Willie Byrn called primary recruiter Curt Newsome on Monday to accept Virginia Tech’s offer as a recruited walk-on. The 5-11, 175-pound First Colonial (Virginia Beach, VA) senior also had recruited walk-on opportunities at Kentucky and Virginia, but the success Virginia Tech has enjoyed under head coach Frank Beamer won out.

“Definitely a big factor is that Virginia Tech is a top 10 program almost every year,” Byrn said. “They end up at least going to the ACC Championship game, so it’s nice to get love from such a big school. I wanted to go somewhere with a great atmosphere and it’s really hard to compete with Tech’s atmosphere. All the fans are great. ‘Enter Sandman,’ it’s all great.”

Confident he could’ve gotten scholarship money on some level, Byrn embraced the challenge of playing high-major football.

“My dream has always been to play big-time football in front of a crazy crowd,” Byrn said. “I like playing with the best.”

...