The Class of 2017 recruiting cycle is coming to a close. National Signing Day is two weeks away and Virginia Tech is doing their best to close on what could be a game-changing class. Several recruits will be in town this weekend for official visits, giving Virginia Tech a chance to seal the deal with multiple players. Let’s go over the Hokies’ final targets on the recruiting trail and set the stage for the final two weeks.
Bryce Watts, athlete
Virginia Tech has been pushing Watts to flip from Rutgers for a while now, and it seems like their plan has worked. He officially decommitted from Rutgers on Monday, which came as no surprise. Watts should be visiting Virginia Tech this weekend, giving them a final chance to seal the deal.
Mekhi Becton, offensive lineman
The Hokies have coveted Becton for a long time, but have never been able to push through. Becton has always kept Virginia Tech in consideration, but hasn’t visited since last summer. The Highland Spring product is supposedly visiting Virginia Tech this weekend as well. If Virginia Tech can get Becton on campus, they should have a good shot at landing him. Becton has already taken officials to Michigan, Louisville and has one scheduled to Michigan State, according to 247Sports. This recruitment will go all the way to Signing Day.
Victor Dimukeje, defensive lineman
Dimukeje visited Virginia Tech in December and the Hokies have been one of the top contenders since then. He is scheduled to take an official visit to Duke this weekend and will likely decide after that visit. Dimukeje also visited Michigan State on the Jan. 13 weekend and the Spartans are another school to watch.
Zion DeBose, defensive end
DeBose is one of a few defensive ends that Virginia Tech is still pursuing. The 3-star recruit is being recruited heavily by Illinois, Missouri and Pittsburgh, as well as the Hokies. Virginia Tech will get his last official visit on the Jan. 27 weekend and could easily gain his signature. He will not announce his decision until Friday, Feb. 3, for his mother’s birthday.
Brad Johnson, defensive end
Johnson is another defensive end that Virginia Tech wants. The 4-star end from Pendleton, SC. is considering South Carolina, Tennessee and the Hokies. Johnson already took his official visit to Blacksburg in December and is slated to take his final official to the Volunteers this coming weekend. Johnson visited South Carolina last weekend.
Robert Porcher IV, defensive lineman
Porcher decommitted from Nebraska on Dec. 12 and has been on Virginia Tech’s board ever since. Porcher could play anywhere on the line and looks to have narrowed his options down to Virginia Tech, Michigan State and Georgia Tech. Porcher visited the Spartans last weekend and will take his last official visit to Blacksburg this coming weekend.
Tyjuan Garbutt, defensive end/athlete
Since his decommitment from Virginia Tech, the 4-star defensive end has visited Blacksburg several times and attended the Hokies’ bowl game in Charlotte, NC. Pittsburgh has always been the primary contender for Garbutt since his decommitment. Garbutt will be in town this weekend, giving the Hokies one final chance to bring him back into the fold.
Latavious Brini, cornerback
Virginia Tech entered Brini’s recruitment pretty late, but was still able to schedule an official visit for this weekend. Brini visited South Florida last weekend and the Bulls might have a slight advantage in his recruitment. Next weekend, Brini will visit Oregon before making his decision. This visit will be important for the Hokies, who have quite a lot of ground to make up.
Ameer Speed, cornerback
Speed visited Virginia Tech in December, and since then the Hokies have stayed in contention. Speed just finished up an official visit to North Carolina and will visit Georgia this weekend, before a final visit to Oregon on Jan. 27. If Virginia Tech can earn Speed’s commitment, it will be quite a recruiting win.
Dazz Newsome, athlete
Virginia Tech issued a late offer to Newsome once academic issues were taken care of. He’s been a priority ever since and is slated to visit this coming weekend. He recently decommitted from Maryland, but we don’t expect the Terps to be a factor on Signing Day. North Carolina is the other school competing for Newsome, who has family ties to Blacksburg. His older brother, Deon, currently plays for the Hokies and his father, Myron, played at Virginia Tech as well.
Devon Hunter, safety
Yes, the recruit everyone is nervous about. Hunter has been one of Virginia Tech’s top targets from the beginning. Hunter’s recruitment has been quite the adventure and it will all come to an end on Friday night, when Hunter is scheduled to announce his decision at halftime of the Indian River basketball game. Hunter has said he will be choosing between Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Alabama and Virginia Tech. The Hokies have poured everything into this and just might pull it off. Hunter’s commitment would be one of their biggest in-state victories in recent memory. Hunter visited Florida last weekend and has scheduled officials to Auburn and Alabama, but there is speculation that he may not take those visits. Either way, Friday will be an important day for the program.
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Less than 10 percent of these guys will sniff the NFL but 100 percent now think they will.
Better come to TECH, Have a great experience and a school that cares about them and will treat them as individuals
Will someone explain the trips to Oregon?
Maybe simply a chance to visit the great Northwest on somebody else’s dime. Or maybe he is just interested in playing out there.
USF coach went to Oregon. That has some Fla guys visiting out there since he kept his recruiting contacts. But their SC coach putting players in the hospital may make it tough to close.
Simple, home of Nike. The gear they will get is unreal and they have had recent history of being a national threat and sending guys to the NFL. The allure of Oregon to these kids is unreal. When they first started dreaming of major College FB, Oregon was IT. They were cool, had the coolest uniforms, were running a seriously cool offense and got nationwide coverage and they started the highlight colors that every youth fb and many hs fb players still wear.
Glad to see a ton of good recruitd in this weekend. If we land DH this weekend, I think we could see 1/20 as one of the biggest weekends in VT recruiting history, as the dominoes may fall one after the other, and we could bring a ton of studs into the fold. I have heard rumors that Garbutt may announce this weekend as well….any confirmation to those rumors?
DT targets now more important with loss of Dean and SS.
Good stuff. With all these DL options, maybe Garbutt gets a look at TE/HB? I see you list as Athlete. Has he expressed an interest for offense?
Good article – thanks Will be interesting to see who we sign.