But at the same time, we have to be better in that area.. -, CB / It shows that theyll block and find ways to contribute to the team.. 6-0 / Thomas Williams is a sensational athlete and could also figure into the mix here. 6-0 / The Hokies had circled him as a possibility before he went in the portal, so once he officially put his name out there, offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen had done his homework and was the first coach Drones welcomed on an in-home visit. He is another player who was undervalued. LB. Youve got to be able to have people to do that. Period. 455 player nationally and No. The Hokies did plenty of work in Tennessee in this class, an area that Tech hasnt tapped into all that much in recent years, getting four signees from the Volunteer State. I had him in an all-star game or I coached him at camp or I went to college with his mom and dad. Those are the relationships that are meaningful, when you can get as much information about a guy to make sure youre taking the right kid, that youre doing the right thing.. Caleb Woodson is another who had interest from others. READ MORE, Ari Watford will be one of the top prospects in the state in the 2025 class. The recruiting classes for the champions of both . 233, Edge / It used to be a team would get past the New Year and have a pretty. This is why were making this decision. All six could reasonably be considered starting candidates next season. Cotman was once considered one of the top players in Virginia, and if you go back and watch him in high school, he is a really good football player. The 6-foot-2, 260-pound Varner was a first-team All-AAC performer at Temple in 2022 and can slide inside on passing downs. The 6-foot-1 wide receiver has over 20 scholarship offers and is the No. Just a lot goes into it, so its easy to get excited when they jump on there and theyre signed, sealed and delivered.. Four Virginia high school coaches share their impressions of Brent Pry, how Virginia Tech slipped recruiting the state, the importance of keeping players home, plus more. 5-9 / Gambling problem? Note: We are told that Ezekiel Wimbush, previously listed as a commitment, is currently preferred walk-on status. Fitzgerald was the most recent offensive addition, committing to the Hokies on Friday. Antonio Cotman was a late flip from Boston College. Ali Jennings, from Highland Springs High School, spent two years at West Virginia and the previous two years at Old Dominion. Virginia Tech missed out on some key in-state linebacker prospects. Note that this isn't necessarily a complete list of recruits who are in Blacksburg; it's only a list of those who we can confirm visited via social media. Im not going to say there wasnt concerns and there wasnt conversations that had to be had, but most times you can work through those things, and were able to do that with those guys. Cotman was the latest defensive player the Hokies snagged. (Christian Moss is the only scholarship receiver on the roster whos 6-3.). On3 Football Recruiting. The 2018 class is probably the last one with a strong finish that paid dividends on the field, with the Hokies landing future NFL tight end James Mitchell before the early signing period that December and coveted linebacker Dax Hollifield in February to punctuate a class ranked 22nd nationally, back before the wheels fell off during Justin Fuentes tenure. I think they appreciate that were trying to do this with guys from our footprint, and specifically with guys from the state of Virginia. READ MORE No. Hes confident. While the Hokies have continued to add players from the NCAA transfer portal . He was a hybrid linebacker-defensive back in both 2019 and 2020, registering a bulk of his . READ MORE, Virginia Tech signed JUCO defensive end James Jennette on Wednesday, per his announcement on social media. 205, RB / Signed Letter of Intent (15) Pos Ht / Wt Rating Status Chance Fitzgerald Nolensville (Nolensville, TN) If allowed to develop for two years, Watson could be a terrific college quarterback. And while well see if hes actually that big listed heights and weights on recruiting sites are hardly unimpeachable its a body type Techs lacking now that Kaleb Smith is in the transfer portal. Lord Botetourt Contingent Makes The Trip S. TyLyric Coleman Dan River (Ringgold, VA) 6-3 / 175. 57 player in the class at the edge position, 247 has him at No. Its there. -, WR / The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Drones was Techs top transfer quarterback target. READ MORE, Within 10 minutes, 4-star linebacker Gabriel Williams had received a text message from nearly every member of Virginia Techs coaching staff. Im home!!! Some of them, you had a new head coach in the Big Ten celebrating, This is our first offer, a Virginia Tech commitment! And it went as far as guys had graphics of taking official visits to other places, which they never did. 6-4 / 300, S / I can see both playing in 2023. Offensive lineman Lance Williams, a Tennessee Mr. Football for his classification, was the first commitment in the class from Alcoa, south of Knoxville. Each recruit is weighted in the rankings according to a, Readers familiar with the Gaussian distribution formula will note that we use a varying value for. Jonathan Pennix and Krystian Williams are athletes who could start out on either side of the ball. Virginia Tech has offered Salisbury (N.C.) 2024 cornerback Deuce Walker. It sounds like the Hokies want to see him begin at receiver, but I like him as a cornerback. The receiver group rounded out late with the additions out of Tennessee of both Ayden Greene, a one-time Cincinnati commit, and Chance Fitzgerald. READ MORE Ari Watford Preparing For Visit To Virginia Tech By: Jason Stamm | January 20, 2023 Ari Watford will be one of the top prospects in the state in the 2025 class. Were looking for possibly a running back to come in and compete with Malachi and Chance (Black) and those guys and make that room better, Pry said. You can see that the area under the curve gets smaller both as the rating for a commit decreases and as the number of total commits for a school increases. And you go down the road and theres a coach youve known for 20 years and you can say, Tell me about that guy. And he says, Coach, thats a heck of a ball player. @CoachPryVT @coachscott33 @BappNAinEZBino @adamgorney @RivalsFriedman @EdOBrienCFB pic.twitter.com/SrtfDYNLja, Antonio Hazen Cotman Jr. (@CotmanHazen) December 18, 2022, Cotmans addition bolsters whats turning into a pretty good haul in the secondary for the Hokies. 34 nationally, according to the 247Sports team composite rankings. How long has it been since the Hokies have had these kinds of feel-good vibes around signing day? The Virginia Tech Hokies wrapped up the early signing period last week feeling pretty good about the 2023 recruiting class. 305, / Grant Wells did not have a good initial season in Blacksburg, but in reality, he was the Hokies' best option . There were no last-second decommitments or signing day swings and misses, a welcome change from recent years, and the Hokies even had a few surprises up their sleeves for the public, with a pair of transfers, defensive end Darian Varner and receiver DaQuan Felton, and high school safety Mose Phillips announcing their intentions to sign with Tech on Wednesday. We just know more about these guys. Woodson is a fun player with good size and speed, who many believe ends up at linebacker. Added to last years haul that included freshman phenom Mansoor Delane and promising youngsters Cam Johnson and Devin Alves, it feels like Tech has set up its secondary for future success better than any other position, particularly when you consider returners like Dorian Strong, Nasir Peoples and Jalen Stroman. 2023 Virginia Tech Athletics - All Rights Reserved. Prys focus upon his hiring was to rebuild relationships within the Commonwealth. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. Head coach Brent Pry enters his second year at the helm, and the Hokies open their season vs. Old Dominion on Saturday, Sept. 2 in Blacksburg. Tech has also gotten confirmation from defensive tackle Mario Kendricks and defensive end Pheldarius Payne, a Nebraska transfer who missed last year with an Achilles injury, that theyll return. Over the final month heading into the early signing period, Pry picked up commitments from six high school players and four transfers. Findlayter is the No. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Life Christian Academy (Colonial Heights, VA), Clarkson Football North (Mississauga, ON), RB / We still have a couple needs were trying to fill, he said. Virginia Tech's 2023 National Signing Day class ranks as the sixth best in the ACC according to 247Sports Composite and Rivals. All four have legit size and Ghannam could play early in his career. 295, TE / But the staff has connections that way too, with defensive coordinator Chris Marve having played and coached at Vanderbilt, sam linebackers coach Shawn Quinn playing collegiately at Carson-Newman and with a number of past coaching jobs in Tennessee and Pry himself with stints at Memphis and Vanderbilt. Email Address. Competition at quarterback. Eligible to return for a super-senior season (awaiting decision). That doesnt mean were not going to sign some guys from outside we did, and we will but an emphasis on homegrown talent. 285, DL / 250, S / Chance Fitzgerald and Ayden Greene were late additions as the Hokies had to beat out some good programs to land both. Pry thinks Tech secured commitments early from some undervalued players in the state who had strong senior seasons, which helped the Hokies fend off late challengers once their recruitment heated up, We came in here talking a big game about recruiting this state, he said. Conner has late Day 3 value as a potential backup., He was given a prospect rating of 5.82 - which defines him as an "Average backup or Special Teamer. READ MORE, 2024 in-state target Chanz Wiggins was in Blacksburg on Monday night, and he's become very familiar with Virginia Tech. I thought it was tough when we got Jason (Brown) and Grant last year at the same time. 210, IOL / They include: A defensive end: With Varner likely to play tackle, Tech has a need on the edge, especially with last years top pass rusher, TyJuan Garbutt, graduating. North Carolina was all over cornerback Cam Fleming in the final two weeks. Last year, the Hokies beefed up on both lines, signing 12 players who played in the trenches. (Virginia Tech sports photography) On early signing day, 25 prospects from the class of 2023 signed their NLIs with Virginia Tech football: 13 on offense and 12 on defense. 6-1 / He has good size for a receiver at 6-foot-3, 184 pounds. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Recruit images were posted here as NLIs were received see the area below the table. Its the second consecutive season Tech has been ranked in that neighborhood after middling to forgettable classes in 2021 (44th) and 2020 (76th). 1 player in the state in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports' in-house rankings. ACC Championship. The secondary class is a fun group. And Florida State made a late push for linebacker Caleb Woodson. fnaf animatronic creator,