Jim Cavanaugh is probably the greatest recruiter in Virginia Tech history, with a nod to Bryan Stinespring as well. Cavanaugh kept Richmond and the Peninsula on lockdown (the good kind) for the Hokies for years.  Before coming to Blacksburg, Coach Cavanaugh was one of Mack Brown’s top assistants at UNC, and he was instrumental in helping assemble those talented Tar Heel squads in the late 1990s.  Coach Cav was a proven elite recruiter, not just at Virginia Tech, but wherever he coached.

So I was thinking earlier today, if I were going to give an award each year to Virginia Tech’s best recruiting coach, what would it be called?  It took all of about 10 seconds to come up with the answer.

The Jim Cavanaugh Award: Best Recruiting Coach 

This isn’t like the old days.  Back in the day, you could just log onto Beamerball.com on Signing Day and each recruit would be listed with the coach who recruited him.  The Hokies were very territory-specific with how they recruited.  If it was a Richmond or Peninsula kid, then Cavanaugh was the guy.  If it was Virginia Beach or Chesapeake, then it was Stiney.  If he was from Florida, then Torrian Gray or Charley Wiles were the lead recruiters.

There is a lot more gray area these days.  Vance Vice goes wherever there are offensive linemen.  Brad Cornelsen recruits quarterbacks.  Adam Lechtenberg recruits JUCOs, tailbacks, and from what I can tell has contacts in the state of Tennessee.  Justin Hamilton is sort of a jack of all trades.  Darryl Tapp recruits the 757, but he also seems to be the lead recruiter for all defensive linemen the Hokies are targeting.  Justin Fuente himself seems to take a hands-on approach, as many prospects list him among the coaches who are recruiting him the hardest.

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