Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 3 | January 2018

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22 Inside Hokie Sports
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190-pounder from Florida who played two seasons at ASA College, a
junior college in New York.
Given his experience, Webb probably possesses the ability to work his
way into a prominent role rather quickly.
“You know, I’m really excited about Jeremy for a couple of reasons,”
Foster said. “No. 1 is his ability. No. 2 is his maturity. We’re losing two
corners to graduation. We’re young there, [and] we’re bringing in
some young guys this winter. Being a guy that’s mature, knows how to
work, knows how to compete … I know Coach [Brian] Mitchell [Tech’s
cornerbacks coach] went out to watch him practice and watch him play
andwas really impressedwith his work ethic and his demeanor in practice
and how he approached practice—and that’s what we’re going to need.”
Fuente compared Tech’s situation at the defensive backs positions,
specifically cornerback, to the situation at the wide receiver spots—thus
explaining the rationale for signing so many.
“We had some really good players, [but] we just didn’t have great
depth,” Fuente said. “We’ve been really good in the secondary, just don’t
have great depth.
“When you play with five guys in the secondary, essentially three
safeties and two corners, I just think it is going to take some time to
catch up on some depth. I think that is the biggest reason we signed
so many guys. We are trying to have three-deep at each position in the
secondary. I do feel good about the amount of defensive backs and the
type of players that are coming in.”
The other defense signees include defensive lineman Eli Adams from
Rock Hill, South Carolina; defensive lineman Joe Kane from Wake
Forest, North Carolina; and linebacker Keshon Artis from Chesapeake,
Virginia. Foster compared the 5-11, 236-pound Adams to former Tech
great Corey Moore.
“Eli is the guy who is the closest thing I’ve really seen to that kind of
Early national
signing period Continued
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guy, as far as his explosiveness, his ability to make plays on the other side
of the line of scrimmage, and as far as a guy that was tough to block one-
on-one, a guy that played with tremendous effort and can bend his body
and redirect and can be very disruptive,” Foster said. “He’s probably a
little bigger, as far as his weight and that type of thing, but he has similar
characteristics, and I hope that he will continue to develop that way
because Corey was pretty special.”
Last, but certainly not least, the staff signed three players listed as
“athletes”—those versatile enough to play any number of positions.
That group includes Blacksburg native Cole Beck; Armani Chatman
from Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Alan Tisdale fromGreensboro, North
Carolina.
The 6-0, 185-pound Beck, also a phenomenal track and field athlete,
rushed for 4,723 yards and 81 touchdowns in his career at Blacksburg
High, while Chatman worked mostly at receiver at Bishop Sullivan
Catholic. Tisdale played mostly defense at Page High, racking up 112
tackles, including 17.5 for a loss.
The final member of the class is Oscar Shadley, a long snapper from
Naples, Florida. One service considered Shadley the best long snapper
in the nation, and he figures to move into the starting lineup quickly
considering Colton Taylor’s departure.
Tech’s staff will get to work with many of these young men right away,
as several plan to enroll for the spring semester—a group that includes
Adams, Crossen, Darrisaw, Kane, Shadley, Steward, Tisdale, Turner,
Smith and Waller.
National pundits, and even some local ones, questioned how much
recruiting would be a distraction from bowl preparations, but Fuente
didn’t feel that the December signing period was that big of a deal in
that regard.
“I don’t know if the early signing day has been a distraction,” he said.
“You are always dealing with finals, the holidays and bowl prep, so I
don’t think it was a huge issue.”
The traditional signing period in February remains intact. Any
additions to this class would be able to sign a letter of intent starting
Feb. 7.