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21

the NFL, Phillips assumed much of the load, while the staff

tried to develop younger players such as Sean Savoy, Hezekiah

Grimsley and Eric Kumah.

But now Phillips departs, which necessitated the need to

add more speed and talent at the receiver spots. In fact, speed

and talent were the themes at many positions.

“I just feel like we got a little bit faster last year, and this year,

we took a large step forward,” Fuente said. “You start talking

about the guys who have put up the track times, and then you

watch them play live and see the explosiveness. Some of them

are offensive guys, and some of them are defensive guys. It is

very difficult or impossible to teach somebody to run fast, but

we feel like we can teach them a whole lot of other things.”

The four offensive linemen—Walker Culver from Soddy-

Daisy, Tennessee; Christian Darrisaw from Upper Marlboro,

Maryland; John Harris from Hoschton, Georgia; and Luke

Tenuta from Crozet, Virginia—comprise the front of the

future. Tailback Caleb Steward from Jacksonville, Florida and

tight end James Mitchell from Big Stone Gap, Virginia added

to the skill haul. Mitchell was the state’s Class 2A Offensive

Player of the Year.

On defense, the Hokies desperately needed defensive backs,

as cornerbacks Greg Stroman and Brandon Facyson graduate,

and the program lacks depth behind them. Thus, the coaches

brought in six defensive backs, and they all bring height and

length—much in the same mold as Stroman, Facyson and

Adonis Alexander.

The signees include 6-1 DJ Crossen from Greensboro,

North Carolina; 6-0 Chamarri Conner of Jacksonville, Florida;

6-1 Jermaine Waller from Washington, D.C.; 5-10 Nadir

Thompson from Elm City, North Carolina; 6-0 Nasir Peoples

from Abington, Pennsylvania; and Jeremy Webb, a 6-3,

period

no problem

for

TECH

football staff

Continued on page 22

2017-18

FOOTBALL RECRUITING

NAME

POS. HT.

WT.

HOMETOWN HIGH SCHOOL

RECRUITED BY

Eli Adams

DL 5-11 236 Rock Hill, SC

South Pointe

James Shibest

Keshon Artis

LB 5-11 227 Chesapeake, VA Oscar Smith

Zohn Burden

Cole Beck

Ath.

6-0 185 Blacksburg, VA

Blacksburg

Brad Cornelsen

Armani Chatman Ath.

6-0 173 Virginia Beach, VA Bishop Sullivan

Zohn Burden

Charmarri Conner DB 6-0 195 Jacksonville, FL Trinity Christian

Charley Wiles

DJ Crossen

DB 6-1 186 Greensboro, NC Dudley

Charley Wiles

Walker Culver

OL 6-5 275 Soddy-Daisy, TN Baylor School

Brad Cornelsen

Christian Darrisaw OL 6-5 290 Upper Marlboro, MD Riverdale Baptist School/Fork Union Holmon Wiggins

DeJuan Ellis

QB 5-11 180 Accokeek, MD

McDonugh School

Galen Scott

John Harris

OL 6-4 278 Hoschton, GA

Mill Creek

Vance Vice

Joe Kane

DL 6-2 280 Wake Forest, NC Heritage

Charley Wiles

James Mitchell

TE 6-4 227 Big Stone Gap, VA Union

Charley Wiles

Quincy Patterson QB 6-4 229 Chicago, IL

Solorio Academy

Brad Cornelsen

Nasir Peoples

DB 6-0 178 Abington, PA

Archbishop Wood

Brian Mitchell

Oscar Shadley

LS 6-0 230 Naples, FL

Golden Gate

James Shibest

Darryle Simmons WR 6-3 200 Philadelphia, PA St. Joe’s Prep

Brian Mitchell

Kaleb Smith

WR 6-2 180 Bumpass, VA

Louisa

Galen Scott

Caleb Steward RB 5-11 203 Jacksonville, FL Ed White

Charley Wiles

Luke Tenuta

OL 6-7 275 Crozet, VA

Western Albemarle

Vance Vice

Nadir Thompson DB 5-10 170 Elm City, NC

Southern Nash

Charley Wiles

Alan Tisdale

LB 6-3 208 Greensboro, NC Page

Charley Wiles

Tré Turner

WR 6-2 177 Oak Ridge, NC

Northwest Guilford

Charley Wiles

Jermaine Waller DB 6-1 178 Washington, D.C.

The Avalon School

Holmon Wiggins

Jeremy Webb DB 6-3 190 East Mims, FL

ASA College/Adlai Stevenson

Brian Mitchell

Quincy Patterson