With spring practice in the rearview mirror, that means recruiting is starting to heat up. The coaches have been out on the road, and high school prospects will begin to take their summer visits shortly.

Most of Virginia Tech’s 2014 commitments have come from players on the defensive side of the ball. Today we’ll take a look at what the coaching staff is trying to accomplish on the offensive side.

Quarterback

Commits: None

Virginia Tech is heavily pursuing two quarterback prospects for the 2014 recruiting class. I believe the coaching staff likes Jacob Park a little more, but if Oklahoma’s David Cornwell wanted to pull the trigger, I doubt they would turn him down. Take a look at the offer list of these guys:

Park: Alabama, Auburn, UNC, NC State, Notre Dame, Tennessee
Cornwell: Alabama, Auburn, Miami, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Tennessee

The fact that both players have offers from Alabama should tell you something about their ability. Park (6-3, 205) isn’t as big as Cornwell (6-5, 235), but he’s got a very strong arm and he’s also a pretty mobile quarterback. Cornwell stands tall in the pocket, and he is fairly mobile for a guy his size as well.

The national networks like Cornwell better. He’s #63 nationally by Rivals and #20 by 247Sports, while Park is #168 by Rivals and #138 by 247. That’s probably due to the size difference. Other than that, you are splitting hairs when comparing the two prospects.

Park has family near Blacksburg, and he favored Auburn while Scot Loeffler was there. He’s already visited Tech once, and he has been rumored to favor the Hokies for months. He’s planning on visiting again in the late spring or early summer. Cornwell is also hoping to visit this spring.

In the end, I think Park will end up at Tech, and he’ll be the only quarterback the Hokies take this year. The fact that such highly-rated pure quarterbacks are interested in Virginia Tech shows the impact of hiring a quarterbacks coach with the reputation of Scot Loeffler.

Running Back

Commits: Marshawn Williams

Virginia Tech has secured a commitment from Hampton tailback Marshawn Williams . It was thought that Williams had cooled on his verbal at one point, but he has since reaffirmed his pledge to the Hokies. He is a powerfully built tailback (6-0, 205) who should be a good between-the-tackles runner for Tech.

I believe the Hokies would like to take one more running back in this class, if possible. Their #1 target – Charlotte’s Elijah Hood – recently committed to Notre Dame. Tech also has offers out to Caleb Kinlaw (who hails from Goose Creek, SC near Jacob Park ), Derrell Scott and Donte Thomas-Williams . The Hokies don’t seem to be in the running for Scott, and Thomas-Williams is tough to get a read on right now.

Because of the youth in Tech’s backfield right now, tailback is not a big priority for the 2014 recruiting class. Trey Edmunds will only be a r-freshman this year, as will Chris Mangus. J.C. Coleman is just a true sophomore, and D.J. Reid will be a true freshman. That much youth in the backfield makes it difficult to sign highly-touted running backs.

If they can’t find another running back, I think the coaching staff would be content with signing only Marshawn Williams this year.

Wide Receiver

Commits: 0 or 1 (depending on whether Javon Harrison plays WR or DB)

Virginia Tech is pretty young at wide receiver right now, but they’d like to add more overall talent into the pipeline. Javon Harrison could play wide receiver or defensive back. Tech currently has commitments from defensive backs Kalen McCain

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