Obviously the DL coaching change wasn't for the specific purpose of having a better shot at Gilliam or breaking into the program at which they've whiffed on Mekhi Becton, Malcolm Greene, and others in recent classes.
Watson still an option
It's easy to forget as the cornerstones of the #TX2VT movement have ended up decommitting that Dematrius Davis and Latrell Neville weren't the only players from the Lone Star State who looked likely to end up as Hokies at some point. Indeed, I have a FutureCast pick in for Landyn Watson to end up in Blacksburg. I probably wouldn't make that pick today, but I'm also not necessarily hustling to change it, either.
The four-star out of Hutto (Texas) High had connections to the Hokies because of his friendships with Davis and Neville. However, they were more of a bonus, rather than the focus of VT's recruitment of him. Hailing from the Austin area, he was not as closely-tied to that pair.
Tapp has continued to recruit Watson hard, and the prospect is very appreciative of that attention. The relationship between coach and prospect continues to blossom, and could go a long way toward maintaining VT at the top of his list. Overcoming geography is always going to be an issue (and I've cited it many times as a reason I'm wary to spend quite so much effort trying to build classes out of Texas), but probably not a significant one in the end for Watson. The Hokies are doing the right things to stay in their lofty position.
If and when the emergency Dead Period lifts and he's able to take his official visit to Blacksburg, things could continue to progress in very productive ways.
Bullock on the clock?
I spoke yesterday about quarterback Tahj Bullock, and how a planned trip to Virginia Tech - not technically a recruiting visit during the dead period, but a chance to check out campus nonetheless - would be crucial in landing him. He's gotten enough of the football side of things through electronic communication, and physically experience the school is important.
That tentatively-planned trip is no longer tentative: Bullock and his parents will head to town tomorrow and spend the weekend taking in the sights.
Of course, there are no guarantees that a visit (especially one in which the coaches aren't allowed to be guides) goes well. However, the expectation from all accounts is that it will. It says a lot - perhaps as much about his recruiting timeline and trying to stick to a schedule as it does about how Virginia Tech is capital-T capital-O The One - that he's heading to campus despite knowing that it can't be the full visit experience.
Sources close to the Rutgers program have indicated that the Knights' coaching staff has seen its confidence fully evaporate in recent days. A commitment to the Hokies this weekend isn't out of the question - and I've submitted my FutureCast in favor of the Orange and Maroon.
The good and bad in coaching changes
I've mentioned a few times some of the negatives from a recruiting perspective of having to make coaching staff changes. For example, a lot of relationships in the 757 went out the door when Zohn Burden was let go (though I've said the on-field and recruiting results probably necessitated that change). Of course, that's not the kiss of death: Darryl Tapp is doing a good job rebuilding some of those relationships, and some of the more-vocal "you shouldn't have let Zohn go" voices are... maybe looking for something to criticize about VT and picking low-hanging fruit, rather than actually analyzing that change? I guess that's the clearest I can put it without reading too much malice into their actions.
Anyway. There are also positives when coaching changes are made. Sometimes, it's an obvious case of replacing a poor recruiter with a good one (I would say that Tyrone Nix's departure and Justin Hamilton's hire prior to the 2019 season is an example - not that Nix is a poor recruiter overall, but his geographic expertise was a bad fit for VT and therefore the results were bad). Other times, though, it can be a matter of personalities lining up better with recruiting in a modern atmosphere.
Charley Wiles was a solid recruiter (particularly in North Carolina) for the Hokies through the head coaching transition, but he seemed to be halfway checked-out during the final year of the Bud Foster era. His personality type is also an extremely good fit in some situations: the good-ol'-boy schmoozing of high school coaches who like a guy who reminds them of themselves. That may seem like I'm being critical, but that's not the case. A big part of how Mack Brown was so successful at Texas and how he's turned UNC into a bit of a recruiting power seemingly overnight is because he's the master of it. Coaches in North Carolina (see: Wiles's previous success and now Brown's current success) love it, and it's a cultural fit for recruiting there.
It isn't the best fit, however, with a different type of prospect or family. Those who have a bit more... serious isn't the right word necessarily, but it's the closest I can think of... approach to life and the recruiting process aren't always enamored with it. Military families, for example - like you find a lot of in Metro DC and in the Norfolk area - tend to want a coach whose selling points are different than being able to guffaw with the high school coach: defined plans for the prospect's and team's success in the short- and long-terms are more intriguing pitches for them. I think Wiles will do a good job at NC State, but I think the combo of Tapp (a people-person who can sell his NFL success) and Teerlinck (the tactical, technical coach and developer) is going to play better on a staff that doesn't have Bud Foster's track record in its back pocket.
It's certainly been a better approach for in-state DE/DT Kelvin Gilliam (who has that military family background), and the coaching change has gone a long way in helping get VT back in the hunt. Some winning on the field could make the Hokies a favorite for him, when they've been more of an also-ran for some time.
"He's a by-the-book, hard-working sort of kid," a source at Highland Springs said. "With a military family, there just wasn't the personality to fit with Wiles."
Getting into Highland Springs in a more significant way has to be a priority for this staff. They're pushing a lot of the right buttons at this point, but there's a ways to go. Obviously the DL coaching change wasn't for the specific purpose of having a better shot at Gilliam or breaking into the program at which they've whiffed on Mekhi Becton, Malcolm Greene, and others in recent classes.
Watson still an option
It's easy to forget as the cornerstones of the #TX2VT movement have ended up decommitting that Dematrius Davis and Latrell Neville weren't the only players from the Lone Star State who looked likely to end up as Hokies at some point. Indeed, I have a FutureCast pick in for Landyn Watson to end up in Blacksburg. I probably wouldn't make that pick today, but I'm also not necessarily hustling to change it, either.
The four-star out of Hutto (Texas) High had connections to the Hokies because of his friendships with Davis and Neville. However, they were more of a bonus, rather than the focus of VT's recruitment of him. Hailing from the Austin area, he was not as closely-tied to that pair.
Tapp has continued to recruit Watson hard, and the prospect is very appreciative of that attention. The relationship between coach and prospect continues to blossom, and could go a long way toward maintaining VT at the top of his list. Overcoming geography is always going to be an issue (and I've cited it many times as a reason I'm wary to spend quite so much effort trying to build classes out of Texas), but probably not a significant one in the end for Watson. The Hokies are doing the right things to stay in their lofty position.
If and when the emergency Dead Period lifts and he's able to take his official visit to Blacksburg, things could continue to progress in very productive ways.
