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Inside Hokie Sports
The first day of the new December early national signing period for
prospective football prospects came and went, and the words “odd,”
“different,” and “strange” were used to describe the day by many
coaching staffs around the country, including Virginia Tech’s.
“I clicked over, after our staff meeting, on ESPN and ESPN2, and
I didn’t see all the hype that you’ve seen in past signing days,” Tech
defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. “So it’s interesting … it was just
different, when it’s all said and done.”
Despite the oddness of the timing surrounding the early signing
period, Tech’s staff performed quite well, adding 24 prospects to the
program. Though coaches rarely concern themselves with recruiting
rankings—understandably so—they had to be pleased that ESPN rated
the class at No. 15 nationally, while Rivals ranked it No. 16 nationally.
247Sports ranked the class No. 17 nationally—and all had the class rated
third in the ACC behind those at Clemson and Miami.
This well-rounded class, though, isn’t quite complete. Head coach
Justin Fuente said that he and his staff plan to target roughly a handful
of prospects to finish out the class and hope that those prospects sign
with the Hokies during the traditional signing period, which occurs in
early February.
“We still have a couple spots, though not very many, that we are still
trying to chip away at,” Fuente said. “So when it is finally wrapped up,
we can sit back and evaluate where it is all at. Obviously, there was a
large portion of it today [Dec. 20], and I’m incredibly happy about it.
I still think there are one or two things we will work on before heading
into February.”
The class includes six prospects from Virginia, five from North
Carolina and four from Florida in keeping with the program’s traditional
recruiting bases. The coaches focused heavily on defensive backs,
offensive linemen, receivers and those listed as “athletes,” as they
primarily went about injecting speed and playmaking ability on both
sides of the ball.
The staff also addressed the most important position on the
field—quarterback—signing two prospects to letters of intent. The two
are DeJuan Ellis, a 5-foot-11, 180-pounder fromAccokeek, Maryland and
Quincy Patterson II, a 6-4, 230-pounder from Chicago. Ellis threw for
more than 6,500 yards and accounted for 64 touchdowns in his career,
while Patterson probably received more national attention because of
his participation in the Elite 11, a quarterback competition in Beaverton,
Oregon.
“Skill-wise, he has that unique skill type, in my opinion, to do both
[run and pass],” Tech offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen said of
Patterson. “He’s a skilled, talented runner. He has the durability to be
an inside and outside runner. He has those types of instincts, talent, and
he has a big-time arm. He’s really technically sound and fundamental
in the way that he throws the ball, and he just has a huge ceiling from
that standpoint of being able to stand in the pocket and be a big-time
thrower.”
Those two quarterbacks will be joined by three receivers—all of whom
stand taller than 6-2. The contingent includes 6-3 Darryle Simmons
from Philadelphia, 6-2 Kaleb Smith from Bumpass, Virginia; and 6-2
Tré Turner from Oak Ridge, North Carolina. Turner may be the most
accomplished of the group, as he caught 123 passes for 2,614 yards and
31 touchdowns during his career at Northwest Guilford High.
Those three figure to help a receiving corps that has lacked depth the
past two seasons. In 2016, the Hokies relied heavily on Bucky Hodges,
Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips. This fall, with Hodges and Ford off to
The Hokies’ coaches signed 24 prospects
during in the inaugural early national signing
period, and the class has been rated among the
top 20 nationally by three recruiting services
by
Jimmy Robertson
Early
national signing
Caleb Steward
Eli Adams
