Virginia Tech assistant coaches stopped by Varina High School (VA) yesterday for the first time since gaining a verbal commitment from Blue Devils senior defensive tackle DeAntre Rhodes. Head coach Stu Brown told TechSideline.com that the Tech coaches came away very impressed by what they saw out of their future defensive tackle.

“One major thing DeAntre has made here is a strong commitment to losing weight,” Brown said. “The Virginia Tech staff saw him and marveled at how good he looked. DeAntre is 280 pounds with no waist. There is no fat on him. He lost about 15 pounds and is putting on the right weight the right way.”

A 4-year starter on the high school level, Rhodes turned in an excellent senior season in helping the Blue Devils to a 12-1 record and a Division 6, Central Region championship. According to Brown, Rhodes, whose nickname is “Twenty,” finished the season with about 60 tackles including 18 tackles-for-loss and about 10 sacks.

“To have that many tackles is most impressive in our defense. My defense doesn’t allow the defensive linemen to penetrate until they read pass,” Brown said. “Fifty percent of his tackles were for loss or sacks. He dominated. I’m biased, but for me he was the best defensive linemen I saw and we faced Division 1 caliber players. Twenty is just on another level.”

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