When the news came out that defensive end Leon Mackey would not be able to enroll at Virginia Tech until January of 2009, it was no surprise to see the talented prospect surface again at Hargrave Military Academy, the place where he attended his senior year of high school. The 6-5 1/2, 245-pound Mackey did have a surprise upon arriving at Hargrave, though.

“Tech is still at my top, but I just opened up my options to other schools. But I still love Virginia Tech the same as I did before,” Mackey said. “I’ll just see what happens.”

Asked is there was anything in particular Virginia Tech did to turn him off, Mackey replied, “Not really. I just wanted to kind of rethink things while I’m here at Hargrave. I still love Coach Beamer, Coach Stinespring, Coach Wiles, Bud Foster and all them. I just wanted to open it up and see how things go.”

One of Tech’s top recruits in the 2008 class, Mackey expected to be in Blacksburg after attending summer school. His plans did not come to fruition, however.

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