Virginia Tech recruiting thoughts: Where Hokies' class stands and who they're targeting (2024)

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Like all head coaches, Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry is recruiting on two fronts, both for short-term needs (the transfer portal) and for the long haul (high schools), trying to balance the numbers to fit neatly under the 85-scholarship limit.

And while portal-mania is taking over the sport, with fan bases having quixotic visions of a complete roster turnaround in a single offseason now that the early-December window is open, the more cautious, realistic approach is a longer, slower build, which starts with high school recruiting.

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“Again, we’re going to build this thing with high school players, but we’re also going to fulfill needs out of the transfer portal,” Pry said. “So we’re working both angles.”

There are less than two weeks until the early signing period begins on Dec. 21. Here are some thoughts on where Virginia Tech’s 2023 high school recruiting stands as it comes down the stretch:

• The Hokies have 19 commitments in their ’23 class, a group that’s ranked 41st nationally and ninth in the ACC in the 247Sports Composite rankings. While that’s not great, it’s also roughly in the neighborhood of where Virginia Tech has been since the disastrous 2020 class:

Virginia Tech recruiting

Class	National rank	ACC rank	Avg. recruit rating
2023	41st	9th	86.15
2022	36th	5th	86.60
2021	44th	10th	85.49
2020	76th	14th	84.98

Granted, Pry and his staff had an uphill battle after taking over, well behind in scouting and forming bonds with many of the top prospects in the class — a process that starts years earlier — and needing to mend relationships, particularly in-state, that atrophied during Justin Fuente’s tenure.

• That’s clearly a process close to home. The Hokies have commitments from 10 Virginia prospects, though none are rated higher than 22nd in the state — Trinity Episcopal School cornerback Cameren Fleming, who is the 907th-ranked player in the 2023 class.

Penn State and North Carolina are once again dominating the blue-chip count in the commonwealth, with the Nittany Lions having pledges from five of the top 10 recruits in Virginia and the Tar Heels having five of the top 17.

To underscore how accelerated that process is, when Pry was hired by Virginia Tech last year on Nov. 30, Penn State already had commitments in place from the state’s No. 1 overall prospect, Broad Run offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier, and one of the top athletes, Riverbend’s Mathias Barnwell, and was in good shape on several others who’d commit in short order (linebacker Tony Rojas and offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh).

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The remaining uncommitted top-25 players left in the state are dwindling. Athlete Brandyn Hillman, the No. 7 player who unofficially visited Virginia Tech in November, committed to Notre Dame on Wednesday.

• How big can the class go? It’s tough to put a definitive number on it. An unofficial count of the Hokies’ scholarships, at the moment, after nine scholarship players have gone into the portal so far, puts them at 83 — a figure that counts all 19 commitments and includes all of the seniors who could possibly return for an extra COVID-19 season.

Obviously, that’s a number in flux. More players will go into the portal — there always seems to be a surge after the new semester starts in January, once scholarship money is guaranteed — and it’s possible a few choose not to use their extra COVID-19 season. Any departure on that front would open up spots on the other side for Tech to add, either via the transfer portal or to its signing class. How to weigh those two is the issue facing staffs around the country right now.

Hokies Class of 2023 commits

Player	Pos	Stars	Rank	State
Layth Ghannam	OL	4	364	WV
Aycen Stevens	LB	3	600	IN
Thomas Williams	ATH	3	881	SC
Dante Lovett	ATH	3	881	MD
Cameren Fleming	CB	3	907	VA
Hannes Hammer	OT	3	927	VA
Marcell Baylor	WR	3	937	VA
Krystian Williams	WR	3	937	VA
Jason Abbey	Edge	3	937	VA
Braylon Johnson	S	3	954	VA
Caleb Woodson	S	3	989	VA
Tralon Mitchell	ATH	3	1051	NC
Tavorian Copeland	LB	3	1099	VA
Dylan Wittke	QB	3	1108	GA
Gabriel Arena	OT	3	1136	PA
Lance Williams	OL	3	1150	TN
Takye Heath	ATH	3	1328	VA
Jonathan Pennix	ATH	3	1445	VA
Ishmael Findlayter	Edge	3	1518	Ontario

• So who could still join the class? The Hokies have long had an offer out to Elijah Hughes, a defensive line prospect out of Washington-Liberty High in Arlington. The 6-foot-3, 265-pounder is a three-star prospect and the No. 16 player in Virginia in 247Sports’ site-specific rankings. He plays a position of need for the Hokies, who, after signing what turned out to be three defensive tackles in last year’s class (Gunner Givens ended up there and Braelin Moore on the offensive line), don’t currently have a ’23 commitment from an interior lineman on the defense.

Hughes, who was his region’s defensive player of the year and a first-team all-state pick after finishing with 111 tackles, 32 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks this past season, hasn’t been all too public about his leaning. Stanford has long been in the mix, though with David Shaw’s resignation and uncertainty about who will replace him, that might mean an advantage for the Hokies.

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His older brother, Sam, joined Virginia Tech as a walk-on this year. It’s hard to imagine what else the Hokies could do to push this any more in their favor.

• The Hokies were quick to make a push for wide receiver Ayden Greene after he decommitted from Cincinnati the day word got out that Luke Fickell was leaving the Bearcats for Wisconsin. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Greene had 66 catches for 1,127 yards and 19 touchdowns in 14 games for Powell (Tenn.) High and is rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 459 player nationally.