On Wednesday, Virginia Tech football inked 19 players to National Letters of Intent (NLI) on Early Signing Day. While a few recruits could still sign in the spring (and a few plan to do so), the Hokies’ 2022 class is almost complete.
Below is a full list of players who signed with Tech in alphabetical order.
*Editors Note: Malachi Madison and Xayvion Bradshaw signed with the Hokies after early signing day, taking the number of signees from 19 to 21.*
| Name | Pos | Stars | Hometown | Ht | Wt | Our Take |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xayvion Bradshaw | ATH |  | Bluefield, Va. | 6-0 | 185 | Our Take |
| Keyshawn Burgos | DE | | Chesterfield, Va. | 6-5 | 235 | Our Take |
| Mansoor Delane | CB | | Severn, Md. | 6-1 | 178 | Our Take |
| Johnny Dickson | OL | | Corpus Christi, Texas | 6-3 | 310 | Our Take |
| Bryce Duke | RB | | Leesburg, Va. | 5-11 | 196 | Our Take |
| Devin Farrell | QB | | Alpharetta, Ga. | 6-0 | 192 | Our Take |
| Johnny Garrett | OL | | Boston, Mass. | 6-5 | 265 | Our Take |
| Gunner Givens | JATH | | Daleville, Va. | 6-5 | 270 | Our Take |
| Benji Gosnell | TE | | Hillsville, Va. | 6-5 | 240 | Our Take |
| Tucker Holloway | WR | | Rabun Gap, Ga. | 6-2 | 178 | Highlights |
| Cam Johnson | CB | | Baltimore, Md. | 6-0 | 165 | Our Take |
| Lemar Law | DT | | Virginia Beach, Va. | 6-5 | 280 | Our Take |
| John Love | PK | | Spartanburg, S.C. | 5-11 | 155 | N/A |
| Malachi Madison | DT | | Chester, Va. | 6-3 | 310 | N/A |
| Brody Meadows | OL | | Bluefield, Va. | 6-6 | 280 | Our Take |
| Hunter Mclain | OL | | Daleville, Va. | 6-4 | 290 | N/A |
| Braelin Moore | DT | | Bethlehem, Pa. | 6-3 | 290 | Our Take |
| Kyree Moyston | DE | | Suffolk, Va. | 6-4 | 220 | Our Take |
| Rashaud Pernell | DE | | Highland Springs, Va. | 6-4 | 250 | Our Take |
| Reid Pulliam | LB | | South Chesterfield, Va. | 6-3 | 220 | Our Take |
| Harrison Saint Germain | TE | | Chantilly, Va. | 6-4 | 230 | Our Take |
“I love the young men in this class,” Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry said during Wednesday’s signing day press conference. “The talent and the combination of maturity, there’s a bunch of guys with really good grades, good students, great families. To me, it’s a class of guys that do things the right way, do things the Tech way, the way that we did things throughout these last couple weeks.”
Where Guys Fit
Virginia Tech signed at least one player at every position, and the group is very front-heavy at the line of scrimmage.
Four offensive linemen are in the class, while there are five defensive linemen – three ends, two tackles. That list doesn’t even take into account jumbo athlete Gunner Givens. The Daleville native, who is the highest-rated signee in the class, played tight end and defensive line in high school, was recruited as an offensive lineman but signed as a DL. For the purposes of this story and the numbers, he is listed at defensive line.
Braelin Moore, younger brother of Tech offensive guard Kaden Moore, also is at a different position. Originally recruited as an offensive lineman, the Hokies listed him as a defensive tackle.
To get specific at defensive line, Lemar Law and Moore are listed at defensive tackle. Rashaud Pernell, Kyree Moyston and Keyshawn Burgos are listed at defensive end, while Givens is DL. They’ll be grouped together in the breakdown below as DL below for conciseness.
Similar to Givens, Mansoor Delane is a player that could slot in at cornerback or safety. Pry and interim head coach J.C. Price mentioned how exciting it is to have recruits that aren’t locked into a specific role.
“There’s so many guys that have position flex,” Price said. “That can play more than one position. When they get here, a lot of times nature will take its course. Some guys will lean up and some guys will get bigger. Some guys will say look, I’m having trouble playing this position, that line over there is shorter, maybe I’ll switch positions. I don’t think anything is ever going to be etched in stone.”
Position Breakdown
Here is a complete position breakdown of Virginia Tech’s 2022 class.
QB: 1 – Devin Farrell (GA)
RB: 1 – Bryce Duke (VA)
WR: 1 – Tucker Holloway (GA)
TE: 2 – Benji Gosnell (VA), Harrison Saint Germain (VA)
OL: 4 – Johnny Garrett (MA), Brody Meadows (VA), Johnny Dickson (TX), Hunter Mclain (VA)
DL: 6 – Lemar Law (VA), Gunner Givens (VA), Rashaud Pernell (VA), Kyree Moyston (VA), Keyshawn Burgos (VA), Braelin Moore (PA)
LB: 1 – Reid Pulliam (VA)
DB: 2 – Cam Johnson (MD), Mansoor Delane (MD)
K: 1 – John Love (SC)
Late Flips/Decisions
There were two negative flips (players committed to Virginia Tech that ultimately decided to go elsewhere) and two positive ones on Tuesday and Wednesday, and there was also a late signee.
In the negative realm, four-star running back Ramon Brown, a former commit from Midlothian, Va., decommitted and signed with Maryland, the Hokies’ opponent in the Pinstripe Bowl. Quarterback Alex Orji, a three-star commit from Sachse, Texas, decided to sign with Michigan instead of Pry & Co. Both of those losses are understandable given Pry having barely announced any offensive hires.
The Hokies got some positive news too, however. Two three-star in-state targets, both formerly committed to Virginia, flipped to Virginia Tech – Brody Meadows (OL) and Keyshawn Burgos (DE). Price had previously standing relationships that paved the way for those flips, both of which happened on Wednesday.
“In the end, I think Brody… Brody’s had his heart set on Virginia Tech for quite a while,” Pry said. There’s a lot of passion there for this place for him and his family.
“Burgos is a unique kid, man. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him. … He had an interest – I don’t know if it was as strong as Brody’s, so there was probably a little more work to be done there, but very happy with both of those guys joining us.”
Offensive lineman Hunter Mclain, a two-star from Lord Botetourt (teammate of Gunner Givens), was interested in Tech entering the day but did not have an offer. Pry extended the invitation to him over the phone, and he officially signed to the Hokies in the afternoon.
Decisions That Remain
Three Virginia Tech commits did not join the class on early signing day, and the team is in the mix for another Virginia product as of Wednesday evening.
- Malachi Madison, a three-star defensive tackle from Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Va., signed with Virginia Tech a few days later.
- Xayvion Bradshaw, a three-star athlete from Bluefield, Va., and the son of New York Giants legend Ahmad Bradshaw, signed with Virginia Tech on Friday, Dec. 17.
- Xavier Chaplin, a three-star offensive lineman from Seabrook, S.C., has been committed to the Hokies since July 5. He plans to sign in February. He would be the fifth offensive lineman in the class.
- Daequan Wright, a three-star tight end from Perry, Ga., has been committed to Tech since June 28. Wright plans on signing in February, and when he does so, he’ll be the third tight end in the class.
Class Rankings
Per the 247Sports Composite rating, Virginia Tech signed the No. 4 class in the ACC, as per the time of this writing. Here is a look at how the ACC shakes out, with the national ranking on the left.
No. 8 North Carolina
No. 13 Florida State
No. 17 Clemson
No. 30 Virginia Tech
No. 34 Boston College
No. 41 Georgia Tech
No. 51 NC State
No. 52 Duke
No. 60 Louisville
No. 62 Miami
No. 64 Pitt
No. 66 Wake Forest
No. 67 Syracuse
No. 80 Virginia
As it stands right now, the Hokies have the second-best class in the ACC’s Coastal Division, just behind Mack Brown and the Tar Heels.
Tech’s top five signees, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, are as follows…
JATH Gunner Givens, Lord Botetourt, Daleville, Va., No. 180 nationally
CB Cam Johnson, St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, Md., No. 308 nationally
TE Benji Gosnell, Carroll County, Hillsville, Va., No. 331 nationally
OL Brody Meadows, Graham, Bluefield, Va., No. 429 nationally
OL Johnny Dickson, Flour Bluff, Corpus Christi, Texas, No. 533 nationally
More Analysis
For the full signing day central coverage, click here. For Chris Coleman’s subscription article on the blind resume game, in-state emphasis and more, click here.
Below is a YouTube video on the Tech Sideline page with comments from Chris Coleman and Will Stewart on each signee. For analysis on each individual and not the class as a whole, click each “Our Take” link in the signee table at the top of the page.
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I thought Malachi Madison signed today?
Love the videos, keep them coming.
We don’t really have the 4th best class in the ACC. That ranking is based on 247’s “Total” score. We scored high because we signed a large class.
Based on 247’s “Composite Average” we have the 8th ranked class in the ACC. This is a much better metric as it depicts the type of athletes we are signing (quality as opposed to quantity). What that means is we are near the bottom of the ACC as it relates to the type of football players we have coming in this class.
This is not a knock on the new staff at all. I just wish folks would utilize both the 247 total and the 247 average when writing/talking about recruiting classes as that gives everyone a more comprehensive picture of what is actually happening.
Not saying 8th is good, but how is it near the bottom of the ACC? Seems more like middle to me. Did I miss a bunch of teams leaving the conference?
Even using the composite average where we are 8th out of 14, that seems more like the middle than bottom to me — yes we can and should do better on the composite average, but I don’t think it’s accurate to suggest we are near the bottom.
It’s also not accurate, as the article depicts, to suggest we are near the top. We aren’t. We are in the bottom half, right there with BC, L’ville, GT, etc.
Again, I think the new staff crushed it this cycle, we just need to be a bit more honest about where this class actually stands and just how much work there is to do for this program to get where it wants to be.
Again, not saying 8th is good, but bottom half is more accurate than near the bottom. Near the middle may not be more accurate, but it more precisely conveys the situation.
Semantics, I suppose, but near the bottom and bottom half both convey a more negative meaning than near the middle; whether intended or not.
We’ll take ‘ourn & play ‘yourun” .. or something like that
That went better than expected. If VT gets the remaining targets and finds some help in the portal the 2022 season might be a pleasant surprise. Kudos to the both staffs for finding and signing this class and I hope all the new Hokies become performers on the field (for my sake) and in the classroom (for their sake).
Very few, if any, of these guys will play in 2022. The portal guys, if we get some, have a chance to start.
We need a pitcher and several more catchers to go with our lines.
Good teams built from strong lines so I’m fine with this as a start.
Very well done – that was fun to watch!
Nice article. Although I’d say we’re second behind UNC in the Coastal Division. I wouldn’t say we’re right behind UNC. We have some catching up to do. I like our size! Hopefully, that size comes with ability & heart.