Return to Power

0:44 And welcome back to the boundary Corner podcast, along with my partners, Brian Sigler, Jonathan, Talley and shelter Moss. I'm Curtis Wilson in this portion of the I sewed, it is presented by dr. Jeremy counts at the Main Street Pharmacy in Blacksburg, if you love this podcast, the Hokies and the town of Blacksburg. Make sure you are supporting Main Street. Pharmacy, when you make your way to town, whether you need prescriptions a tube of toothpaste or just want to stop and say, hello, let Jeremy and his team take care of you. The money, you spend goes towards the things that you love and support. So next time, you're in Blacksburg head on down to 301 South Main Street. Fellas, we're back. It's been a couple weeks, Hiatus, as everyone feeling tonight, Feeling Good, Feeling Good, Man. Sterling got a broke pinky, but we Still Ballin over here we are.

1:39 I hear you man. You know, those those sports injuries, especially those nagging one's kind of a pain in the ass, man. Yeah, that face play slow you down but at least it's something that he can kind of play through in the short term, right? 100%. Yeah, we made them a little A bit more aware to made it, love it a little bit more. You know, you want to be lazy sometimes and then you break a pinky and you have to miss a game. And then you like, oh I can't wait to get back in there and hit. I can't wait to do something so, you know it made angle, so I'm happy to happen. But if it happened at least it was something that he's able to play through. Make some love it a little bit more. Absolutely here, man. We just we we finally are done with baseball for the year. Oh, Donald baseball in time.

2:23 Pool Time. Pool time at the pool but baseball ended Good. The oldest son's team won his division championship and the your point he was kind of sad we were driving home that night and he was like I'm kind of sad he's like I'm going to go back and play with you guys anymore. Yeah this year. Okay okay so other than that we are yeah a lot of pool right now. A lot of sunshine lot of playing outside until the Sun starts said in here. I mean Give me one of them pulls, man. Yes, if you get into a pool shell, how you doing, man? That's not your usual background right there. It is not, I am in a fancy pantsy apartment here, in Salt Lake City, taking a week-long vacation out here in Utah, with the little Airbnb.

3:08 So, I've been doing some hiking, some outdoor stuff and also just experienced the talents, but it's been awesome. It's been the trip of a lifetime really So that is all for they say if a bear or something starts chasing, you supposed to get big and make a lot of noise. So yes, Greg never never run away from a bear. That tells a that your prey, okay? Okay? Post that motherfucker in the mouth, unless it's the cocaine, but, and you're done now. You can, he's not, he's not in Gatlinburg. I just saw the movie in the college football game. We all went through, we got our know, It's we've got stuff we wanted to talk about but before we get to all that fun stuff and we definitely want you all to be interact and we get to that, we got to talk Rudin because it's been a little while since we discussed recruits and I first want to start with the transfer portal because the day, literally the day that we were talking to coach pry.

4:38 Antoine Ryland Powell who was in the portal from Florida, transfers up to the Hokies originally Indian River High School down in Portsmouth, he transfers with two years of Eligibility left from the Florida Gators. Something we had talked about about a month ago. Defensive line was key, right? We had lost a younger player. Tell him a pitch to you first. What do you think? You think we upgraded it line with getting? This is definitely definitely upgraded at the line. But what I liked about Out that pickup was just circling the wagons pretty much you know had a shot at the kid out of high school for whatever reason. We don't land in this new staff comes in, we go 3 and 8 which is not very good and this kids coming from Florida and somebody on that staff said hey we got a vision, they had some kind of connection with somebody that he knows or him. Glenn we get in and we get him to come home. Yeah, you know like that.

5:42 That is where that is where football has to go for us. You know, you miss on recruit. You don't say screw you have a nice life. No, it's still check on him. Hey man I seen your first game. You got your first snap, keep grinding and keep it moving. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's what it has to be. That's what college football has to be now because at any point, somebody can go, hey, I'm ready to leave. I'm ready to transfer back home closer to home. So I think that definitely great job filling a spot of Need For Us. Great job and he's going to come in and play, you know, so that's awesome. Definitely going to come in and play and that connection was going welfare.

6:25 Be Glenwood. The director of high school relations for the Hokies was his coach down at Indian River. So not only having him but I think again, it's the vision because your point tally, three and eight grand, you know, three and eight football teams don't shouldn't be getting guys. Like pal who have had success. I mean, because we take a look at his numbers here in sort of a part-time role last year. Yet, you know, right at 30 tackles three sacks, three forced fumbles. And that was a part-time role and you know, he's 63 is about 245 pounds slightly undersized. But Just just rushing to pass. Just kidding. Yeah, yeah and you know like tally said definitely position need that. We've talked about here, you know, we were saying if we need to get a d and we need to get an offensive lineman who we need to get somebody to play, DB whether it be a safety or some sort of nickel Corner.

7:20 Hybrid type player went out. Got one took care of business there and probably got the best one that we had a chance at getting right into. Terms of the relationships that we had there previously, you know, connections to Virginia, obviously from Indian River. They're so kind of give the best one on the board that you feel like you have a legitimate shot at that. That's, that's good. That's that you're closing in on the, on the realistic goals there. So I think that's, that's a big thing to do. And I mean, he's shown, he's a player and limited roles. I'm hoping that he's going to step into that in a larger role with the Hokies. If he can come out there and You're still that starting job in kind of solidify that other side of the defensive line and that the DN position that's going to be big for us, because that's, that's something that we need going into the season, 100%, 100%. So big get there.

8:14 And you know, one too many days ago, we got another one in some other place, we talked about right offensive line this time. And it's not a division, one transfer but it's effectively an FCS got coming up and that's Clayton. Frady who's Transferring up from Gardner. Webb had been a three-year starter down there because he's a covid guy. He has two more years of Eligibility. Love play tackle there, I know, Brian, I know you looked a little of his tape, where do you foresee him? And you know, there's been some discussion that he's not as good as certain current offensive lineman, but if they went and got him, there's a reason because if you feel good about who you're currently got, you're not just going to go out and waste.

9:00 Actively a roster spot to me on depth. Yeah you know looking at him I feel like there's there's some potential there. I'm hoping he's a guy that can slide in maybe two guard even though he's more of a more of a tackle if he can slide inside to guard I think that would be a better fit for him. I think that would with with the Step Up in competition. I think he's athletic enough to make that work and that would you know, get Get someone a little more shuffling on the interior there, which is probably where we're the most unsteady in terms of front-line. I feel like we're pretty solid at the tackles in terms of the Frontline, very sketchy on depth.

9:48 So we'll see how that works out. But you know, we look at offensive line. We're talking about getting the best five out there, that can work together as a unit. So not necessarily the most talented five, but we're looking for the That make us the best as a unit. So it remains to be seen what that's going to look like by the time you know, September rolls around. Yeah. Definitely definitely has to go. It not any elements. A tally. What do you got? Just saying just you know definitely always good to get somebody who's has had some significant snaps so that helps, you know, coming in and being able to fight for The spot. I don't know if he comes in and starts, but I think that they want them to come in and start, but even if he doesn't, somebody else steps their game up and say, how I'm ready to fight like Coach Price said, on the, on the last part. If you hadn't go, listen to it.

10:45 Go listen to it. Where you mean, you've been in Utah, with with, with Sheldon, you need to go back and listen to our last part, with Coach Brown, he said, hey I'm bringing in people to take your spot, you know. So as an offensive lineman, this this summer youth Hey, I'm not letting somebody come in and take my spot. So if he does come in as a as a, you know, a transfer and it's able to give us some some snaps as a death play and I still do it because you hate to say it but somebody's gonna get hurt. You know, somebody's going to get the toes stepped on, whatever the case may be, so we just need somebody's the five best. Like you said, not that have to be the most five, talented. But the five best it's going to work the best together. And go get the job done.

11:32 So I like to pick up there for me. Yeah, and I take a look at it too. Is he played right tackle and he was all big style. He got some, you know, some preseason All-American honors but he played right tackle. I looked at that in that I think we've all said about, we chaplains physicalness. Little more big, more Parker. It's the right side, right. If a guy's playing right? Taylor, Brian Point can slip in and make that move for that. So again your portal Seasons effectively over, you know, the only thing we kind of didn't hit was a defensive back but I think again is that because we got some guys who are pretty pretty well regarded coming in.

12:23 Actually take out that they're all there. Now everybody finished enrollments. Everybody's everybody's they're doing summer workouts we're seeing social media hit that up so it'll be interesting. Well thank you. I think the big thing with that is that when we looked at the three positions that we said we're in need, they were to where we needed for sure Frontline. Or like first line depth. Yep. Help you with those DD and offensive line. We needed somebody. We need an extra body there. We've got bodies in the DB Arena. We just had probably a little bit more unproven talent that I think we'd like, so if, if I had to way where I was going to fill in, if you only had to take two of the three, that's the to I would have been a hundred percent because what, because with the defensive backs we already feel, it was that we needed the fourth.

13:14 We needed that fourth Corner. They could do a little bit of everything, so we'll see how it plays during the season. I, let's flip over to the class of 2014. Or and it looks like it might be turning into a really good one. Currently 24/7 has us overall at the 24/7 level at 24 and composite rank at 24. Y'all fixin seeking a cc6 in the ACC. It's June, it's June. We're going to discuss anything, but several June's ago, it won't looking good but now it's looking much better and we have had basically a six-pack of players recruit or commit over the last few days and I want to start the one in this is this is way back, you know, a few weeks ago actually write out a week ago. June in June was Tommy.

14:06 Ricard A6 that for 265 interior offensive. Lineman from Hudson, Ohio, a 87 by 24/7, top 30 player in the state of Ohio top 60 interior offensive. Lineman I'm going to pitch to Brian on this one. Brian. What do you what do you think of time? Because I know you probably looked a little tape. Yeah I mean pretty solid recruit over. 87 on 24/7 right there about the same level composite. I mean looks good. Yeah.

14:47 Similar problems to a lot of offensive linemen coming out of high school. You know, could use a little bit better work with is with his hands and his feet, but I think he's got a good motor and I think he's going to be a good player for us. We'll see how he develops. Offensive line is such a crap, shoot, a lot of times as far as You know, how, what, what are the ceiling? Where is, where is the Sealy you gets really hard to tell. Where that ceiling is kind of coming out of high school, but I think he's a solid guy that I think will grow into the position and, and give us some some good overall action long-term. We'll just see if he's going to develop into a starting caliber player brother than NFL to that helps. Is it really what's the brother's name? Shit, I can't remember.

15:33 He plays for, he plays for The Ravens. Thank you. The fullback he's actually All-Pro is All-Pro fullback to? Yeah, Patrick I feel well yeah, that he is a damn good fullback. So yeah, that's a good bloodline right there. Yes, I was going to say. So what? And a lot of times people say, you know, that doesn't matter. You know, it's a coach's kid or if it's some NFL bloodline of stuff like that. What that helps is as a athlete you going to hit A wall, you don't know when you're going to hit it, but you're going to hit a wall. When you got somebody who's already been through it. And then they went to the next level, they can tell you. Okay, I know how to help you get through this, so when he gets to college looks like he's 64 to 65. It gets there and he goes causes brother up and goes. Hey, man, everybody's bigger than me and faster than me, and he can go, boom.

16:30 This is what I think you can do. So it helps to have somebody like that, just besides the skill that he has, So I like that the most about him, like Brian said, I watched a little film on him. I think that 87 range is about Where we should be punching on most of our commits, if that's our floor on our commits. I think we have some solid classes, you know, every now and then somebody is going over. Shoot their ranking or undershoot. It but I think when we're going and we're evaluating and we looking at people that 87 range is about what we need to be. We need to stay out of the métis tools and 84s what we had, you know, maybe a couple of years ago and things like that but solid commitment. MIT.

17:21 Alrighty, so awesome. So I'm glad y'all like Tommy Ricard again, I like the size again. Tell you've been kind of preaching it the last ever since you've been with us, not if they've got that size on the offensive line, it makes it a lot easier. Alright, another guy who has some size for his position and committed is Quinn. Reddish down from Independence, which Independence is a power down in the state of North Carolina. He's 63, he's 185. He's right. There's a three-story. He 634 in the state of North Carolina. What are y'all seeing on him? He's got the body. Yes, he's got the build to be a safety Tally.

18:03 What do you think of them? It's again, when I'm looking at, I looked at a little bit of film on the kid and I love the 63, you know, I love the 63, almost 200 pounds being in high school. And again, when we talk about rankings, it says right at 85, something like that. He doesn't strike me. From what I've seen as like most Phillips when I looked at his face and I was like yeah he's shooting, he's shooting above his ranking. Like he just looked different, you know what I mean? And it was like he just can't kind of came out of nowhere. Then we send them in the spring. Game and I was like, okay that's what I thought. So he's still in high school. I got to I got to see him for a little bit and check up on him. Not saying he's not going to be a good recruit, but I wasn't as excited about reddish as some people were. But again I'm just the guy behind the computer right now. So I will be watching them.

19:00 I'll be watching and I hope he does some big things. He's got a year left in high school to turn it up. Right. What do you think of them? Yeah, I'm right there with Tally I feel like he's got a good solid skill set that. He's bringing out the gate. We'll see if he can. You punch above his weight class? I haven't necessarily seen anything that indicates that in the tape, kind of like tally said, but your solid solid pick up and, you know, I think the big thing we're going to talk about this a lot later. But, you know, I think the development for Virginia Tech is going to start leveling up a little bit. So we'll see if he Grow into that position and make some noise. All right, good deal. Well, what's happened over the last two days, has kind of been crazy and it, it started with someone.

19:48 We're going to bring on just a couple minutes here, but let's talk about the other three that we brought on since then. And it's first of all, let's take Andrew hinch up another Cleveland, kid 65 to 60 on the defensive line. Tally, Tally immediately got happy when he saw that, wait and see. Sighs. He's an 86, he's a top 40, Ohio kid, and just kind of looking at it health, some interest, you know, from West Virginia and some other schools down there in the Mac. But you know, you had JC and Marvin him and all, would he when he committed, everybody's like, offensive linemen defensive lineman, this like that kid tag every defensive coach on the right? Right, I think he's playing defensive line and I don't know me.

20:34 It's been a whirlwind. That jobs, did anybody bring you the chance to check a little bit of tape out? I looked at a little bit of his tape. Yeah. I mean, I think this is a probably like a solid, good depth pick, right? Out the gate, he's a big kid. You know, I'd say he plays a little bit too high and out of his stance that that'd be my biggest criticism at the gate. But, you know, we'll see what he can do on the defensive side because that's a different ball of wax. So he shows pretty good, pretty good motor. So that's what you're going to need them to do. Benson side of the ball so solid pick up. You know, it's not blowing me away but I think it's a very good solid pick up especially from a big weekend that we had. Yeah, I think I don't know what a lot of people. Some schools, you probably can recruit a certain way, Virginia Tech.

21:25 I think it's a little bit different. I've never understood people saying, we can take them in December. We can take them in. I feel like where we are and what we're doing. If somebody's if we're interested and they want to come let him come because you are you can always say hey this ain't working out. We got somebody else. Yeah you got to find some way to go but when you're scrambling at the end of a recruiting class and trying to fill a spot is not a good look and that just doesn't work out for us. So I don't like the, we could have took him at another time. So I didn't have a problem with him taking him especially when you're building momentum like we're doing hey man.

22:05 You got some people, this disinterested in? We're interested. Make it happen. So. Yep. Keep it, keep that train rolling. We need it. We want to roll in all through the summer because if I mean we're so used to come on now. We Virginia Tech fans. We so used to some bad publicity during the summer there. Any positive publicity we get, we happy. So you know, I'm excited about that. 100% a 100% what a the ball, kept rolling and it kept rolling yesterday. Six foot seven. Lb 3 star in 87, rank a top 15 player in the state of New Jersey. New Jersey can put out some, uh, some dogs out there. Aidan Lynch from Mount Olive, High School in Flanders, New Jersey, you know, had quite a kind of quite a few, guys did get some interest from Georgia, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State.

22:57 So, he had some eyes on him and he committed to the Hokies. Brian, I know you look at this too. As soon as Brian sees an offensive lineman commit it's like, Paul's what? I'm doing. Yeah, you to take, you got to check it out. He get into the size jumps off, right at the gate. You got good wingspan good-sized. You 67 to 75. That's the kind of size. You like coming out of high school, good player, good. I think he's a little bit more pop. Probably the most polished of the guys that we've talked about today, only from a technique standpoint. So I'm excited about him. Looking for exactly what I was doing it. Right. Exactly what I was going to say Brian because I Check that out a little bit and the problem that you run into with lime and like, that just so big 67 and they play high and it's although all straight. Yeah.

23:49 But but when he, I mean being 67, he has some pretty like burn said, he's pretty polished with his technique, you know, and saying to be able to use those arms. Those long arms and actually have the technique and not play so high. So I was excited to see. I was excited to see that. That pickup. I think that's a good pick up and I think again, that's where that's our sweet spot. That's what we shoot. So we shoot what? Well, let's talk about the last guy didn't because we shot a little higher for him. And you know what, somebody's going to join us in, just a couple minutes. Told us, it's one more on the way. It's one more on the way and he won't lying. That's Marcellus Barnes jr. And I'm a Cali school down in Chattanooga. Tennessee. A composite for Star.

24:30 He is right at the 300 national rank. He is a top 10 player. In the state of Tennessee. Now they're ranking him as a corner and a top-25 one at that. And I mean you kind of look at his offer list, you know, you got Florida, stay you got Baylor, you got George. You got a ton of school showing interest in this kid and tally. Would you think I'm because that's kind of down your way near Chattanooga. Yeah. Well, so, yeah. So that's a, that's cool. Did he goes to all boys school? So I know he's got a lot of testosterone built up, you know? And I know women on that campus here in the beginning, See, someone getting to see some women but anyway we'll get out of it, get out as far as a recruit goes watching this tape, he's 62, you know, again you looking at sighs coming from the safety or Corner position and he's coming downhill, and he's making tackles.

25:22 I seen him. I think somebody posted on Twitter him, setting the edge. If you can get a corner in high school to set a hedge, or a safety to set the edge and turn the playback inside, but also make the play. Yeah, like you free. You're badass. So he brought a party over there. I didn't know much about him. I'm on, I ain't gonna lie to you because I didn't think we had. I mean I've seen him before but I didn't think we had much of a shot but you know like you said, somebody we got coming on, might have played a part in that so we start turning some heads man and shit. Let's go. Let's get it. But that's cool. Did he goes to his a good school to get in? Because that's one of the big schools in Chattanooga. That's about hour and a half away from me, okay? That's a, that's a big school in that I want to stop our house, but they close to.

26:10 So they can they putting out guys? Yeah, it's a good. It's a good school or something. It's a good school. That's when you start seeing it Brian. Did you get any quick looked at him? May the big thing that stands out to me is just length and size, man. You get a corner that can play with some leverage like that. That's big so big pickup for me. I mean that's one of those guys that, you know, you kind of get one of those from a Virginia Tech perspective. One of those every three or four classes So I mean I think that's a solid pick up 100%. Well I've been teasing it about the last three or four minutes here while talking about it. But let's just be straight up all of this got kicked off by one individual announcing his commitment just few days ago, he's a 64 linebacker.

26:53 He's 195 pounds per 247. He'll tell us is actually when he gets on here, maybe from st. Vincent Pilate High School in Laurel Maryland. A four-star, both 24/7 in composite a top 24/7, a top 220 player in the country. One of the best players in Maryland. On three says he is the best player in Maryland. I agree with them surprise, guest appearance. Joining us tonight, ladies and gentlemen, Gabe Williams. Gabe. How are you tonight, man? I'm good. How y'all doing? We are doing Jay. Thank you for take for you for messaging, Brian there. And tell us you want to hop on for a few minutes now, because I've been busy, man.

27:59 You could have went anywhere, you want to First what really caught my eyes coach Brooks. So coach Brooks from Marilyn. He was actually my first offer. So you always had that close relationship and, you know, he's a family friend and stuff like that. So when he told me he was making a move to Virginia, Tech automatically made my list, you know, so I went up there for spring practice I'm like, hold on, I actually like it, you know. And now coach Marvin coach Clinic coach pry a, you know, them just having a vision for me, being the face of the defense and, you know, just doing everything in a defense that really caught my eye. So I knew it was a place for me. I just came back on the official to make sure so. Yeah, and the people there, the environment and the opportunity to come in and make an early impact.

28:43 That's really what caught my game, right? I don't know how many fan base that you've interacted with, but, okay, a Virginia Tech man. We, we pay attention. We be Darlin it. So when I seen, you get ready to go on your official, I said this motherfucker got a van, a party bus. Oh yeah, he bought the committee. I knew sorry, but that was pretty cool, man. Like again seeing stuff like that from commits like you because a high-profile guy, like yourself man to take your time and do stuff like that to interact with fan base to put just, you know, a minute video out, that's big the fans. And so we appreciate that and thank y'all, man. So when you going to be on the recruiting trip, they talk about whether you go on kind of slide in saying we'll kind of little bit everything what's those discussions been? Like so basically it's really so right now they want me to play the Star position but they said I could play boundary safety the like in the world depend on how much weight I put on it. It's something I can pretty much play everywhere and that's really what I told you caught my eyes. So really in the star does everything he blitzes, he covers place in that and that's pretty much where I show on my highlight.

29:57 Tape and stuff like that. So it's just like the picture. When you talk about covered I think I heard you talking on, on the foil podcast you said that you play cornering. You just hit a growth spurt, right? Yeah. I was playing safety training with you and then I just caught a growth spurt so they moved up closer to the line. But, you know, so my sophomore year in high school they ever had, like a big receiver or, you know, unguardable dude, that's like me out there. So nice. I still got that in my background stuff like that. Yes, sir. Well, we definitely need that. We got PTSD or six. Get some, our linebackers getting caught on a slot receiver and you put on skates. So help me.

30:40 I will definitely definitely keeping up with you. It's big to hear that. That's that's part of your skill set as well. Yeah. And I want to ask how big that plays into it because obviously we all seem like a Parsons that is a, that is a that's right from that's coach prize guy, right? We saw him coaching from the beginning to basically, A top-15 linebacker pick, you don't see linebackers going the top 15 anymore. You just don't, but what he did with Micah it was that versatility when someone when you see that and you see Brent Prime Chris Marv, they know how to use these pieces. They know my skill set. Like you said, you're going to put you out of star. We got to talk to Keyon to Jenkins last year. Who's playing that position currently?

31:21 And, you know, concert came from a safety position. But when you have someone who has that sort of Degree of building those players and not just all, he's a great linebacker. Mike Parsons can do everything. And man, I hear you saying you play Corner. You're playing safety. You're playing linebacker in high school, this year. How's it feel to go to a coach that, you know, has developed one of the best in the NFL that done. That, it's definitely a plays, a big part because like, you don't want to go like me, I have a lot of big offers, but when they try to tell you your this or this, you know, I'm saying, I want to go somewhere that please me everywhere. I shows all my versatile because I feel like Some separation. That's probably why I'm working so hard because I could do everything, you know I'm saying.

32:01 So why would I go to a college that's going to turn me into an edge rusher? When I know I could do Ed brush and cover. You know I'm saying? Right there and also that played a big part because join the ACC like I knew a lot of people don't believe it but the ACC has the best athletes, you know? And also I don't have to be 230, you know, saying taking on the huge power 5, lineman, like they got an Iowa Wisconsin. You know I'm saying so it was just a, I was just thinking, you know, You don't listen. It was smart, man. I'm telling you, the best stuff you do. We're going to put you in the best position to do it. And I love that, man, because we got a chance to weeks ago to sit down with Coach Brown right here. But can he some he coached by a great? You coach?

33:01 Ba Coach? Quin coach, Marv, coach Pride, GoDaddy be like not of people. Most people could it be because UDP was a dog. You know, he wasn't. Oh yeah, he was dog. Yes, he was man and already 68. I'm already plugged in with the other line backers, like trick for me Edmonds. You know, I'm saying, so it's just just the connection that already have with the guys in the people who already walked through this program, you know? And they believe in Maybe so it's really just to believe, you know. So that's really what got me going. Trying to get this 24 class together cuz I'm like like you know the opportunities here y'all just got to come take it, you know? Yeah. And I mean you really hit the ground running man. I really appreciate that. I mean, the engagement that you've been able to generate a wide over the last two or three days has been amazing.

33:47 And I'm glad the Hokie nation is kind of, you know, rode that wave with you. So that's been good. I think for everybody, that's the way. I feel like that The reason why it was hard for Maryland stuff to recruit me because it didn't have the fanbase, you know? So if you go somewhere with the fan base and makes it easier to recruit, see I'm making my job easier you know, I just tell the guys, like we got a we got a fan base that believes in us, you know, they didn't have the past years that they wanted but they're still here and they're still trying to support the guys, you know, and then I get them on the phone called pride and all them and then you know y'all do y'all work? And then boom. We got another commitment. Is how it works. I'm telling you. It's the philosophy that be manually. Harriet your head is your age man.

34:27 Like well you you got a long football career to play but you already talking like a I'm a Salesman but that's what I do. Should you talking like a Salesman? I'm ready, man. It's just the way I was recruited. So I know which recruitment works and which does yeah. So yeah, I think I see people already trying to copy. How you doing it though. Hey. I'm just saying it but I see some people trying to use your tactics already and trying to use the tactics. But what you did last night, you said the Dogs Out.

35:50 Trying to get that done right now, man, I'm trying to be good parents and in January where we can night then we need that. Yeah, get a jump out there, get out there and spring see what you can do against the upperclassmen and I'm going to show you ready to turn up and fall on the show y'all what I can do. And yeah hope the nation everybody who been engaging with Gabe man. Y'all better be on his feet. Checking out his games. You know what I'm saying? When he's posting stuff, I need y'all to get on it, man. Y'all got to keep Yes, it is. And that's what we do. We got some Hokies and we got some tell you. I wish I could tell you everything. I know I'm in trouble.

36:30 We don't get in trouble if we don't get in trouble right now. We're patient. We're patient. We can wait the thing is I'm not. All right. Y'all heard it here first. It's definitely going to bump us up to 1024 right now, this team. All right, we'll listen Gabe, I don't want to get you in trouble. I'm not now, I appreciate lizard. We appreciate you joining us, man. So we got a bunch of stuff.

37:11 We hope you listen to rest of the night because what we're talking about and this is the one piece like this. This is one of the pieces were going to talk about tonight. Y'all, how do we return to the power with Virginia Tech? Was gave. You got three guys up here. I turned 40 in a couple months. Brian's 39 tally, 38. We grew up, man. I saw a DB play, we saw X play on the field at man was nasty. We saw JG. We saw Winslow play on the field, we saw Pearson play on the field. We saw all those coaches who are Hokies play, that are going to be coaching, you that played on that field and I hear the passion in your voice and I hear the things you're trying to do, you're trying to bring the best players. It's just a recruit and as a commit right now in, I just, I want to say it.

37:56 Like, we talking about tonight returning to power, and I think I'm later like, you and that mentality, that's how we're going to get back to where we were and then we will have like five of me, man, it's good. We go baby, you know? So it's going to be Yeah, I do understand but this division start cooking the popcorn right now. Yeah.

38:52 Come on baby. There we go. Well, being equipped playing around. Let's go bullshit. We appreciate you taking a little bit of your time tonight. 60. Supposed to be 20 25. Yes, have a good evening. We'll continue to chat with you. Oh man. Now you got a, you got a dog up here, talking with the white beard. That's the original. He's the white.

39:36 He is, he's my second cousin. Yeah, that's the old. He started the vics coming, he started the vics coming to Virginia Tech. There you go. He's real active on Twitter so game, if you don't follow him yet, Yet, if you haven't had, he does and he has a lot of podcasts and things like that. Actually him in Mike have a podcast together. Yep. So if you haven't started following the white man, give him a follow when you get opportunities and great follow one thing I can say, do. The recruitment is hard. Yeah, it's a lot of work, but it, but it takes what you got. Do it, takes passion, you know what I'm saying? And I think that's what the coaches when I talk a lot about them, but I think that's what the coaches lacked that we had.

40:22 So, it's great that we got prying the guys in Mars, which I've known mark for a long time. I my first cousin is a high school Coach and he's interacting with Marvel lot. When Marvels. Marvin to Vanderbilt and then he was at Florida State. So, my cousin and I acted with him a lot, man, and agencies passion, man, and being real with people being real with people man. So that's really what caught my eye. I'm saying they don't when I went it in this Pat me on the ass you know I'm saying it just you know they told me what I needed to work on and stuff like that so that's really what caught my attention to like the realness, you know that was like you're good at this but you like this, you know, some sand.

41:03 So we've been working. Going on stuff like that, you know, and we've got to start his own calls during the week and stuff like that, so I can get to learn the defense and stuff like that. So it's like I'm already ready. So it's telling you about to get crazy. What, man, we appreciate your passion, we appreciate what you're doing for us and we look forward to watching you all. All your your singing you on to getting into Virginia Tech. So have a good night, man. We appreciate you. Thank y'all. Go Hokies. That was awesome. Well I love a good impromptu interview impromptu is heck I mean Shelton by the way Shelton we're going to now let you comment because Shelton has been completely off Twitter. So he him hearing us name.

41:51 Everybody who's been committing is the first time he's heard it and just tell us what you think a gay man, because like he's a top ranked kid, you know, when you hear a kid come on like that and you In that. What's that tell you about it? Dude, it's great to see. I mean, from what I can tell already, he's just smart mature mature, young kid mature Beyond his years, and getting a guy that especially in the DMV. I think, I think Brian and I were talking earlier, texted me earlier about how important the DMV isn't trying to lock that area down because there's a lot of talent and that in that area. So that's it. That's a big-time pickup. Definitely. Shout out to shout outs.

42:31 A lot of brought to me. Yeah, great Great pickup by my coach pry, great pickup definitely made a difference is you don't know, you know I know I know we had we talked about a little bit already but we're going to look back at some of these, this offseason moves and on the coaching staff and say we had a little bit of a addition by subtraction there. I thought, I feel like saying, great, great pickup by Brooks 100%. We 45 in and we ain't got you two main topics. Get you get you get, you get your long gear on because we gonna be going away. While because that was awesome. I love having like you said, they're Shelton Kiss 16 year old, he very mature talking, very sure discussions about, you know, what, I loved what he said, right at the end there, Tyler for you for you, let him off. They know what I'm good at but they know what, I'm not gonna want me to be better at what?

43:22 I'm not and they're telling me that now when you're actually trying to win me, not not, not once I'm on campus and they're trying to win games with me, they're telling me now when they're still trying to Get me to commit here. That I think that's big that speaks, you know, to what we talked about, when we had prion, a couple weeks back about the, the realness. I mean, he's, he's real tell he's gonna tell you what it is. I mean, he's, he might tell it to you in a way that, you know, that make you feel bad about it, but he's gonna be real with you gonna be real with you, all right? And I said it while he was talking with, and I went a little bit hardcore because I've said, 40 39, 38, I know you ain't 39 yet run. I ain't 40 yet. Tally.

44:03 I know you ain't 838 quite yet, right shell, around it up. It's okay. Round it up. We've been talking about. How do we get return to power? How do we get to back to where we were? When we were young, you were a baby and we were in our 20s doing all sorts of crazy stuff. How do we get back there? And we were going to start off tonight. We're going to talk about conference realignment because it's been a Hot Topic and it is something when you're returning to power, it's got to be looked at. And I want to start first when it came out just a couple weeks ago back to Magnificent Seven. It's Clem. FSU Miami U NC NC State and UVA all kind of getting together chatting about each other, Brian. What did that tell you? When that popped out that there was they, a group of teams effectively, kind of chat about each other? Like, you know, how long can we actually deal with this shit? I mean, I think it speaks to the unrest with the current payouts that the ACCC has for their bigger programs, especially the programs that are drawing eyes.

45:03 To the television, right? So these are programs that Have enough Cloud even in Bad seasons, that they're going to put up good ratings. Consistently even against, you know, bad opponents even when the team itself is like us last year a 3 and 18 and you know you look at Virginia Tech, obviously you got Clemson. We know how good they've been you know you look at at FSU, they're back on the rise, they have such a consistent fan base, you know, Miami. Through. They are, you got you NC NC State, very passionate fan base, very much land, grant University just like Virginia Tech. So I mean NC State's probably as close to a sister School in the ACC as we can get.

45:54 And then you got UVA, which is more of the truly Olympic sport dominance. I mean, so when you kind of look at all those together, I mean it makes sense. That that is kind of the group that was looking to make some moves. If I understand the, I can understand their frustration with the current state of the media payout, right? It's when you compare it to like universities in the Big Ten and the SEC, it's just ridiculous. It is ridicu, Sheldon, tell anything to add on top of that, there are many motherfuckers, just tired of playing on the cooking network at 11:00 and I don't matter. If we only won three games, you know what I'm saying, we'll put up a graphic later on, it's other teams has been winning three games and they playing at at times and playing on, you know, Plan on networks, this much better than some of the stuff that we've had to do and you got to find a stream and stuff. Like, when you have a fan base, just as passionate as I was like, you got to give them a product, you know what I mean? As far as on the field but also even we just missed the ball on a lot of stuff lately.

47:01 So yeah. What Brian is saying like the The schools that have been The Magnificent Seven, looking to make a move. I definitely understand why can you get anything on this? Yeah, I mean, nothing like super insightful. I just think it's kind of crazy that like, over the next ten or so, years, whenever the contract expire, Vanderbilt's gonna be making forty million dollars a year more than Eva Tsui and Clemson. So I don't know, right to what degree to what degree can never assume Clemson actually tolerate that I don't know, but they're not to lower their ass out of that Geor is, it's Damned. That's bleep and I'm gonna definitely ask that. The only reason that the one thing that I will say about these seven schools about this happening, is people can say, oh no, there's been no contact, there's been no communication between bullshit. If they're coming up and they're talking to each other, there has been communication from other conferences. I would bet my ass on that because there ain't no need to talk about it.

48:00 Unless there's potentially some where to go now. I'm going to flip to you on this Shelton. Is it just basically covering a gunshot wound with a Band-Aid with the acc's? You pay structure trying to pay the better? You do the more you get? Yeah, from the research. I've seen it's a very, very small impact. Like, I don't know what the exact numbers are, but that's, that's like chump change. It's not going to change much like you have to change the actual structure of the television contract. Yeah, I'm with you on that. Y'all boys. Got anything on that? I mean, great. You get I get all of my bowl money. Great! Wonderful birthday. Don't add 18 million Bond. And here's the thing though, and eventually this is probably what could kill the ACC.

48:54 It can't be broken right now. Although there are MERS about a part of it, they could be broken in a couple years. Somebody's got to show the new Grand race for that can be seen, but it only takes 8 to dissolve the league. It only takes eight. There's clearly seven that a happy about where they are. You found an eight that has a partner with a lot more money. They can bring him to that program. Do y'all think that will happen before we see anything? Do you think the grant of rights be dissolved? Whoever wants to lead this? Sally, I'll let you roll first on this one. I don't know. I don't know. Shit. I was waiting to see what you had to say. I'm just, I'm kind of surprised.

49:35 I'm kind of surprised, kid move outward in there. At least one of them. Yeah, I can see, Louisville more than Pit to be honest. Because I feel like they have some of the more elements that are both attractive to the Big Ten and to the SEC in terms of you know, probably the Big Ten a little bit more because they're getting an additional Market that they don't have right now. Yeah, although Penn State's got a big hole in Pennsylvania. So I think what's going on. This is my opinion, my opinion on. I think the 18 going to go to the big 12 and I think what they're going to look at. It's like Louisville to pit. Good good. Good call on those two Sheldon for the Big 12. It's well, it's a different Market. We pick up someone closer, you kind of have that Cincinnati West Virginia.

50:23 You've got that little Rust Belt feel to it and they're going to look back and say, okay, we can't get Here and here because whatever but can we is it okay to make 15 or 20 million more year? Not 30 to 45 million more year? And I've been really think that's what's going to happen. There's going to be someone in there that just says, you know what, fuck this goddamn 30 million dollars a year. The Big 12 can give us 55. I wish we could get 85. But you know what? We want to stay relevant. We got to do that. That's my opinion. And I think that's a visually. What's going to kill the ACC unless they can renew renegotiate, the contract?

51:03 Because the honest truth is and I'll say this dead pain. Should the ACC be making as much money as the SEC of the Big Ten though? They don't pull the ratings. Should they be making as much less that they are right now? No, I think it's closer than people think, but that is what it is. Well, at least he's at least these to be higher than what the big clubs making right now, which is it's not it's not That's the bullshit part of it. And it's not even going to be once, you know, Texas and Oklahoma, take a fucking hike. So they took a dip. It took a dip. Yeah, they basically renegotiated at basically, but it's still going to be a movie ACC even at the radiation level. I almost start with you on this show. What's your preference?

51:47 The Big Ten or the SEC, definitely a sec, okay? I would rather, I would rather lose to LG by 40, just That was you by 40 football game. I don't care. I don't know. No, thank you. No, thank you with everything you need.

52:27 You just say it was good for you, man, for me. Because if we go to the SEC I live in the middle of a sec country, I don't want to get fucked up by Alabama Auburn, text it Tennessee, every week. No, I'm good on that, but I do understand what you're saying. I'm just saying, we can get more money. We got two options, we can get more money with both options. I'd like to take the little bit of power. If of least resistance, I want to win a little bit more games like I'm 37, man. I'm not trying to get beat by 40. You younger than me, shit, I want to win.

53:10 Now that's just me. I can understand what shall we get? Yeah, I mean I'm kind of with Talia a little bit. I think the Big Ten is a Good fit probably from an entire athletic department standpoint. You know when you think about wrestling and things like that, I think if you're just looking at the football side of it, the SEC is a better fit but at the same time when I when I compare the two travel overall is going to be about the same. So that's to me, not not much of a factor, you know, some people are we'll talk. Whether that's may be affecting three games a year. I mean, it's cold as shit in Blacksburg and in October late, October, and early November anyway, so that's not, that's not a big deal to me.

54:00 So it really comes down to if we go to the Big 10, you know, if we take some steps we could potentially be. You know that fifth or sixth maybe seventh best program in the conference at some point in the near future I don't know we quit. I don't know if we in the near future. Are the sixth or seventh best team in the Sec in the next two to three years. If you're looking to be competitive in the, in the conference and also still reaping, the financial benefits, the Big Ten is the answer. NC as cool as Shelton. You you made it. You made it like seeing LSU Planet Alabama, having them come see, that's the funny part.

54:48 We're old 20 years ago, we saw LSU and Texas A&M, come on shit but it's more of what this I don't know who this is. I wish they had their names because effectively I think with the Big Ten if to me I'm looking at it as a as a whole Whole, Wisconsin and Iowa. They always do what they do out in the west Nebraska has to prove. He can get back. There's three main ones and I look in the whole realm of it and it's like if tech gets back where it was just a decade ago, just at the end of the 2000s or the late 2000s and early 2010's, it can be the fourth or third best in that conference. Yeah.

55:31 And and then also, it's the travel piece of you. Maryland Rutgers Ohio State Indiana there five, six hour drives, Brian you made the point. It's not an overall, it's not going to be anything, but I feel like the big Ten's a better fit, I also. And this is the way I feel. I think the Big Ten Wolf's that DC Northern Virginia Market. I think they feel, if they look at us, they're saying we're not only getting that market. We're going to get the Charlotte Market to. We're going to get this big Market where they can pull two to two and a half, three and a half, four, and a half million on a normal game day. Day for TV and that's where it goes and they might get some of that Triad to. That's true tried. All right last piece I'll let y'all go just real quick and I'll name mine first.

56:17 I think yes we can return to power outside of the Big Tooth because I think the way it's going to be set up. Is there still going to give crumbs to lower tier conferences? What about y'all? I think there's a chance because I think with the, with the college football, playoff coming in, there's still going to be some room for people to eat. So if you're, if you're the big dog at the, you know, whatever the number three is just below the big to your in at least be in the conversation. People are going to be talking about you so there's still some potential there. It will be kind of a big East type situation where you won't get respected until you go out there and kick somebody in the teeth, right?

57:02 But I think you can still get there. Yeah, take it. Back my heart. You have some say, piggyback on kind of what Brian saying it's going to be harder. But I think there's opportunity and again, you just can't, what would you take? Has as far as the fan base and the venue is just if you need to its own. So it's going to keep attracting people, no matter what, no matter what conference so, Opportunity. But a lot Slimmer. Yep. Significantly lower margin for error. You're essentially talking about, you got to be undefeated or one loss.

57:42 If you want to be relevant it looks like the big to you're looking like Cincinnati now. Yeah you know, a school like that perfect way to say. Alright let's do the next and it's got to be done. It's got to be talked about the school administration because there's a, I think text out of 1.8 billion dollar endowment. Clearly we saw from that graphic. Just the other Eat the athletic department is an absolutely no debt while they were able to make that decision to effectively, take what 5.9 million, in build, a new locker room because you ain't got no dead, it's easy to ask for money. What? Babcock? As we all know, as a Flashpoint discussion, when you talk to any hokey fans, there are people that love with there.

58:26 Are people that absolutely hate with, but can he be the ad to leave? This? She also near an alumni. So I'm gonna ask you this one first. Can he lead? Read this back to where we want to be. I think you can. Yes, what happened? Tpd obviously. There's there's a lot of I think politics that goes on inside of school administrations at like administration's. Like it's really really complex. I think a lot more so than a lot of people on the outside kind of want to admit. I think what's done a really good job of obviously building up our Olympic sports programs. Be kind of see that with the number of new sports to success there with football. I Think It's tricky because honestly, you know, inherited situation where we had some debt from from the Weaver era and it took us a while to kind of build up, you know. The fundraising and all that stuff with like support staff and coaching centers and Facilities like all that stuff takes time.

59:21 Like I said, I think there's there's a lot of factors that go into it. There's a lot of people that have to make decisions about that kind of stuff. It's not just wit obviously to Falls with him as a maybe but I think Tech is in a much better spot resources Lies when it comes to those three things that I mentioned. There's trying to put more money into the program and right now I think it's just a matter of Coach probably being able to get a job done. Like I just Think, for me, I just think the coaches have to win games, like it's that simple. I mean, we're not, you know, this isn't like that 2012 where we're falling behind, like we've got the money, we've got the money, be a top buddy program. I think I just think we need the coaches to kind of step up and do the jobs Kylie, will you think I agree?

1:00:02 I agree with Shelton saying there, you know, even when he'd I do think it needs to be a little bit more of a focus on football. Because football is your money maker from Our perspective from somebody who is holding the money who's making the decisions is like, well, best girls, you know, when his basketball is doing this, or baseball is going here, football steal the money maker but you got to promote that because that's what's winning at the time. But as much as everybody jumped on with last year, or in the past years, and say we should be playing here, we should be playing here. Well, if we went in, did with the fuck, we were supposed to do and beat the shit.

1:00:44 Out of ODU. I'll beat the shit out of Liberty. Nobody cares that we go to and play. It's just, we didn't get the job done. You know, the players didn't do it in the coaches, didn't do it. So if we do play ODU, or we do play Liberty or whoever the fuck we play, whose line up in front of us. If we go in there and their coaches, do that job, like, Sheldon saying, I don't think that we here witch named as much, you know, like for scheduling those games, like we can, we should be winning them. Even at ODU last year, that wasn't with fault that we lost. We may have shouldn't have went there, whatever, but it wasn't his fault that we lost and you don't, we made mistakes and we lost the game, you know, if we go down there and we drum them like we supposed to then everybody's happy and we on to the next week. So I think that we can be in this position and we can and we can start that start that run back up. Gabe Williams already showed us that. Yeah and I mean look at that.

1:01:44 I mean, you know, Whit was kind of dealt a less-than-ideal hand from the end of the, the Weaver are, right? So you know, I know I get the focus on building back the, you know, some of the Olympics for it's in the non residue because those were heavily neglected. The entire depart was to collected across the board towards the end there, but particularly those kind of letter left flailing by the wayside there. You know, he's gotten those back to a point where you feel like there's stability consistently competing and then we started to see some of the money kind of come back in but you know, we look back it's part of that is the laissez-faire Mom and Pop Style managing that we saw towards the end of the Weaver are and we were just being her was taken care of business. And there wasn't a whole lot of money put in there, so, I feel like that, that played a big factor in how it kind of prioritize football less out the gate. And probably put him, you know, in the in the target of a lot of a lot of hokey football fans because I mean football is the Bell cow man football pays the bills so hopefully, you know, because of that, hopefully we don't end up losing some of the overall Revenue.

1:03:02 The the kind of raising all boats there because we let football kind of flounder there for a little bit, but at that definitely think wit can turn it around. We got some good investment coming in now between the locker room. You know, some of the, the big initiatives on some of the facilities that we're doing and things like that. So in the, in the bigger emphasis on building the staff, so like those, their salary pool for the coaches, as big for me, especially when we look at the off-field roles as well. So if we can keep moving in that direction, I feel pretty good. I'm with all y'all on this. I think he can be the man to lead the way, just the way he built up the other parts of the program and then what he did effectively in 2018 because he was building it up, he was dumping money elsewhere. And when that season went down the shitter, he pivoted hard and sort of dumping money back in the football because he knew effectively, it wasn't like, it was with Frank. We weren't just going to keep going. It was like that too.

1:04:04 Few first few years but he pivoted, Hardy got those new dorms built talking, remember that happening at the new dorms built, made some upgrades facility. So I think he saw it and now he's clearly dumping even more money into the football program. I'm going to be real cool with this one. Is wits hands tied by Tim sayings. Because Tam's is on record and saying, effectively, he does not believe in the football arms race. That's on record, that's not me. Just making it pulling something out of my ass. He said that and now he sits in a conference, this making 40 million a year, when their other conferences, making 100 million a year. Do y'all think Sands ties his hands? Sheldon kind of hit on that earlier. So Sean, I actually think his hands are tied by other people in the ID personally.

1:05:02 Well yeah I'm not going to I'm not going to so you know, I'm not going to comment on that but I do think way to sort of like a punching bag for fans who are just mad and one of them to about the state of the program. He's a good idea obviously. Like like Curtis mention, you know, his intelligence is not the issue like he's done a great job, putting up the revenues for the number of Miss Cortez. We talked about, I just think it's a matter of getting, you know, getting this staff to support they need and just, you know, having enough time to kind of wait it out. But yeah, as far as Sands goes like there's probably a certain people that also play a factor in that, that type of stuff. So that's kind of my that's come up in the news is another thing too.

1:05:48 I may just kind of the same point but a little bit different. What is your Virginia Tech fans talk about? Excuse me. I was a genie tech fans talking about. Oh, he's a, he's a nice. A, a snake said, snake oil salesman. Well, he's a used car salesman, the, some talking about different coaches. Well, fuck it. You got to be some kind of salesman, and we Punnett six years with a coach who was just like, hey, this is what it is, you know, until it came to the end. And he says, I need help. I need this. I need that. You got to have a coach that can stand In front of not, just with, but stand in front of the athletic department and say, for us to be successful, this is what we gotta do.

1:06:31 So he's got to be a Salesman to do that and I think prize been doing that, the weighted he came in and the way to he, he hit the ground running. I know. It seems like it's been years and years ago, but when he arrived him, going to all the different events and shaking hands and kissing babies and sitting at groundwork, you got to be able to do that to show the athletic department, where You're trying to get to, as a football department. So 100%, I this is a simple. Yes, or no question. Can this Administration Sands everybody in the athletic department with included? Can they fast-track enough resources in the next five years? So say 2029 to get us ahead or level with most tier 2 non Blueblood programs Ryan. I mean I think we're on the right track for that already, right?

1:07:22 So, you know, we already moved up into kind of the top two or three, four, sometimes, five, depending on the year, in terms of what we're paying coaches, we're starting to move that way into what we potentially could pay recruiting staff. So we're not going to be Clemson right out the gate. We're probably not going to be Florida state anytime soon, but I think we can definitely be a tour ahead of everybody else in our conference, right? Now on that front so I definitely think that's doable, okay. Now if you're talking about if we're in the SEC in three to four years, that's when it gets a little more questionable, but I think we've got a decent enough Foundation.

1:08:06 Where we're not going to be behind, I just don't know whether we're catching up to those. Tier two programs, if that's the path we end up going down. Yeah, I've personally I just I don't think money is that big of it? I mean it's money met but you reason that we're not like a top 10 or top plate program, but I don't think it's a reason why we can't be, you know, talk 30, like we've got the resources, our facilities are good, you know, the support staff, they've got all this position. So it's like we've got the, we've got, the resources were investing now. It's just a matter of time before it pays off coaches. I think it comes down to the coach. I've been, it comes down to the product. And, like I said, you got a headache coaches, leading the program yet, Experiment believe.

1:08:48 So, even when you do go three and eight, you still got people to say, hey, we're going to follow this guy. So right now, I think we're in the right direction. Prior to going to be watching us, man, I need your help this year, go fuck some people up, there you go. I so obviously the next big elephant in the room and it's always in the room because it seems like if I talkin about including Dion, just the other day is in il and What do y'all think about the football donation strategy, prioritizing ni L donations over donations to the Hokie Club, over donations, to the scholarship fund? Does it have to be a prioritization? I mean, we're not in debt.

1:09:32 I didn't do it. I mean, and IL has to be a focus whether it's the focus or not is I guess the big question, right? If you're not if you don't have a significant in il presence, you're going to be falling behind on the recruiting trail and I think not so much with getting guys. Like I think, I mean it's dumb. Some of the stuff I've seen some like tier two, tier two tier three programs do to get like a mid three. To give program that shit's dumb but where we need to be good at is if we've got a four star that is ready to commit, but we're not quite where they need to be.

1:10:14 We got to be able to push that over the top and make it close that deal. If we've got a star player on our team that getting some Nibbles from bigger programs, we've got to be able to push that a little bit hired to incentivize that player to stay. In Blacksburg, that's where it's going to be the big winds from an ni o perspective. So I don't think it needs to overtake the Hokie Club in terms of priority, but I definitely think it needs to be a tiered approach in how we're funding the program going forward. I agree. I agree. Because, again, mind that use not the main thing, but one of the things you hit, all right then and like coach process, it Shameless plug. If you haven't seen it, go back and watch it. Cold for our.

1:11:03 See it, you got coaches, talking to you players during the season, pretty much did, you know, you got coaches, trying to poacher poacher players all the time. So nrel has to be somewhere in there to be like, hey, we can take care of you here. Here we go. We got you, you know, you've already proved yourself here. Let us let us, you know, do what we do and let you continue to grow here. So And I are definitely has to be a focus because of things like that. Not the focus, but a focus. And I mean the other thought about it too. Is y'all think we're like the Deon interview yesterday about it?

1:11:50 Was there's only to me. He was trying to say, only Elite. Guys should get in il. These collectives are the problems and it's like so a guy killing himself. Shouldn't get any money for playing college football Dion. I hated that, I hated him saying that if you all doing here you go. Looks like my son could get a million dollar deal. It's like so the kid over here shouldn't get twenty thousand dollars for planted. I agree with him from a high school recruit standpoint but the other but despite the player, Your retention, if you got a kid, that's developing well, and doing all the right stuff, you should be able to put some stuff on that player. Whether he's getting Nibbles from outside of the program or not.

1:12:34 So the and that's why it's a question is, there's our strategy, right? I mean, all I'll say is this, I think our strategy is working good. Did Mansoor go anywhere after being clearly, clearly hit up by a bunch of people, probably with a nice bunch of money in his pocket for his pockets. I mean are you still okay? So you sit here, if we did it, if we're doing it right or doing it wrong, I think the collectives and all are doing it, right? They're finding ways to get it done, you know? And and that's the pieces like is it right when guys like that? Don't leave and you clearly see you know, and I know he's not involved yet likely with it.

1:13:19 But guys like Gabe, come on clearly the Visions laid out there within IL and In as far as leveling up at the ni o, do we need to? I mean yeah, everybody needs to write in some way but because this is it's always going to be changing. It is they're gonna come in, they're gonna put some restrictions in it or they're gonna come in and they're going to say this and they're going to do that. So you're always going to have some stuff going, that's a little bit different. I'm excited that we are just having a part in it now, because down here, while I'm at it, it's been happening. Like yeah, fuck. And I ll it was just like do your mama need a house? Or you need a car, here you go, you know what I'm saying? So to have something that just at least puts us you do in the same ballpark with some of those schools helps 100% All right, let's flip it over because it's we've been leveling. We got to get to recruiting and I'm going to put just want to tally because Shelton, Brian myself. I think I bias might show through on this one. I felt tallied in and outside guy being from Alabama, might be a little bit more.

1:14:29 So tally, what's more important getting the best players we can in our 6:00 hour radius or recruiting the state of Virginia, better than any other team, Penn State UNC Carolyn NC State. Clemson etc, etc. so tough question, and it's kind of hard to answer because you gotta You got to kind of do both. You know I'm saying? Like you really don't have a choice but to do both, it's like that six hour radius. 6 hours is not impossible to drive to go to a football game, therefore, a family. You know what I'm saying? The state of Virginia, or people close to Virginia, Tech 4 hours away, three hours away.

1:15:13 We'll go watch. Somebody play that is from their school, you know? So that goes, A long two. Hotel rooms being rented, that goes along with the city of Blacksburg making money because people going to restaurants, that goes along to selling out the stadium, having a better crowd for TV selling more concessions, while you're there then just recruiting people to recruit them and then their families can't come, watch them. You don't have nobody to watch him play. So recruiting the best in the state is good or getting the best players from the stadium. Or between instead of Virginia is good, but you can't neglect.

1:15:57 Like we talking about Gabe Williams. You can't neglect a player, like gave Williams. That is the spearhead right now of this 2024 class. And I do think we get some guys from Virginia. I do think we get, you know, maybe 12. I don't know, top guys from Virginia. When I say top maybe top 10 guys from Virginia this year but they're not There yet. So if you're sitting around waiting on that top 10 guy to start your class off and they've been holding off and holding off shit, you miss a big weekend like you just did, you know. So you're right.

1:16:39 I guess my answer would be, you know, that six our radius is, is probably the best route to go just because it's so much talent around that area, that we'd be missing if we didn't. but we're not neglecting Virginia either, which is what the problem was, before what we was doing, I'm doing Show me what you think. Yeah, like guitar for me, I want to talk a lot about, you know, locking down the state of Virginia. I think it's more helpful to look at, in terms of just like taking Blacksburg and drawing a giant circle around it. So that's where you keep hurting.

1:17:19 So, North Carolina DMV Tennessee excetera. Personally, I know some people might disagree this. I'm not super gung-ho on the town level right now. In the state of Virginia, the last two years it is it's been pretty rough in terms of NFL draft picks getting. After from the state now that might change going forward. It could just be a little blip but to me you look at over the past, you know, six or seven years like most of text players, the best players are from North Carolina and an ogre killed Farley Divine Diablo. Exile the field living, you can name a bunch of them like tree the talent. Yeah. Trey Turner thanks for the tip there. It's like that's where the talent is. I mean, like I didn't know this until recently but the state of Virginia is actually losing population and North Carolina's growing in population.

1:18:02 And so to me, like when we're talking about what the recruiting base is, you got them to North Carolina, because that's where that's where our best players have come from for the most part. Yeah, I'm with you. In some of this goes back to what Pratt talks about with relationships, right? So when we talk about a kid, like Gabe Williams just came on. He talk, what did he say? Relationship with Elijah Brooks. Yep, is a big key in why? He gave Virginia Tech a look. So you can't ignore those relationships regardless of whether they're those high schools that you're spending a significant amount of time in by recruiting the state, or Whether it's the relationships that you've developed in your recruiting footprint or from previous stops, you've got it, you can't turn away a connection again as tally said the problem before, wasn't that, you know, the staff lean into some of their, you know, lower Midwest Roots. There.

1:19:03 It was that they completely ignored the state of Virginia in the process. Yeah. Right so I definitely think the six hour radius is More important from a macro version verse perspective. But you know, you still need to be in the Virginia High School's every year because you want to be there when a kid is good and he wants to play for Virginia Tech 100%, you don't want to be the guy coming in last. Are you going to be the school that is late to the party on a kid that ends up being good at a school that you decided to ignore for two or three Cycles? Exactly. In in like it's like we're all here. It's like Virginia is important because likely two out of every five players are going to be purged in from Virginia. Let's just be realistic.

1:19:53 We look at an 85 scholarship, probably 30 of them are. So we're going to be from Virginia, if not a little bit more, but I sit here and I look at that radius, we draw that Circle. And I think there's four states that are going to be critical. I think Virginia still is critical. I think finding stars and find developmental players, which shows going to get to in a little while here, from the state of Virginia, is going to be super critical. But the states of Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Those four states are going to be a to me if we get back we're going to see it. And I'm not knocking Maryland, but Maryland's, right next door.

1:20:33 Don't have to for drivers for to get to Maryland. Please don't and you're not talking in North Carolina as well, which is also at the two states. Closest to us, that tally has made a point four hour drive three-hour drive for those guys. It's, those ones that are a little bit further, there are just in there just in the six hours or their little bit outside that six hour range. And I think for the program it's getting several pop 30 top, 25 players to commit to Tech. Getting the inroads in those schools and it may be five years. We're looking at it and saying it's not top 30 anymore, we're going to get to top 15 players from the state of Georgia.

1:21:13 This year, we're going to get you top 15 players from the state of Ohio this year. And it's that growth of those schools where it's still six hours, somebody on the northern part of Georgia can give me a car on Friday afternoon, drive up to Blacksburg. Go see their son play. Get out on Sunday, drive back. It's a full. Yeah, but it's nothing that can't be done and I think that's going to be the big important part. Now, the other thing I'll say is the transfer portal ain't going away. Yeah. Tennessee as well but Tennessee's wanted to touch his us, tell you drove up from your home's, an hour and a half. We took about six hours to get to Bristol.

1:21:56 You know how old half. So, it's only about five hours, right? Yeah, five hours for to about five hours to get the Bristol. I believe. Yeah. Now so that again they in Chattanooga can drive up, we can see the sun go back home without much of a thing. But the thing that Coach Price said was talking about the he was talking about Transfer portal and he said it straight up to us. It's need and fit. If you need an older guy in a room to discuss it, right? You got to go on those to me that's someone like pow because at the defensive end room defensive end room wise. He's already played a Glide in the SEC right. He's already probably got just as much experience as Nelson and McRae.

1:22:44 Does he seem better? Tackles than probably anybody on our defensively. Exactly. And that's nice. Fit and then he talked about it the other way. And I love him saying this when we miss on a guy, if we don't hit on a guy, we think we're going to develop this guy. I love hearing him say that because he's basically saying this is football, you're not going to hit on every player so when you swing and Miss on players, you got to be willing to go out there and find somebody. True, very true. I got one more question on recruiting, and this is like his story in me is I'm asking you all can print, pride, get his Cornell Brown And when I say Cornell Brown, if you're a hockey fan is old as we are. You know who Cornell Brown is, but Cornell Brown was a win for Frank Beamer 30-plus years ago because he was a number one player in the state.

1:23:36 He was basically a top 50 recruit and when he chose techie, chosen over UVA who effectively was looked at as the power in Virginia that point I'm amongst a bunch of other offers Can Brent pride, get that player sooner or later? To Richmond or excuse me to Virginia Tech. Yeah, I mean I think that's I think we're looking probably this cycle and next cycle is going to be the most important in terms of Landing that type of player. You know I don't think it's going to be a number one in the state of Virginia Tech caliber player but I think we can get a top 250, top 200 player that is whether it started out the gate or somebody that's contributing very early.

1:24:25 But is setting the tone tone from a culture perspective, right out the gate. And we very May well have been talking to that player tonight. You know what time will tell? But I think I think that's that that's what you're going to need and I think it's for me if it's going to happen in these happen, either this cycle and that cycle. Yeah. And you know if you go back and listen to what Gabe said when he was on, he said you know, these coaches are giving you the opportunity and giving you, you know, the position to come in and play. So opportunities there for a lot of these recruits to come in and make that early impact in the be that Cornell type of Trendsetter, you know, Elite, he will recruit and come in and play early and, you know, change the culture of Virginia Tech to be back to what it's supposed to be there opening, the flood gate up and said, hey, this is yall's team, you know, we just, we want to know that you'll want to be a part of it and that's what I like, what game is done, you know, he he's took on the road to say, hey, I believe in this place and I want to get some other people hear that. Want to believe it until I don't want to dig too far into what he said, but it's on wax, you can go back and listen to it yourself.

1:25:47 He said it's some other people that's involved that we don't know about yet, so we could have been talking to him. We could be talking about it. True. What you think? Sheldon does he need it soon? Does he need that type of player soon? I mean soon. Yeah maybe I mean it's hard to it's hard to project coming off you know a three-name season but I don't know. I think it's it'll be the 2025 classified be more or - kind of where we're headed. I just think right now it's kind of too early as far as like where we are as a program to really be projecting too much in the future but yeah I'd say so is it sooner rather than later for sure. All right, good deal.

1:26:28 All right, y'all before we get into more topics tonight, we are going to take a quick pause from our digital Partners as we take a quick break. We'd like to tell you about getting your free website report from our digital partner, Grassroots, digital marketing Studio. They'll tell you how your website ranks on Google on-site, SEO and social media. No commitment to buy anything. You can get your free report by visiting. Grassroots digital studio.com forward slash free Dash website, Dash report. Now back to the episode Alright y'all. So second half of here, we are going to be talking will let Sheldon take over for a few minutes because Sheldon did some deep deep digging on Player Development and he's got a bunch of stuff he wants to show us.

1:27:10 So she all the floors. Yours sir. Yeah. So one of the things I've always been interested in studying is really what goes into Player Development. It's something that's fascinating for a long time because I feel like there's just some little nuances that that go into what make a team successful or unsuccessful. And I think one thing that's helpful to look at is just, you know, what other programs are doing because you can't really, you know, figure out what the formula is. If you don't really study like how other teams do it and what what successful teams what successful teams do, they get part of ailment. So obviously, you know, I started recruiting Because a lot but I also acknowledge that they are imperfect. And so I just wanted to figure out really, what is sort of like the secret sauce that makes a program?

1:27:55 When essentially, I think we look at it seemed like Virginia Tech. They're sort of like a perception among tech fans that, you know, back in the Glory Days of the Frank Beamer era check was winning with these, you know, three-star, recruit seized under scouted guys, that were kind of like the, you know, Blue Collar chip on your Older like Little Engine That Could but really that's not until accurate. Like we had tons of star players during the 2000s. You look at you know, Marcus Vick and Macho Harris and Xavier adibi and David Wilson like these were all players that were really talented. Prospects that other powerful programs wanted. So it wasn't just like we were kind of you know The Little Engine That Could like we're winning games because we had star players. We had good players, we beat you know we beat Alabama and Tennessee because we had better players than made it so it's always helpful to kind of, you know, keep in perspective. Our development only gets you so far and on a fundamental level, you do have to get recruiting, right? If you're not, if you're creating is not the biggest focus of your program, then you are doing it wrong. But with that being said, we can also look a lot at there's programs that do develop players very well and Brandi can give you the graphic up in a moment.

1:29:03 So you can see, I made a list here, a top 10 player to jump rooms using, the SP plus rating should count for strength of schedule and kind of translate into the recruiting rankings. He's and in doing this, I wanted to identify really free common themes here, which I sort of looked at that. These programs have the first is coaching continuity. So you look at it seemed like Utah. How wedding has been there for 18 years Kirk rights? Iowa has been there for 24 years my kinda Oklahoma State, 18 years. The average coaching tuner for these 10 programs is 10 years. So why that matters? You know, you look at a guy like France at Iowa, he's been there so long. He knows all the Coach in the state and he kinda has a good feel for what players are fit for playing in his program? You know, he had a strength coach that is no longer there but have been there for a while staying with Gummy at Oklahoma State and gummy is even on record saying that, you know, consistency is the most important thing establishing a big-time college football program and especially on the staff to like, you know, you want your coordinators to be there long time.

1:30:04 That's a Clemson. Did a good job of you want your strength coach to be to be there for a long time? It's all about sort of establishing continuity so that crew It's see that and they kind of know like okay this is the Seth has been there for our. They've been doing it for a long time that kind of helps sell you sell players in the recruiting Trail. So if anyone's interject after that, after that point you're free to. Well, I think what that's also what we saw as well, like you said, we had star players but for the longest time it was the same staff here at tech for years, it is very important because go back to the you said you said it right off the get-go. Sheldon recruiting is important. But if you've got that coaching continuity with the Head. Coaches, the saying guy, parts of the staff are the same when they walk into that school. Everyone knows them.

1:30:51 The players are likely comfortable because, yeah, you know, take coach calf coach. Kevin all had been walking down into 75, 74 Years. Everybody knew him. So it makes perfect sense. Yeah, definitely. You say coaching continuity is the same as identity. You know what I'm saying? When you got the same coaches, you know, that team is going to have a certain idea. Entity, you know, they're going to play a certain way. You know, a coach is going to just be a certain type of Coach whether it's the head coach, or the position coach, and you don't have a lot of revolving door type stuff. So that point is definitely a big point. The coaching continuity because like you said, when you are going to recruit and it's the same people year after year, number 1, that means that somebody's having some kind of success. You're Getting fired.

1:31:44 Yep. They like where they are. So they're not leaving and they're building relationships. Well I hate to keep going back to. It gave Williams told us when coach Brooks got hired on to this staff that was his first offer. So it instantly jumped us up because of a coach. So yeah that's definitely a big Point. Yeah. To piggyback off of that, when we talk about you talk about identity. I also think about coaches having an innate ability of getting certain players at certain positions. Ins in a spot where they can make some big plays and get to the next level. So, when we think about Virginia Tech historically, we look at, okay done really well with dual threat. Quarterback sacks always had a solid solid running back core, really good, linebackers Elite defensive backs, right? So you knew if you were coming to Virginia Tech, you do what type of identity they had?

1:32:44 And you knew what type of players they historically could get to the next level. So when you have coaching continuity, you That as a, it's no longer a variable, it's a constant, right? So you know what you're getting in that perspective. Definitely. And that kind of leads into my second key, which was having an identity and recruiting. So like I told you guys I'm here in Salt Lake City for the week. I went up took a run by Utah. Standard a Utah is a very very good program for a variety of reasons. But one of which I think is very important is the fact that they have established and identity in recruiting. So About in any given year about one third of the roster is composed of Polynesian players.

1:33:27 And this is not a fact I knew until researching, but Samoan players are 58 times more likely to make the NFL than their American counterparts. So because of that, you know, history, that established there. I've got a pipe on of this pollination kids that just come up to the school and they develop them and they and they put them in a fellow. Make it also to take a team like Wisconsin who historically has been built on these you know big beefy mean offensive lineman. They're going to play Smash Mouth football. They're going to Run the ball down your throats and the reason they do that is because they have to Wisconsin does not have the access to skill talent to play another brand of football because recruiting is mostly defined by geography. So they have established that sort of niche of okay, we're gonna have a big offensive lineman.

1:34:08 We're going to play, you know, Pro style and just try to run the ball down your throats and that's what they've done. Big white office environment. Well, and again, it goes back to what we just talked about here, right? Shelton. We were talking about good running backs and you talked about David Wilson, the line of great running backs. Go back to um go Kenny oxendine you go to Lee Suggs, you ghost if you go KJ you go Ryan Williams Darren Evans. It wasn't like 10. I got this one. Really good guy, a lot of those guys were highly coveted. It was that running back big deep on the inside Ron, you said, linebackers. And then the back in Setbacks. So we knew our dead identity and now we've got coach Pride effectively trying to start a new identity for a new era and now we have to see what that vision is over the next little while here in, can it come to fruition to what he wants it to be?

1:35:05 Because I think we're going to talk about in a little while here, something about the defense because it's a certain portion. We're going to talk about a little while here but go ahead. Alton or branching, out Kalyan anything else to say on this one? I'm good on that. Y'all cover the good parts. They're okay. And so then I'll finish up here with the third key which is establishing a culture now, culture is kind of, you know, one of those Buzz words that people kind of fur out, but it really is a big deal. I think we talked about, you know, Utah, they've got a great culture that get place to stay, you know, they go on missionary trips for the LDS church for a couple of years they come back, they're 24, 25 years old. So they're essentially, you know, effectively like the six year, senior playing college football. And then, you know, Wisconsin they've got the walk on program, that's develop stars like, JJ Watt kind of know where they are and they recruit to that and then you click, it seemed like Kansas state, who's also on this list, you know, they hired a guy and Chris climbing who came from winning program at NDSU. So, you know, he had, you know, five or six great years are really learned how to win.

1:36:06 Learn how to be a head coach, and you kind of take him from there. He's also, I think a very good cultural fit kind of similar to Virginia Tech, you know, he's not a guy for the Limelight, he's a he's a good fit, the kind of state and they're not flashy they just You know, develop players and kind of get the job done. So I think that third part of it is really just you know culture establishing knowing who you are and then recruiting to your identity. All right, so if there is obviously the best player development programs, who's the worst? Yes, we have that. We have that graphic as well. It's, it's pretty ugly.

1:36:50 Can y'all hear me? It doesn't mean they're automatically going to be good like a four-star. Recruit Scott develop themselves, you need coaching.

1:37:32 Coaching always matters. It matters whether you're recruiting three stars, four, stars or five stars, it always matters. And I think, you know, I was having a conversation the other day and maybe you guys could chime in, on this, with them a person. Whose opinion, I highly respect. I cannot reveal his name due to his is very high important job status. But he said, he actually thinks that the idea that Tech can out developed player. Out develop teams is kind of a misnomer. That they just have to out recruit them, you know, we talk about all the talent they got during the beaver days, you know, you look at a program, like, Georgia, Georgia won two national championships with a former walk-on quarterback who's now going to the NFL. So, if that's not an elite Player Development, then I don't know what is, I think, as much as we emphasize how much it matters. We have, that was.

1:38:16 So, we also understand that there is sort of a limit to how much you can develop players. And at the end of the day, it does come down to recruiting studs. Like, there's just no getting around that. You got to recruit good. There's got good work ethics and just want to get better and on a fundamental level, you know, regardless of, you know, all the other factors that go into it. That's just what it boils down to is recruiting players that fit your school, your system and your identity. It's really silly to think about it, but we're talking about the 85 87 88. Put the, it's easier to take an 87 in to make it a better player, than 84 or an 83. Because if I'm not, and I know I'm talking numbers here, but but if they're here on a scale, then there is a chance to take a step up, right? It's like they're out there a high 3-star. Can we develop that to make him play like a high for star? There is that possibility?

1:39:11 It's a lot easier to take that to go to here to take cam. Chancellor's are a dime a dozen, right? Yes. They just are low. Two stars that literally become 5 Stars. So again you make the great point, the better we recruit the more chances in this the easier developing. Yeah. Go ahead John, I'll let you finish. Okay. Yes. Just cook. I mean you take a guy like Caleb Fairley. Like he was a high three star. Yeah. But I think he was a four-star in the 24/7 rankings. Like if you ask people in the tech program, like they all knew he was an absolute stud. So there's always going to be, you know, some degree of like, you know, can we get the guys that maybe we think our little bit, you know, overlooked but to your point Curtis just take out on a one out of ten scale.

1:39:56 If you recruit at a as a level 7 out of 10, it is significantly easier to be a 9 out of 10 program that it is if your create a level 5 out of 10. Okay, I'm all about. It's all about degrees and relativity. Yeah you're not going to get, you know, 12, or 13, high ceiling, guys, that are in 84 in every class. Like, at some point, you got to start recruiting guys that are a little bit more. Ready to play, right? Yeah. Everybody can't be a project. Yeah. Hey, are you coming to come into play? You can't have what you can't have a class full of projects that have. You got to have a game-changing player in every class, A couple of them really to be, you know, too.

1:40:39 Get back then I ain't saying like they have to be a five star player, but you have to have somebody who's ready to step in and play. Yeah, you can't, you can't be averaging at or under an 86 for your class class, average, every year, right? So and that's kind of weird. Virginia Tech has lived up until, you know, hopefully this, this, this cycle here, you know, since kind of what 2019 2018. And you can't live like that, but you look at it this list, I'm Thomas mentioned it in the comment there. I'm shocked not to see a UNC or a Texas A&M on this on this list. Yeah.

1:41:24 So UNC is I haven't talking to them a ton. They probably recruit around like a top 15, 20 ish level and they're probably more like a you know top 35-ish program I think people over State you know how bad how bad it is. Like they did. They did. The orange ball in 2020. You know, they went and they went 95 laughs. You're like, yes it's they're not getting as much out of their talent but it's not like, you know, they're not a Trainwreck essentially by contrast, you know you look at a team like let's just say Florida State like if they were an absolute tire fire under really tagger and obviously Mike Norvell had to take a couple years to build up that offensive line. Like that's, that's a much much more dire situation. So, yeah. Obviously there's always, you know, degrees to it. All right. So you've got all here, the best coaches. So I want to hear What you got to say about what what are the best coaches as part of that?

1:42:14 Yeah, I don't so I don't have to go for it, but I had to put up on my computer. So Troy Calhoun, it Air Force, Hugh, freeze Ken niumatalolo a lots of service category presentation on this list. Oh yeah, Josh heupel, Tennessee shot clock at appstate, Jeff Monken at army, Frank Soldier, Ohio, Scott Satterfield person called Wedding and him. So obviously, the one name that might stick out, there is Josh heupel, obviously he, you know, he did a great job with him hooker, a Tennessee that team last year, they actually weren't. I They were 21st and composite Talent. They finished, you know, top 61 the orange ball against Clemson. I think he is a really really good offensive coach. Like people did not give him enough credit for the, for the job he did for the job.

1:42:56 He did UCF. I know that obviously, tech fans, you know, feel very agreed with the way that things ended with the theater staff and hooker. But I also think that, you know, at some point we just to give credits hyphal because he is just a genius offensively like hooker really Thrive his system. I don't think he would have thrived a lot of it. That all things might be a cheat code. Yeah, why won't be interested to see what Tennessee does this year? With what? Joe Joe building at the Hume? I'm a big hinden guy. So I want to see what they produce, the same type of offense, this next year as they did last year, not saying, the hype was not a good coach because he is, but I don't think they replicate that success this year. That's just me, though.

1:43:43 Yeah. Milton's issue was always concerned consistency, he was very inconsistent in the starts that he had before him and took over, and he had some up and down, starts last year, after hitting got injured so well, I mean, even they got, they got the quarterback in the, in the, in the him as well, right? The kid, they paid all the money to Niko Niko something, right? I think you're right here. Yes, I saw it back they got again. I mean they've recruited very well. They have the pieces to be Top 10 team. I just don't, you know, I've been around this area for a long time, so I'm not sold on the on the tendency is back thing yet.

1:44:25 But if they are, I got to give hypo his his credit because they've been they've been working at it for a long time. They had that Alabama curse on him for a long time, man, 15 years. It was what to me is what happens when you assure out a guy that won a national championship or two Bad seasons. Well, not anymore. Happen for a little while. Really, like you said, there's a balance there, there's a balance, you have to develop with where Tech needs to be 100%, but you keep saying that you keep saying like you've got to have developmental, but you've got to have guys that can come just play like that need minimal development, you know, to get to back where you need to be in and that's what it's going to take.

1:45:35 It's going to take good recruiting classes and I'm not saying time valuations. Now, by all means if gave is saying we go to get a top 15 recruiting class and we get a top team, 15 recruiting class. I'll be dancing over here. Come December. Trust me. Y'all want to talk about an episode regardless? What happens in the season if we if there is a teen number next to us during the close our show with Jeremy? I don't know if I'll go fifth Evan Williams, but I'm going to get fit, come on, man. You could, we get if we get a team recruiting class, I'm coming to Virginia and we recording, I'm recording live. It one of y'all's house. I'm telling you right now. It might be that might be meet me at Shelton's house on this couch, but I'm coming to.

1:46:21 Somebody's house is sort of the tally foot is only at the swag or the drip factor in Tally. What were the three that you feel like are the winds right now for us? You know the Players Lounge. That's that's that's a that's good performance and Nutrition Center and then the progress on the athletic Village, all of that stuff is is wins. You know what I'm saying? But we've got, we got some other stuff going to as far as like, Some of it needs some work which I know we're going to get to but it's getting better.

1:47:08 So, what? We'll get to the stuff that needs work, but the Players Lounge and and all of the things that they've renovated is definitely good because you see the pictures of, you know, like everybody's taking pictures in the Players Lounge. Yes. You know, and I think we were taking pictures in a fucking basement for like seven years, it looked like Dungeons and Dragons. It's like what was going on. So now we taking pictures. We got fucking lights, warts, and all types of shit. But anyway, I'm gonna let somebody else jump in. Well, I sit and think about just the nutrition center where, you know, they have a place to go right? Right after they're done.

1:47:54 That's a huge. When you're off the field. You're right there. You don't have to do anything else. It's all catered to you in the way. Merriman's getting built up with some of that stuff going on with those. And again, is that what's going to absolutely sway, a player, maybe not, but it's that thing is that it's like the first visit, right? It's like the first visit first time you go into a restaurant and things, look, shitty. Do you come back? I don't even care if the food was good, food was good, but I'm looking around and come back to this place again. But if the atmosphere is good, I mean, I like the way this, look the food to I'm coming back for the second visit, it may not be what ends them completely, but it probably gets them back in the door two or three more times. Yeah, I really can't started to rub. I really can't overstate how important the a nutritionist areas in particular.

1:48:44 Like I've I've talked to on multiple coaches at BT and different sports. That have cited at the nutrition center is being like a big part of it. I know this is a somewhat well-documented, but like, before that was built, we had guys eating, you know, catering like Dominos, pizza and Jimmy, John's Subs, after practice. Like, that's that's that is what good? The north to build your body. So that having that there is huge, like, that's a huge part of text facilities upgrades. Yeah, I feel like we were like rested on that. Okay. We'll Regina you take dining facilities are like number one or number two in the country. Yeah, but if they're not even the right stuff, that's not getting any better on the field. Well, Focus getting fat.

1:49:26 Not muscular Jimmy Jimmy Johnson's. Not getting you to get off the edge against the alignment.

1:50:31 Your locker rooms like you home, man. Like you spent a lot of time in your locker, you know, and you see people like LSU that has a comfortable place for the players thats it, so they can take a nap. It's a big deal man. It's a big deal of dealing now with how social media Works which is another thing that's on the needs. Work with high social media works, you get your players and you get your recruits to do marketing for you. Marketing is a big thing. Thing for sales period. Like hate this, put recruiting with sales but that's what it is. So when somebody has this fucking thing right here and they're able to pop it out that they're paying God knows how much of a month for pop it out and take some cool videos, cool pictures and say, hey, I'm over here at Virginia Tech and then they got that name up there in lights, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, that's cool. You know, we've been lacking that we've had, I think one time they show, Our locker rooms and it looked like fucking it looked like a clan fucking cross.

1:51:40 I said, what the hell kind of what is that? You don't like our lockers is pitiful, man. So the locker rooms updated definitely that's good. That's coming. The social media has been doing better the general has. Yeah yeah and then that comes Along with the coaches giving access and things like that. So that's been better. And then the last one fucking uniforms man. Like I don't even think that I'll I do think that I uniforms a bad a little bit, but I think we have better combinations that we don't use.

1:52:20 That's my problem. I think some of the combinations we have slick, he like, even when like All of these kids have been coming in in the recruits and stuff, go look at what they're wearing, you know what I'm saying? Like it ain't me. I mean, it is me. That's what I want, but you see what someone someone's got. The all-white song. Something all whites is definitely a big, the white helmets, different things like that. You see the guys wearing orange a whole Keystone sleeves. Like, yeah, we haven't thought about any of this shit. You know what I'm saying? Because I think we just had people with the mindset of They want to be a traditional school, but to be traditional, you have to have traditional wins, you have to have a winning tradition, we just don't have that, you know what I'm saying?

1:53:10 You got to find other ways to be successful. So those uniforms are a big part of it, you know? Like again, none of that stuff matters. If you go out and you three and eight you have to year after year, but it plays a part in getting people to come? Well, I think to your point it's like I do like the traditional uniforms out the white It is when they hit the white. Perfect is tight. I mean, it's a Sleek. Look, I still love all the Rune. You can't roll out all the time, but to your point, the Orange is a couple years low looked great. Great. And still someone? Tell me in this crew here. Why haven't we won? Blackmore, I know the Boise State game was ass and it sucked at the end. But those uniforms go back.

1:53:55 That was 2010. That's 12 13 years ago now. Yeah, those Uniformed, you could bring to today and they'd still be tight. They still have the uniforms on the uniforms. Do we work? What Frank's last game and Lane the black with the orange orange? Like those was nice uniforms, you know, it's just a variation man. And sometimes people need to see that. I think we need a fashion designer on the team. They can be me. I ate. Maybe they can pay me. 70 grand, I do it. I have us looking real. Like, they'll let me go. Okay, what about Sheldon? Brian y'all, y'all agree, anything else? You'll feel like needs work? Maybe doesn't need work or winning. I mean the uniforms to me, have become stale.

1:54:41 I like so I'm a fan of the 99 Throwbacks. I think that's something that we should do every now and again. Hmm. But I think We need to, we need something fresh. Whether it's something kind of super clean. That's kind of been the trend lately or whether it's something more of a throwback to some of the uniforms we worn in the past, just kind of, you know, brought into a little more modern look now. But we need to get a out with the stupid straight behind the nameplate. Whatever the hell that trailing stripe is that that shit is goofy looking from behind. It looks a little better on the orange because it Blends in.

1:55:23 But on the maroon it sticks out like a sore thumb, same with the white. So I'm not a big fan of that. I know it's like kind of a nod to this side that but it doesn't look good. I'm not a big fan of stripes in general, unless they're likes, tight, Pinstripes, or on the cuff of the of a sleeve, get the shoulder straps away, get the deck Stripes away, give me something clean and fresh. Good. Yeah, uniforms could definitely use a little tweak. I will also say with regards to facilities, they probably don't matter as much in the in the days of like the NIU because cars are getting paid, but you, you do need to have good facilities to win at a top-25 level. Like they're, you know, that's that's kind of like a sort of rite of passage for every human wants to be successful in football to show two recruits and to fans and everything that you're committed to winning football. I think what s done, upgrading the facilities are last couple years have been fantastic with.

1:56:20 The players are players l'orange. And just, you know, everything else will I G and everything. Like that's been really, really good. I think you're going to see hopefully that they often recruiting pretty soon. All right, Brian. Let's pitch it to you because the next one was kind of your big hot button topic and white. Why you feel like this is important man. Yeah, we're going to talk a little bit about NFL success and that's, that's been a big thing for me. I know I talked about a little bit earlier when I was talking about, kind of that culture in that identity, when we think about Virginia Tech, we think about again dual-threat, quarterback sacks that have a shot at making the league or get drafted into the league.

1:57:01 We think about running backs that have some success in the NFL. We think about linebackers Hers. And obviously we think about BB you but I'm going to specifically point out the offensive player success in the NFL because I feel like in the last 10 12 years that's where we really fallen off a map. I think we still had some success. Getting those players to the NFL on the defensive side of the ball, we've really fallen off a map on the offensive side of the ball, your takeaway Khalil Herbert. We haven't had a running back, go to the NFL since David Wilson, you know, we look at outside of offensive line. We haven't really had high draft picks coming from that side of the ball in the last decade.

1:57:49 So that's where we need to start seeing some traction if we're going to, I think take the next step because if you're not putting players into the NFL at skill positions on offense, it's really hard to attract them to play for your program. It's true man. And that's where it leads and you say the offensive players because we can all look and see for ourselves defensively. We've been putting guys, first film things. First, two day, picks consistently, the last decade, and it is going to take an offensive play. Do we, do we ever get one that clicks engine starts bringing that reputation back. But something else, you mentioned Brian.

1:58:29 And what I love tonight. Gabe's interview, who do you say? He talked to Tremaine Tremaine. Oh yeah, it is a, that means. Yeah, that's unbelievable. And it's not only having players talk to them about who we are but then bringing them back. Yeah, and that's how you build a culture man. You know what I'm saying? It was like for so long, we heard so many players and so many, you know, former players talk about, you know, we haven't been welcome back or there's no open door policy. Or we can't get tickets. And we can't do this. We can't like, you're not hearing that right now.

1:59:10 Do you know what I'm saying? You're not hearing that. It seems like everybody even though we had a rough season seems like everybody's still behind prior all last year. You know, we talked to the white, we talked to Lauren Johnson, which sent his kid or you know I ain't no place in. This kid is kid made his own choice Braylon Johnson to go to Virginia Tech but he, yeah, he blessed he blessed it, you know. And he Said, hey, I think these guys are going in the right direction. So you've got former players. The saying, hey, we got this thing, going back in the right direction. We just gotta give it a little bit of time, and we're going to be. All right, so Virginia Tech has always had that that DBU Mantra on it, you know, whatever people are going to argue, whatever, but should be LS, your should be this, but I will say I'm a Titans fan. And I was not excited about Caleb Farley getting drafted to the Titans just because I knew his injury history. But if he was at any other school besides Virginia Tech, he would have got drafted that high. That's just my opinion.

2:00:18 I think the reputation of Virginia Tech developing cornerbacks as well as what he did on the field. When he did play played a part in him, get drafted that her, he would have been at a school. Like I just say, man, I don't know maybe Marilyn, North Carolina. I don't think he gets drafted. I don't think he gets drafted that. So we got to dig back into that to, you know, like I know that's not on there when we talk about offensive success. I mean, when we talk about NFL success, you're talkin my offense but we do got to dig back into that and then maybe some of those players when we get those I don't top 20 defensive again, top 15 defensive defenses, the offense, has some players that flash and then, you know shit, we put some players in the lead because I know most Virginia Tech fans did not think that we wouldn't see Jerrod Evans in the league like watching him play that one season is like yeah he's going somewhere you know, everybody thought that but it's partly because of The defense, put them in positions as well. So, it's got to be an overall effort. They still gonna play complimentary football and that that goes back to having skill on both sides of the ball. There's one last piece I want to talk about it and I kind of made this my little baby as we were putting this together last few weeks and that's reputation.

2:01:52 And, you know, the first thing I say is Blaine's always going to be like Loud. It always is, it doesn't matter, but I want it to be scary again for again, for our Heyday. Brian tally, it was scared teams, did not want to freaking come play here, and a lot of that was to the second point of we played nasty, you came here. You walked out with war wounds and to when I say so, making Lane scary again is almost like that same mentality of playing nasty hitting people. Being physical as hell, both on offense and defense their reputations, start building, and you're already inside that teams. Mind that they Sunday comes on and they see Virginia Tech's on the schedule, right?

2:02:42 We got a man. We might beat them, but we're going to come home. We're going to be bloodied. Somebody's gonna go home with a broken bone. We will have busted ribs will be pleading. And then the last piece is y'all said it time and time again. Is I don't think DB use going anywhere. We look at what we've got now, with Jalen stroke at what we've got with Mansoor, some of those young guys coming in that's not going anywhere. Charges went to the league. It's true. Yes guys. Just want you to leave. It's not going anywhere. I'm going to pitch this to Sheldon and you talk about one of the parts reputation you want to come on Sheldon but take out defensive back. What's one position group? You wish the Hokies could consistently put studs out again. Hmm, I'll take may be offensive line, I mean, we have a while. Yeah, we love you.

2:03:31 And we also had a, we had a good run of running back to email and Kevin Jones and all those guys. I think the skill thing, might partly be like, a different Graphics issue. Like how what's this go? I will tell in our recruiting gradius like, you know, I would imagine most of the scale tones, probably in like Florida, George California. Like what are we do? We have like Geographic proximity to a lot of good talented, quarterbacks and receivers and running backs like I'm Jin Liquors like because I don't know. I will say the overall quarterback Talent level in Virginia has kind of fallen off the mat so that that's that has hurt us.

2:04:14 You know, probably Trace make soil is probably the last big name guy. Yeah seriously. Yeah. And so I mean the the talent level at quarterback in the state has fallen off significantly. That's hurt our ability to Recruit skill position and sometimes it's hard to recruit wide receiver. When you can't recruit a high-level quarterback, especially when you try to lure in state Talent. So I think one is beginning the other here, obviously, we had some success with Jerrod getting, you know, recruited there when winter came in. And then hidden hooker Robeson was a talented quarterback from North Carolina, but there really hasn't been a ton of in-state town at the quarterback position.

2:05:00 Position and again a good while and it's definitely had been consistent. Yeah, I don't you know just thinking about recruiting and thinking about what we are. I don't know many wide receivers or quarterbacks that'll just go, you know. Hey I'm gonna go to Virginia Tech and I'm going to the league like it's that's a hard sale because that's just not who we are at the moment. Maybe we can transition to that one day, but that's not us. But what I'd like to see What I think we are is players like Gabe Williams. Coming off the edge linebackers and getting those defensive ends, get those dominant defensive ends because for a while that we always had a defensive end that people 100% had the game plan for, you know, and even even some of the guys who didn't have long stints in the league when they were there. They were very, very productive at the defensive end position. So I think, if we can get back to To consistently having that NFL caliber end at least one, you know, of course you want more than one, but at least one, I think that that, that takes us back to the old defense that we had, you know what I'm saying? Even with like Trayvon hill, we had trade run. He'll like, people had the game plan for him. Yes, you know, you go back, you talk about daddy. Nicholas James Gail World.

2:06:28 Kale world's, give me all this. Goes on and on just about the that that position Edge rusher. And I say defensive end, but I mean Ed Ruscha. So when you talk about, you know, even Tremaine coming off, the end is fucking scary. You know what I'm saying? To have a linebacker that can cover that much ground and put pressure on a, on a quarterback, but also be a run stopper. We got to get back to having some players like that. So I think that's the position that we should focus the most on because that's what probably is. He's come from Defense. He's come from being a linebacker coach and we keep throwing that Michael Parsons name. Not Michael Parsons name out. And then you already have people that you can point to that even if he didn't coach him. Like, I think if Amare Bono had come back, I think it would have helped him a lot.

2:07:17 Uh-huh. You know, to sit a year under Pride Marv, think it would help them buddy, he's in the league, he made it, you know what I'm saying? He's living his dream. So you can recruit a play and say, hey, this guy went to Virginia Tech Maribor know, give him on the phone, then you got your main it because those guys like that that's the position right now that we can recruit at and we can bring back pretty quick. You know, I'm hoping that we see Kelly Lawson, take that next step and be one of those guys, as well. So, if prior can, you know, live up to his living up to his reputation and get a couple of those guys to the next level, man, that'll that'll put Virginia Tech back on the map a little bit. Where we need to be, in my opinion. Yeah, I mean, we talked about a little bit everything, you know, we talked about conference realignment, we talked about the administration and I overcrowding every player development drip, we talked about reputation, but the key to all of this is that we gotta win some damn games, right? We go out there and win some games, some of these other things, get a lot easier and that's just going to compound upon itself until.

2:08:30 You know, we can build ourselves back up to where we want to be. So, winning winning games, is going to go a long. Way. Obviously, he is key and I think Brian. Yep. And I think the, I think the thing is, if we start winning games, everything we discuss here tonight, you start seeing little checks, right? Mmm, and we we landed Gabe, some of those guys gaze been talking about we landed them and they came in and did it right away. Hey you remember that kid from Ohio tally didn't like he's the best damn defensive tackle on the team right now because they developed it right? It's like it. It's right. It's got to be a checkmark. It's got to be everything. I think all the stuff we hit on and we talk to her tonight.

2:09:10 Y'all all done. Awesome. Hidden points if we start checking them. There's no reason we shouldn't win drink. Green. And if you start winning the games, there's no reason you can't get back into those conversations with some of those Elite Talent guys that we need to start those building blocks on that front. Because if you can win some games recruiting players to your program, gets a lot easier. I'm gonna just say it here. Now, I know we been running kind of long and we get ready to get out of here, but I want everybody in the twittersphere in all the social media world's to understand it all.

2:09:51 Was one of the first to say this is going to be a good year. Y'all motherfuckers kept talking and saying we was going to be sorry and we couldn't recruit this. What happened? And now see you on the timelines. Having parties. Just telling you you need to think back to you boy, tally. And I told y'all it was coming. I still got that optimism. This is the year and again and ain't saying we back. Get us to A bowl game and we back in now baby. We good finally save you. Not keeping that same energy, take the Mona. All right, boys. Anything, anything breaking breaking breaking for me?

2:10:37 I just want to tell Shelton, man. Have a safe trip. Yeah, don't be out there wrestling. No bears and mountain lions and nothing. Hey, you know, I know how white people do when y'all get in nature. Hey, Be like me. You hear a strange noise. You go to other way. Yeah, we'll see. I guess I got a small pocket knife. That's all I got. So they can do a whole lot of damn police. You got something well, shall men, we appreciate you. Taking shelter was on vacation. He said he's on take the two hours, right man, for doing that tonight because you added a ton with that development and your other comments again, safe travels back to the Commonwealth here. And that is going to wrap it up this episode of The Boundary Corner podcast brought to you by Main Street, Pharmacy, in Blacksburg, I'm Curtis Wilson, I'm Brian Sigler, tell her babes, I'm shutting Moss.

2:11:34 Visit our website, boundary corner be t.com to listen to all of our episodes, especially the prowl one last time because that was a doozy, Shameless plug. Also, we've got a merchandise shop to check that out as well. There, while you're there, don't forget to follow us on Facebook. Let me throw some being too while before we get out. Out of here, anybody watching the night, anybody who watches this, we want to know what you think, you know what I'm saying? If we get enough people, y'all messages and you guys want to have your five minutes to tell us how to get back to Glory. Let us know. We're going to run a space here soon if we get enough people to be interested and we want to hear what what Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Twitter has to say about how we need to get back to the top. So let's do it.

2:12:20 So you want to do that Twitter. Facebook, Instagram, comment on this YouTube. Any podcast Source. Listen to it. What we talked about go back to those, tell us what you think, because, like tally said, he sees enough, we're going to run a space very soon here to hear your opinion on, how we get back there. As always, Jason Wang plays a sin, he plays this out, week to week down in Roanoke, check him out his website. Jason long music.com, where it links you to all of his music amplifier. Via Apple Spotify, YouTube, Facebook accounts, he does have a new album. The covers EP featuring The Midnight Rider. You heard, as we were joined with print. Fry, we thank you all for listening and as always let's go. Okay.