Virginia Tech fans have heard about the six-hour recruiting radius for a long time. It was a staple of Frank Beamer’s recruiting philosophy in Blacksburg, and Brent Pry has continued that trend since he was introduced as Tech’s head coach in late 2021.

“You can take Blacksburg and draw a six-hour radius around it, and that’s where we’re honing in first,” Pry said early in his tenure. “That doesn’t mean there’s not going to be opportunities in other areas, but we want to be strong in North Carolina and parts of South Carolina, we’re going to be heavy in parts of Pennsylvania, obviously the DMV is going to be important as well, East Tennessee, we’ve got some relationships there, even into Central Tennessee. That footprint is important for a lot of reasons.”

I think fans are surprised that Virginia Tech has signed just one Pennsylvania prospect since Pry was hired. I am, and maybe Pry would be surprised himself if we asked him. But other than that, things have gone exactly as he laid it out in the above quote, with 76.2% of Virginia Tech’s high school and JUCO signees coming from inside the six-hour radius in his first two full recruiting classes.

The Hokies have signed a total of 42 high school and junior college players in those two classes (2023 and 2024). Thirty-two of them have come from inside the six-hour radius, and of the 10 who have come from outside that area, there is most definitely a trend.

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