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20

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

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