Summer Hot Streak

0:45 And welcome back to the Boundary Corner Podcast with my partners Brian Siegler and Jonathan Talley. I'm Curtis Wilson and this portion of this episode is brought by Doctor Lord Jeremy Counts at the Main Street Pharmacy in Blacksburg. If you love this podcast, the oakies the Town of Blacksburg. Make sure you are supporting Main Street Pharmacy when you head to town. Whether you need prescriptions of two by toothpaste or just want to stop, say hello that Jeremy and his team take care of you. The money you spend at Main Street Pharmacy goes towards the things you support. So next time you're Blacksburg, head on down to three O 1 S Main St. Fellas.

1:25 It's been a little little time away. We haven't really done a proper live stream here in about a month. How y'all been? Pretty good, man. I can't complain. Sports keeping me busy. Personal sports, kids sports. But ready for the real sports? There we go. Football. Well, as y'all both know, we were discussing before we hopped on here. It's hot. It ain't fun to go outside. It's not even fun at this point to go to the pool anymore. Like, the water's lukewarm. Like, you get out, you're immediately hot and dry. It's yucky. So I've been staying inside, chilling, playing video games, working. I mean, obviously we've been doing hokey stuff too, right, Brian?

2:10 I mean, you know, we ain't just been sitting on our hands and, you know, not doing anything. Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, we we put out a nice little episode a couple weeks back. Great space, tally, by the way. Great space you produced. It all of that. Man, all of us, man. That's a it's a joint effort. Even you crazy folks that's in Hokie Nation Vt Twitter is, it's all of us. Very true. Yeah man, we we we put out that one. I mean I appreciate the support that one did some pretty good numbers both you know the Night Of and then everybody kind of listening back and then we we put out the episode with the highlights there. So I mean, appreciate all everybody that really checked that out.

2:51 And and and kind of hanging in there with us with a little bit of a new format there that we dropped on y'all 100%. And while we were doing all that and while we were being hot, watching kids sports, avoiding vacations, I don't know how that happened to all of us this summer. The boys decided to look at the calendar in the fall and we circled the date and that date is September 9th. All three of us going to head to the promised land of Blacksburg, VA for the Purdue game. It is an orange effect. I think that's no shock to Y'all, why Tally kept pushing that game on us, pushing on us. We are going to be there.

3:36 I know me and Brian already making plans to be in town on Friday afternoon into the evening. Tally is still trying to put his game plan together. A lot easier going from Richmond to Roanoke than coming from Alabama up to Blacksburg. Well, your boys will be there, so we'll definitely be putting it out there where we're going to be. Hopefully meet some of y'all, obviously, who are on the space, y'all who follow every week. I mean, I'm looking for, man. I haven't been since 19, so it's been four years for me. It's time. It is time. It's time, man. It's probably time last year, but you know. No, the one time last year you did you.

4:17 Did hide to stay away last? This is the year. It's not the year. Tally still feeling. He still be. Still feeling? I'm feeling good, man. And it's awesome that we got to circle that date and all three of us get to go down, yeah, and hang out and do some fun stuff. Tickets already secured. We ain't playing. Listen, I know y'all watching this black people when we talk about doing stuff. At the end, everybody don't go. We ain't doing that. We already got the tickets. We got parking deposit period. I talked to a sponsor. We already talked. We already talked to Jeremy at the Main Street pharmacy. He's already blocking enough two spaces off for the cars.

4:57 We are in Blacksburg that weekend and tonight we're going to be in a lot of stuff in recruiting, talking about a little bit of everything and let's bring him home. Mataysis 247 Sports Hokey scoop, Big man, How are you doing tonight? I'm doing great. I mean, I always loved chopping it up with you guys. I feel like the last time we did this, I don't know if it was like March or April, but you know, a lot of stuff has come to fruition since then, so. I was. I was just about to say he did not give you a proper introduction. You got to get a man his flowers. He came on here.

5:38 What was that? Was that in, mate? It was in March. In March, came in here in March and the the the teller of truth mate sis is back to take his victory laps. I put a I put an expert up the other day of a couple of things that you said and guess what man. You you you was right on it. You was right on it. I went back and listened to it and I was like, I guess you do know what you're doing. He does. I was a little skeptical for a while. I had. I had to tweet at it with some of these started coming through. I was like, hey, but hey, let's come talk about it. Let's go. Talk about it. I guess I do know what he talking about. Well, Brian, let's hit it up, man. Let's start it up. Yeah, man, let's start.

6:19 Let's let's start. I mean we talked about it four months ago. I mean he said hoagies had a good chance to land Keelan, Brody, Adams. Let's start there. The the the big dog here in Virginia. Last Thursday it came through so. What does it tell you about this staff landing a big time recruit like Healing Adams? I mean it was sick. I mean, you know, obviously back in in March we were talking about it. And you know, at that point and I was like I feel pretty good about this. Like I like where Virginia Tech is sitting. Like you have to understand these recruitments go back years and years back to the old staff. Like there are people all over Virginia scouting this guy. Then it becomes a national thing.

7:00 There are teams like Georgia involved. And for Virginia Tech to go there, this is undisputedly the number one guy, at least on their offensive board. You can argue Chris Cole is the top, top guy, but you know to to set your sights on someone, the number one guy, and land him, you know, go into these big battles. It it it speaks volumes about the staff, you know, targeting these guys, scouting them, staying on them, building those relationships. And you know, I was, I was trying to think about it and it's like I know there is Gabe Williams this year and you know this cycle has felt special for a variety of reasons, just other four stars.

7:40 But you really have to go back to like a guy like Devin Hunter in terms of like how big landing someone of this caliber is. Gunnar Gibbons is obviously up there, but you know, a playmaker at wide receiver that can change your program. And and there are top programs across the country targeting him to be their future number one and Virginia Tech wins out. I mean, that tells you everything you you need to know there. I mean, absolutely. You go through and look at his offer list, Alabama, Auburn, FSU, Ohio State, Penn State. You know, so many schools wanted this guy. He chose the Hokies and the other big piece was Green Run. That's 757.

8:23 Something that we talked about just a few months ago was we hadn't got anybody big from there yet. And lo and behold, you know, we land Brody here and it's pretty sweet. And then all of a sudden we start looking in March, you said to us, you said to us on this very program, the Hokies could have multiple players in the top ten of this class. Didn't believe him. We didn't believe him. But once again, Callie, he told the truth. He told the truth, the teller of truth. Because as of right now, three in the top 10. Keelan Adams obviously leading the way there at #4 Gerard Johnson.

9:06 We've also got, you know, Chance William from down in King George, so three in the top ten, Guys like Eric Mensa, guys like Noah Jenkins, Josh Clark, six in the top 25. Which of these players surprised you the most when you like we're going because you you already kind of felt, my assumption is you heard things about Keelan and you were like there's a chance there. But what? What came out of nowhere? When you saw either the last two or the commitment come up to say they did, they got him. Yeah, I mean, it's crazy because like on paper, I felt like there was a good chance with them. Still feel like there's a good chance with Chris Cole and that would be, you know, four guys in the top 10. I think the last time Virginia Tech had at least three people in the top ten in state was like 2017 or 2016. I put out some tweet last week about that. But you know, Keelan was definitely a little surprising. You know, obviously since March, things have been trending in the right direction.

10:10 I think with Gerard Johnson like it was between. UVA and Virginia Tech. So I felt good there. I felt like after that official visit to UVA, Virginia Tech having the last chance there really cemented that. And then with Mensa, it was interesting because in the beginning of at least this year, his recruitment was kind of slow. There were a bunch of teams on him and obviously he was very well regarded. And then kind of later on, Ohio State got in the mix a little bit. And that's when it started to kind of you know, so I would say he's probably the most surprising one because when you look at Virginia Tech historically trying to get their number one guys at defensive tackle, it usually doesn't turn out that well.

10:55 But you know, again, it's just a testament to the staff for being able to stick on these guys and you know, whether it was Ohio State kind of in with 1 foot or you know whatever, they they stuck on him and they made him a priority. And brought him into the fold. So I would definitely say Mensa was probably the most surprising of the three for me. Yeah, I mean, it kind of jumped out of nowhere too. I mean, all of a sudden, you know, we hear some, some, some wheels start turning and as soon as they started turning, all of a sudden an announcement came up. There wasn't really that kind of that that period where it's like, Oh yeah, well, you know, he's kind of, we think he's going to commit, he's going to announce a date.

11:36 It wasn't any of that. It was like he felt it. And just kind of pull the trigger. Yeah, definitely. I I guess what for me, I was when when when Adams committed again, this is no, not saying this staff is Alabama or anything like that. But for me, being from Alabama, the Brody Adams commitment kind of felt like the Julio Jones commitment way, way back when. Because Alabama's always been Alabama, but they weren't really known for, like, wide receivers like Julio Jones. When he committed and again, I don't know how much that y'all look at Alabama recruiting and stuff, but I think I may have been Nick Saban's first year, which was like 07 and the year before they got like Marquis Maze, which that's kind of the the receivers that we were used to Alabama getting.

12:31 He was a really good kid here in Alabama, but not it wasn't like. We thought he was going to go to powerhouse at that time. But Julio on the other hand, I think Alabama mayor went 6-6 and six or something like that Nick's first year and then Julio on the other hand was like everybody wanted him. He's, I mean you've seen him. He was a manchild, went to a school called Foley here and Alabama was able to keep him home. So. Again, I don't know the numbers for sure, but their recruiting ranking for them was always low. I went 14 or we're 12 or whatever. That year when they got Julio, which was like 08, they jumped up to like either two or three.

13:17 Next thing you know they're playing in national championship or SEC championship against Florida and stuff like that. The the Brody Adams commitment reminded me a lot of, like the Julio. Commitment of that time. So again, I I'm not comparing the two schools, but I would love to see Virginia Tech continue to momentum in the trajectory. That would be wonderful. So winning some games this year is the first thing we got to do. Absolutely, Yep. And you know, talk about winning. I mean, I think that's that's going to be a big part of keeping this train rolling, I mean. Yeah, you got three in the in the top ten, six in the top 25 right now.

14:02 You put some wins with that it's going to make you know some of the other ones that we were close on that we were in that final two or final three that that might be the thing that pushes them over and and kind of gets us a couple more wins. So hopefully we can put some some good, good, good games out there this fall and and let the chips fall where they may start in 25. Absolutely. So you know, we still obviously got some big targets up on the board there. We got Makai White, you get Chris Cole, both here in Virginia. Cole, the number one player in the state, you know, top, I think he's top 50 right now, 247 and composite, just an absolute stud all around. And then there's, you know, they're talking about the hot streak.

14:46 They're notifying, they're noticing these guys coming here. And you've got the things of could they flip Fred Johnson from South Carolina? Can they flip Rainier, who's here in the RVA out of Minnesota? So those four prospects, mate, how are we sitting with them so far? Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, definitely. I thought Makai White was gonna be a commit, I would say back in June, so a month ago. Obviously things are a little tricky there. Just when. You start going on these streets, you start building up the class and you're looking at guys like now you have Brody Adams as your number one guy and you have Chance Wiggins coming into the fold.

15:30 Two of the, you know, best wide receivers in all of Virginia and some of the top receivers in the country, and now you're looking at the roster. You already have a bunch of guys that you know you could bring back the following year. It's tough with the numbers and I know they always work out and you know, I've heard. Several things, but I definitely think that, you know, Virginia Tech is still very high with Makai White and I think you know as a talent he's right there with Chance Wiggins. I know they both play for the same high school team, but like, I feel like when you have that type of talent, you want to bring that in despite what the numbers say, like you'll always work it out. But my only concern there is simply if they're looking at this roster and, you know, Prize still trying to reconstruct everything. If he's just a little hesitant to put too many numbers in the wide receiver room but but I still think you know they're they're sitting very highly there. He's still obviously I'm committed excuse me, moving on to like Chris Cole.

16:33 I mean Virginia Tech has been on in the longest of anyone. He's been to Blacksburg so many times. He has so many connections with this staff and you know it's it's one of those things where. You know, I'm not saying it's a Josh Sweat situation, but someone that knows the school so well and is being courted by all these big programs, like you start, you know, they have nice toys too to play with and you start to wonder, okay, the longer it goes, is he going to start to feed into that or is he a guy that, you know, wants to resonate with this message of being the hometown hero? He's seeing so many guys. From the state of Virginia, we talked about it. Three guys in the top ten.

17:14 Does he want to be the icing on the cake, The guy that brings Virginia Tech back, I think that is resonating with him. I still think Virginia Tech is in the lead. I don't think this recruitment's going to end anytime soon, but I I still feel really good about Chris Cole and then a guy like Fred Johnson again, you know, another top ten guy. I can't believe we're. Talking about this many guys in the top ten in Virginia, but you know, back in, you know, I feel like his, his whole situation, the South Carolina happened very quickly. He got an offer, he went on a visit. All of a sudden he's committed. I know he's very close with Brody and I know there is a little bit of movement there from South Carolina that they were targeting Brody with him and I think that was part of the reason that. You know, he wanted to go to South Carolina, kind of start their own trend and now that Brody's in the boat, like I've been hearing, you know, there's been a lot more smoke there. So all to say that I would have shut that down a month ago, but I think Virginia Tech is really pushing hard now. And you know, I'm not, I'm not going to say I'm predicting a flip or anything, but I definitely like where Virginia Tech is sitting right now and you know that recruitment is far from over.

18:31 And then lastly. Rainier, like, he's a guy that I, you know, I did put in an initial crystal ball. I thought he was going to go to Virginia Tech. Obviously, some things happened. He ends up in Minnesota. You start to wonder as the cycle continues. Is a guy like that from Richmond that has a spot with Virginia Tech, with all these guys we're talking about, is he going to want to go all the way over to play in the Big 10, to be in Minnesota cold winters? You know all the all those sorts of things like he likes the message there, but he knows he has a spot. So I would say he's he's the most likely of a flip candidate and definitely still has a spot. Flip them all, get them all, flip them all there about it.

19:13 But it's the whole momentum thing, right? Y'all it's You're seeing Brody, you're seeing the top five guys. You're seeing like knowing them from Highland Springs, You're seeing guys and it's, and this is the best part, it's not 1 area of the state, It's Richmond kids coming, it's Nova kids coming, It's kids out on the Eastern shorts, the 75 everywhere. It's coming and it goes back for years. It's the original building. And I've been sitting here for the longest time and it took Frank Beamer 6 years roughly to do something like this. Six years. And I know that was the 1980s going into the 1990s, But I mean, Chris Cole's the top player. Is this a Cornell Brown situation where it's not a kid from the beach or Richmond, but like Cornell's Lynchburg is 45 minutes from Blacksburg.

20:01 Is it the kid right down the road that's the top dog in the state that everybody wants in the country? That they say, no, I'm staying here because we can do something big here like Cornell and them. Did I? Think I think it could be. I really do. But that's a great that's a. Great lead into what else we got to talk about. Got to talk about Gabe Williams, you know, Gabe Williams, Heck of a player, heck of a player, you know, top 247 player. We've been watching him on the seven on seven. So he's doing his thing, beasting, he's starting to put, put up workout tapes. I mean he's just, he's been on the show like he's just an awesome kid to talk to, but he's a hell of a recruiter as well.

20:47 So I guess my question is. Do you think with his commitment and how that happened and when it happened that kind of springboarded all of the momentum that we had going into the summer? Definitely, definitely. I think like you know, especially that weekend, I think there was 4 commitments. Marcellus Barnes junior was a guy that came on an official visit with no intention of committing and you know Gabe Williams is in the building like I'm committed let's make this home and he's a guy that you know coming from Tennessee he's just trying to check out the place and then all of a sudden he's saying you know this guy is legit I'm legit let's make something happen, you know and ends up committing the same weekend.

21:33 So you know he he's definitely the most outspoken I think you know we've seen you know he's he's kind of surpassed any expectations I've had of you know often times you see these four stars commit and you're starting to wonder you know what kind of momentum is that going to build. But with gave it's like it's everywhere. It's all the time. It's in your face. It's, you know, it's awesome, like him going back with the, the defensive end from West Virginia, like just some awesome stuff, you know, like. I know part one of the things that I was thinking about too, with what a lot of these kids are doing. And again, I don't know everything about it but. Like, NIL is your name, your image and your life. It's like being on Twitter, being engaged with people, you know, doing some podcasts.

22:21 If you do this thing the right way, man, I mean, it does matter what you do on the field, but you can be a fan favorite a long time before you are a stat favorite. So I mean to see recruits jump in there and start recruiting and things like that is awesome as a fan, but I think that you know their family and them like. It can pay dividends for them as well, just because of the NRL stuff. Yeah, building a brand, man. He's building a brand right out the gate. Yeah, he's building a brand. And you know what? And he understands. He does the way that works, too. So the way he was talking on when he's on here, what he's been doing on drugs and media, what he did with. Yeah, exactly.

23:02 He knows. He knows how to build a brand. He knows how to build a brand A. 100% And I'm looking at this kid and I'm just because we talked with him one-on-one. I mean like the way he carried himself. He's like, I'm about to turn 17. It's like you're about to turn 17 the way you get yourself. I'm here if I'm him and I'm thinking like this because he might play safety, right. That kid could name himself Headhunter because when he gets done with his football career, he's either going to be an agent getting every player he can under his realm. But he's going to go into the corporate world to be headhunt big CE O's and stuff to take position with companies, the way he carries himself, the way he sells himself. And it's also to see that and you not only see him though, I mean look at Davi, look at look at all of them.

23:48 It's like they're following his lead and it's like it's just something building that I don't think we saw. But after a three win season happening 100% and you know, Davi was kind of the 1st died to be the face of the class and he was kind of doing that and you know, in text groups and in Dms, but you know Gabe is the outspoken one. I love that. About the headhunter 100%. Like he's already a fan favorite. Like guys love him. And not only that, but like he's doing it not only for like the public's reaction and you know, to get the momentum going, but, you know, I never thought I would describe a really highly ranked four-star guys this.

24:30 But he's the glue guy of the class. Like he's keeping everyone motivated. He's getting all these guys, like, you know, by sharing so much people feel closer to him and he's making, you know, he's checking in with everyone so they feel closer to the group. And that's why I feel like, you know, often times when we're looking at these four stars and whatever, like the first comment you see is, well, will this guy stay till signing day. And I know that's like a separate conversation. But as of now, like all these guys are so invested into Virginia Tech, into the community, staying close with the coaches, and you got to give a lot of credit to gave her, you know, fostering that environment. 100% and you know let's, let's, let's talk about the coaches for a minute because you got guys crushing it. I mean JC Price Fontell Mines.

25:15 I feel like Chris Mark on every big guy we've landed. He's the secondary, I mean. So I feel like he's going in there selling the defense of what it is and letting those guys do it. But let's talk about the two new guys that was just getting on board the last time we talked here. Elijah Brooks, Ron Crooks. They have absolutely hit the ground running. Coach Brooks the big time. Definitely a part in the Gabe Williams landing. Help them at law him and JC close that out and Tyler Mason in his room itself. Coach Crook walks in Tommy Ricard you know up out of Ohio. It's a top 50 player in Ohio. I'm gonna tell you know how big that state is with football. Aiden Lynch up in Jersey, a borderline 4 star kid and then Hanchuck lower guy.

26:01 Might stay in the defensive room, might come over to the offensive line room. Depends on how it falls. But what are y'all's view on the ability of these two guys? And I mean to have this success, I mean, if you told us a year from now, hey, they're pulling guys left and right, I don't think we're shocked. But it's like they walk in and it's like, come here, come here. And they're getting them. Yeah, absolutely. I think for you know Elijah Brooks, you know he's always been kind of known as this guy plugged in with Maryland being the recruiter based guy like being able to build these relationships and you know he's done a great job of kind of leveraging that and also bringing it back to the staff. Like still you have Tyler Bowen to who you can like bring you know hand in hand walk into a high school in Maryland and you know be on a first name basis right away like these guys just they get it when it comes to Maryland. And so I would say, like Brooks is definitely hit the expectations set for him and has done a really nice job this cycle.

27:02 Ron Crook, like to be honest with you, I didn't know much about his recruiting background. I knew he was an experienced guy. You're bringing him in to be, you know, stepping into these big shoes left by Joe Rudolph. You're bringing him in to be a guy that's, you know, very technical and has all this experience at so many stops and playing so many different types of schemes that he can relate to these kids and kind of coach them up and build that offensive line. I've been kind of shocked to hear, you know, the guys that he's resonating with, like Ricard and Lynch, you know, he's able to relate to them in this kind of calm way. He's able to kind of, you know, coach them through but not like, in a way that's like very sophisticated but makes sense to them.

27:46 And I think, you know, he's finding the right types of guys that resonate with his message and he's not like a rah, rah in your face like type of recruiter. And I think there's, you know, plenty of guys on the staff that you look at and you're like okay. These guys are the recruiters of the bunch. Like they're good coaches, but they're the ones that were putting it, you know, our aces. But but Crook has lived up to his billing man. Like he has done a great job on the trail and you know, just being so knowledgeable and you know all the reviews from these guys on their official visits and you know, committing has been great. So huge credit to him. I think he's far surpassed any expectation I've had of him on the trail.

28:28 Yeah, you love love to hear that. I mean, especially with the offensive line, especially how much they struggled last year and how much of an emphasis is going to be kind of backfilling a lot of those positions to get some some depth across the offensive line heading in the next season. Let's pivot a little bit to talk about some of that, cuz we need to backfill a lot of positions across the roster. The staff I feel has done a pretty good job of of that so far this class. What position group do you think will see the most commitments as we kind of wrap up the summer and head into fall camp? Yeah, I would. I would definitely say they're looking to bolster that linebacker room, maybe add another defensive end. And I think already on defense, you're kind of done there, like maybe Rainier in the back end looking at guys like, you know, Fred or Chris Cole to fill out that linebacker unit, which would be absolutely stacked.

29:22 And then, you know, mainly for offense, I think you feel good at receiver. You have your quarterback, you have a running back building out that offensive line, maybe adding one to two more guys. You know, I think they're kind of slow playing that offensive line room right now. Like, I don't know if there's any definite names that jump to the top in my head right now, but that's the thing, too. Like you always have the transfer portal coming up. That could be a way to address it. And Crook has already done a good job in the transfer portal, you know. So I don't know, we'll see. But I would definitely say offensive line, linebacker. Those are the main two points right now. Getting a guy that can, you know, be a mic and then you know, finding a versatile fit outside too.

30:06 Yeah. And the whole thing is that what we saw for years prior to this was sort of the unbalanced recruiting cycles. I think right now we got, we got three on the offensive line. You just said that we need a couple more. We got 3 defensive linemen and you've already said it, mate. We need one more end of who's going to be that guy out there. If we just look at it and take a step back, it's like everything makes sense, right? Like everything makes sense. Like it's all level. To where? Why it was? And we saw it last year when you don't build a roster right and you have 14 running backs in A room. You mean you don't take 4 running backs in one cycle?

30:47 No, we've had that conversation so many times. Like, I mean, OK, maybe one will transition here. Maybe. Like, no, they're still in the running back room this year too. It's like, God damn it can't do this shit. But y'all get the gist like right, like we all, we can all step back and tell you're seeing it first hand. And I think that's where it goes like who's left out there, right who's left out there. That's still potential. Who are we targeting and may be committed elsewhere. And that's where it gets really interesting because, you know, we take a look right now and I know I don't have this part of the rundown, but we've been talking about it. +3 is special. I know you've been paying attention to it. Text 34 overall, right?

31:37 34th overall? We're 8th in the ACC and a lot of people would scream bloody murder, but Mr. Siegler keeps trying to point to that number. Right, Brian? What's that number we keep pointing to? Let's look at that average recruit ranking because that's that's higher than we've seen since at least 19 I think maybe even 18 up in that 88 and change range right now, so. Yeah, I'd love to live right around 89. That would be 8989. 1/2 would be a nice place to live. Well, I mean, we got the man over here. Tell him to quit dropping our rankings. Oh God, he got a he got a beef with you and say wait a second, he he literally, he screenshotted and texted us the day after. Keelan, go ahead, go ahead.

32:22 You got to go. Ahead day after Keelan we had like .0019 drop. Crazy. I'm like he's doing this because he know he's coming over here. I promise. It's not me. I promise. It's not me. Every time I go on a podcast and try to defend our rankings experts, it always happens. It always happens and it's the most frustrating thing. Don't get me. I like seeing the reaction because it's pretty funny, but like, you know it, it's crazy. But here's the thing I asked and and this is where and I don't understand all the metrics and I'm sure it's dad and all this. What changed with Keelan Adams in one day? He still, I mean, we look at the profiles. The only thing not certifying him is this 40 times his height, his weight.

33:10 A lot of your ring King guys have seen him in action and it's like legitimately the only thing you don't have is a laser time 40. But you saw the kid play if you did not feel like he was fast enough. You wouldn't put him in the top 150. You wouldn't put him as a top five player in the state. You wouldn't put him, you know, upper, you know, right at the mid 90 level. And that's why I think that's what gets us. It's like what changed? And the only thing to change was he didn't go to Alabama. He didn't go to South Carolina, He didn't go to Ohio State again, Virginia Tech. It's always like they they always look at it. They look every commitment. They look at the guy. They reevaluate. It must be some UVA into, you know.

33:52 That's gotta be. It's gotta be. That's the only way it makes sense. Gotta be somebody messing with us. Gotta be somebody messing with us. Man, we we see Davi's ranking drop in. I mean, he hasn't really camped anywhere or anything, and by all accounts he's gotten taller since he was a four-star. So, you know, sometimes it doesn't. Make hobby got dropped because his his parents don't have athletic backgrounds. All in all, you can't say that dude, his dad was a fucking killer in the UFC, but tell you were such a good sport on this man. And we got. I'm trying. We we love you, man. You know that. Before we get into more topics, because we got a lot more stuff to cover, we got to pay some bills.

34:36 We got a quick pause here for a message 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 onsite, SEO and social media. No commitment to buy anything. You can get your free report by visiting grassroots digitalstudio.com/free Dash website Dash Report. Now back to the episode. And we are back up Tally you on mute, big old uh oh. Hey, guys. Still on mute. I'm good. You are good. Hey man, we back sometimes how we do shoot this live, so sometimes there is a little bit of technical difficulty, Sometimes it's usually difficulty. But we are back with my guy mate Sis. I told him before we started I thought his name was a villain name.

35:24 He told me he's a superhero, so we take a he's he's the good guy. He's not the villain, but he's got a cool name. But yeah, he's here chopping it up with us a little bit. We've been grilling him a little bit, having a good time. Next thing we'll pivot to is talking about Coach Pry. Coach Pry talked about his six hour footprint, which we've been doing a pretty good job of staying in. We've got a lot of say local kids, Virginia kids, you know, DMV kids, but Marcellus, Marcellus Barnes, Marcellus Barnes Junior is one of our high-ranking recruits that we got. It came out of the East Tennessee area.

36:08 Committed right wing gate or same weekend Gabe committed. So great to have him in. Like I said another four-star guy that we have. We've been going to Tennessee a little bit in the last couple of cycles and it's been pretty good to us. Do you see us continuing to go to that Tennessee area and create those relationships? Yeah, it's kind of crazy to me that you know, I thought that you know it would kind of be like a one off that you're looking at you know at the very, you know edge of your radius picking guys up like obviously Tennessee has a lot of good prospects And then you look at last year you get Mose Phillips, Lance Williams, Aiden Green, Chance Fitzgerald and you know Green and Fitzgerald were kind of towards the end of the cycle and kind of and Phillips as well.

36:55 You know, all three of those guys were kind of the the right before signing day, figuring those guys out and having those relationships established and you know, kind of being open to bring those guys on when other options didn't work out. So you know, definitely it surprised me because I always think, OK, they're done here. Like, you know, it's tough to pick guys out of Tennessee that you know want to come all the way over to Virginia Tech. But, you know, they keep finding ways and, you know, credit to the staff. They're finding the guys that are receptive, they're targeting schools that, you know, have talented prospects, but also that want to go on these visits. And then, you know, they're taking the onus to say if you get this guy on campus, we have a chance. And so far it's worked out pretty well. I mean, I kind of talked about it before with Barnes. But, you know, he was a guy that, you know, offers from Michigan State.

37:45 He was going to go to, you know, other big 10 schools on official visits, comes to Virginia Tech for his first official visit. And he's like, this is it for me. I can't ask for more. And like, since since then, like, still checking in on him. He's over the moon excited about being a hokey. Like nothing's changed there, you know. So being able to identify guys like that I think is really important. I definitely think they can make a pipeline out of it. I'm not saying like let's expect four guys every cycle from Tennessee, but you know, the talent is there and if they're receptive to the message, Virginia Tech has a good shot there. Yeah, and it and it's something that, mate, we've discussed with you, we've discussed with other people. It's all about picking off, you know? Certain number of prospects in a certain range from each state. You know Barnes is a top ten guy in Tennessee. I think all four of us sit here every year and you say if we pick one top 10 Tennessee guy off every year, Yep, that's good.

38:41 That's good. He's probably going to be a borderline 4 star. He's probably going to be athletic. He's probably, to your point tally you know some of those schools down that way that are good football factory. So he's probably coming from good coaching. And I think that's a big thing. I think that's what we got to keep looking at. And that radius thing Tally you talked about there, I mean we've seen it with the exception of Davi down in Florida, which you don't count, Florida, cuz Florida and parts of Georgia, it's out of your radius, but it should never be out of a radius. You got to do that. But I want to flip over to this staying into the kind of geography talk here, let's talk about North Carolina. The state of North Carolina does have the second most, you know, commits for Virginia Tech right now. And that's it 3.

39:22 And you mentioned to us back in March that you thought, you know Charlotte was going to be a big, heavy hit area. And so far it's not been that heavy. Only one commitment, Quinton Reddish, who recently tally, believe it or not, Quinn Reddish got a bump. I don't know if you saw that out of bump. So they're not all against us, but he recently got a bump. But do you think they're going to gain more traction down in the Charlotte area this fall or is it just for this cycle, just some things didn't break the right way? Yeah, not all the predictions coming true from March unfortunately, But you know, Charlotte still is that targeted area. I would say it's, you know, outside of Virginia, that's the spot that the staff is really targeting. The thing about North Carolina in general, you know, a lot of guys in the top 50 are from those Charlotte areas. If you look at the top 50 of North Carolina, nearly every single player is committed.

40:16 I think like there's 44 out of 50 guys. From North Carolina in the database that are committed right now and it's because it's such a talent hotbed like they they've invested into football recently and they've really gotten so many guys to come over there and play for these really big programs. And it's you know, you know across the country these schools are coming in and building these relationships for years. And you know, admittedly, I thought it was going to be more fruitful this year. But I think this is definitely an area to keep your eye on in the following cycles. Because you know, as Virginia Tech begins its rise, you know, whether that's recruiting momentum or on the field next fall and they really start to get it going. You know, this is an area that instead of going to Louisville or instead of going to Georgia Tech or you know all these other various schools that are involved with that area, UNC, you know Virginia Tech is going to become a place that's going to become very familiar.

41:15 So it's definitely tough in North Carolina. But that's the area that you know, this staff is really working hard to get, you know, some inroads in. Yeah, and let's let's talk about that a little bit. Cuz when we had pride on, he talked about how he still feels like in terms of the relationships, particularly I think probably the six hour radius versus the Virginia relationships, they're still kind of building that right. They're not quite. Getting guys on campus as early in their high school career as he would want. So that might be something that when you look at Charlotte area you talked about how you know you got so many kids in North Carolina that are already, you know, they've given their commitment so far, right. So unless we're flipping some of those guys the the the window's a lot narrower now.

42:02 That might be something when we look long term into 25, maybe 26 where we start making some more inroads when we're getting those kids on campus a lot sooner in the in the recruitment cycle and have a better shot of kind of getting them earlier in the in the spring and in early summer window instead of having to kind of push later in the cycle. Let's let's pivot a little bit because you know we talked about the bringing the guys in. Let's talk about a couple guys that went out. In this case, we had a couple guys that hit the portal in the spring window. I'm going to ask you this, which one surprised you more between the two? Kyrie Moisten or Cam Johnson. I think for me it's Kyrie Moisten just because you know he's a guy that and even going into this year like I know they brought some help at defensive end through the transfer portal in JUCO.

42:53 But he's a guy that was kind of in the too deep. Like it seems like every week when they're updating the depth chart he was like right there for defensive end #2. And you know he's a guy that jumps in the portal and is going to Cincinnati, which you know has a great defense. Like say what you want about them. They have a great defense and they know how to develop guys on that defensive line. When I I know like a lot of people look at Cam Johnson and they're they're looking at his you know high school ranking and saying this guy was a four-star bonafide whatever. You know he did come into college he was like 165 maybe you know on a good day but yeah so wet that's what I was looking for.

43:35 But, you know, he was a guy that, you know, he did get a little bit of experience but you know, clearly wasn't ready this year to impact the team. And I think what I'm surprised like just in general of leaving, I'm surprised that, you know, I, I don't think he's found a home yet, which is so crazy to me. You know, this is a guy one year removed or a year and a half removed from being, you know, a consensus 4 star among every ranking industry. And you know, he's still looking for a home. So I know it. He's probably a guy that a lot of people looked at and said, you know, Dang. But when you're looking at the two position groups, like you feel good about cornerback heading into next year, you're bringing guys like Barnes for the following year that's going to, you know, a guy that's going to be able to develop Joshua Clark too, who I still think is the most underrated guy on the commitment list and could play at corner as well. So you feel good there at defensive end. You know, they brought in some guys to help out, but I really thought Moisten would have a chance to really stick in that too deep.

44:37 So I am a little, you know, I think that was the big, the bigger surprise for me. Right looking. I mean, this isn't just something that I seen the other day, most Phillips. I seen a picture of him another day. Did y'all see it? Jesus Christ, I don't know what his ranking is. I don't care right now. But when you start talking about weights and sizes and the way that people look coming out of high school. No disrespect to Cam Johnson, I hope he goes on to have a great career but a little light in the ass and then you start seeing these people coming in or these people that prize going and getting and like, he said when he was on the podcast, he said, I told the players on the roster, it's my job to have a competitive roster.

45:28 I'm bringing people in to take your place. Looking at players like most Phillips that are able to come on campus and step in and contribute, man, it's going to be. A very competitive thing, you know, And even thinking about our recruits that we have, you know, right now all of these wide receivers that we've got, looking at somebody like a Makai White out there, that's like, hey, are we going to take it if we're? I never thought we'd be in that situation where we're like, are we going to take a four-star receiver? Crazy. But anyway, you know, over to the next point that I was going. To hold on tally before you jump to that next. Point go ahead. Start, but no, I mean I hold on to that point because I know where you're going next. Like Mensa.

46:09 Let's look at the just look at the 247 rankings and the bodies y'all have on these guys. I start looking even somebody like Gabe Williams at six, four ��200. I mean, Kianta Jenkins is playing, you know, star linebacker at 2:15, the safety's are playing at like two O 5 you look at. This is 290 pounds. Every bit of it. I think it's all in his legs. It's it's that point. Yeah, but it's the point that's being made is, and it's a great point, Ally, that look, what we were bringing in and what we are bringing in, what we are bringing in is guys that, like you said, I set it to us directly. I'm bringing people to take your jobs and one of the most important things about taking that job right off the get go is is your bodily physically ready to go through a Division One football season.

46:58 The guys we're getting right now, if they ain't ready, they ain't far from it. Yup, talking about some of the guys that we did get talking about it. You know, one of the guys that we did get out of the portal, Antoine Powell, Riley. I mean, God, that was at Florida. God, that was productive at Florida. We go statue him out of the portal. How do how much do you think? My man? I call him Glenwood Mac, I think my man Glenwood. I like that. Yeah. How much do you think he played in us having that chance and going and grabbing, answering out of that, out of the portal? Yeah, there's definitely some Indian River ties there. Obviously, he was the head coach. I think, you know, just in general he's been really good for this recruiting staff.

47:45 And this is something that you know when you get that extra investment from the athletic department and you're able to bring in guys like that to help out your operations. Like he's done a great job in terms of high school relationships and you know, he was definitely big here. I think he was definitely a key factor. But, you know, looking at Powell's recruitment in general, like if you guys remember when he was back in, you know, going through his visits and Florida came up and he had some ties there, some family ties. Virginia Tech was always right there. Like it was always Michigan, Oklahoma, UNC, they were kind of shuffling out there. Virginia Tech was always at the top and then Florida at the last second, You know, he decided to go there.

48:28 And you know, I think he figured out really quickly, You know, this isn't the best fit for me. They're more of a 3-4. I'm kind of playing this, you know, outside linebacker, rushing specialty and you know, kind of 1/3 down role. Whereas I could be more of a natural, you know, playing in a four, three and you know, playing in my home state, playing with the program that I'm familiar with. So I think there are a lot of reasons there. And you know, it's kind of funny because it I hear so often like in high school recruiting, like if you're finishing #2, you might as well finish last. But I think like definitely in this recruitment, finishing #2 definitely helped them in the transfer portal. And that, you know that is something to keep an eye out for.

49:12 When these guys are are going through this and starting to look at, you know they go to a program that's not the best fit, they're back on the market and you know he's his stats were pretty absurd in terms of you look at his PFF stats and you know how effective he was in the time that he played So and you look at a position of need like he is a great fit for what Virginia Technique is. Just get the quarterback on the ground. That's what they need. Go kill quarterback. That's all you gotta do and that's all he is gonna do here. And it's good to hear that because I think in the area of transfer portal, we've talked about it with you before and we've talked about amongst ourselves those relationships going forward after the commitment. Yes, they're still gonna be recruited after the NLI is signed.

49:59 You know, every I'm sure I've got a feeling talking with Brent Brown here, I got a feeling there's like an agenda to say, you know, all those kids that we didn't get, make sure they're doing okay. Not only probably being genuine to say check on to make sure they're doing Okay, these kids are going through changes. But it's also a business approach to say, you know what if it ain't going okay and they keep seeing your number pop up checking in on you, hey, you're doing okay. How's can going? It resonates. It resonates over time. Let's talk about the other kind of big land in the portal. After the spring stuff was Clayton Frady. I kind of came out of nowhere Clayton Frady out of Gardner Web. You know, it happened almost too late because I think it was just a day or two before the portal closed to where we would not have been able to land him.

50:50 You know, obviously some All Big S honors got preseason All American honors. So played primarily right tackle, did play some left. What pieces fell together for him to land in Blacksburg? And do you think from, you know, from what he's done in the past, is there a legitimate shot he could play this year? Absolutely. I mean, you know, I think he's definitely going to be in competition for, you know, whether it's right tackle or left tackle, however Crook wants to set it up, you know, he's going to be there. I think he only allowed like 3 sacks over three years or something. So he's a guy and obviously it's different competition and you know, take that with a grain of salt, but you know, a guy that at least was proven was like all freshman American, whatever.

51:33 I think there are numerous things there, like obviously the top guy in terms of offensive line, you're looking at a guy like Troy Everett that ended up at Oklahoma. And I think once, you know, Virginia Tech went all out, and we're hoping you know, by the way, the only time I've been wrong twice on a crystal ball is Troy Everett. So forever haunt me in. My you know, if he if he goes one more time, you can try to get the strikeout. I know we'll see if he transfers from Oklahoma. You know, that would be not the best strikeout to have. But you know, in all seriousness, like they were looking to bring in one more guy. And I think, you know, when they were looking at Basal Tutten, like you're looking in the same league, You see this guy on film all of a sudden, you know, and and by the way, like Ron Crook was told, we need this, we need someone, you know, go out there, see what you can find and you know, was able to find a guy and you know, again, he's finding people that resonate with his personality, his kind of technique and mentoring.

52:34 And you know, I think there are other schools like Duke was heavily on him as well. So there were other Power Five programs on him. But I think they were able to find someone that they said he fits with our identity and instead of, you know, Freighty like you said, it was kind of towards the end of the cycle. He looked at it and said, I got the offer, this is a great fit for me, let's make it happen. So, you know, sometimes things happen quickly like that they could be fluid. But All in all, you know, I think it was a good pick up and even as a depth piece, I mean you look at the offensive line, you could use it more depths guys there like it seemed pretty thin last year, obviously kind of wore down as the season went on. But you know, getting a guy in there for competition and a guy that could be a proven starter, like we'll see how the competition translates. Same with Tutton, like I think it only helps your team in the long run.

53:25 Yeah, yeah. And you talked about the the step up there and you talked about the competition for him being being Duke in there and when you talk about Duke and. FCS lineman and being able to do something well with that last year, if they're targeting the same type of prospects, that's probably a pretty good sign. So let's pivot a little bit to talk a little conference realignment. Definitely a big topic out there right now. We got a new round of speculation with a CC media day and then some more rumors about FSU out there if the Hokies in the near future were to move on from the ACC to either the SCC or the Big 10. How do you feel it will impact Hokies recruiting and as an extension of that, their ability to compete at a high level against whoever their new conference opponents may be? Yeah, I mean, I think with anything it's going to take time.

54:18 Like, I've always thought that Virginia Tech was going to enter the Big 10, even dating back to like 2016. I always like that. Seemed like Sands is you know, Memo, like just increasing the school, getting the capabilities. Like I always thought they were destined to become a big 10 type of school. And I definitely think like you're you're you're starting to see, I kind of talked about it with Glenwood Mac a little bit like you're investing in the staff, you're investing in your facilities, you're investing in these people, making sure everyone's accounted for. Like the athletic department is really prioritizing football and they're putting the money behind it. And now you're talking about actually having a budget for it, not just maxing it out, you know, like getting the TV deals, you're talking about playing bigger opponents. I think it would greatly help recruiting and if if Pry can do anything, give him a bigger wallet and he's going to make it happen, you know.

55:15 Sally, I think you, I think you had a good one with with the Glenwood Mac. I think that's going. To I don't know why, man. When I seen his name, I was like, that's it, you know, keeps making me think of Fleetwood Mac. So I was like, Glenwood Mac. Yeah, we got to, we got to throw that in there. But yeah, try to work it in there. Definitely, definitely. But you know, talking about the conference realignment and things that we can do different and we've done different. You guys talk to a lot of high school commits and recruits and you talk a lot about nil. I guess have you talked to any of these guys about nil and how to hokey stack up to maybe some of the people that are recruiting against us? Yeah, I mean, it's definitely an interesting topic and it definitely comes up time to time. Like, it's funny whenever you read our articles on commitments and whatever, it's always like, yeah, Virginia Tech's home and blah, blah, blah.

56:04 But you know, there are other like, messages about it too that, you know, there's kind of an understanding of it. I wouldn't say there's anything like specifically that, you know, we're Privy to or anything like that. But I think that Virginia Tech is, at least, you know, the word I would use is competitive. Like, they seem very competitive with other schools in terms of NIL and just, yeah, All in all, I don't think any of the recruits are, You know, that's not usually the first topic of conversation. Like, what am I getting once I step on campus, you know? But I do think they've made it competitive. They made strides there and I think that, you know, is helping. But I think it's more of like a cherry on top than, you know, a legitimate factor for some of these guys saying, OK, I want to go to Virginia Tech, which I think is a good thing overall, to be honest.

56:53 Yeah, definitely, definitely. We got to get them to get some new uniforms now. That's the last time we can get. We can get them across some new uniforms then. I feel like we good. I 100% agree. Let's see here. Nope, Curtis disappeared. Yeah, Curtis disappeared, Said The baby got sick. Get enough of me, man. No, man, we can't never get enough of you. He said he said baby got sick, so he's. We going to roll this one through. So let's talk about this last topic because something came across today regarding NIL and a little bit about the transfer portal with the the bill from Congress, the bipartisan bill you know talking about transferring one time after three years some other guardrails for NIL. Is that do you think something like that is a type of legislation that would ultimately? Help the Hokies?

57:50 Or do you think it would work against us in the long run considering especially if we stay in the ACC? Yeah, I mean, it's difficult. Again, it's kind of difficult to judge at the outset, like hearing about it. I feel like it would benefit Virginia Tech just because like specifically for NIL, if you're looking at the biggest winners from it and you go and you can check right now and go to, you know, the top 25 teams and you see a couple names in there that you're not used to seeing. Like, those are the guys that have really figured out a way to do it, right. And like with Virginia Tech, like obviously they're recruiting better now. You look at, you know, it's definitely helped them to a certain extent, but they're still 34th right now. They're not in the top 25 like last year they were in the 40s, I think 45th overall or something. So I definitely think it would help them in the long run kind of equal to playing field in terms of you know when you're when you're talking about all these programs kind of competing for the same thing.

58:53 Like I think it would help in that regard, but I still think it's early to tell like how it would directly impact them. I think they would be fine either way. From a let me ask this from a player perspective, because obviously with this bill comes a handful of compromises on the NIL front, but I'd say the bigger compromise is on the transfer portal front, where other than. A few certain situations, you'd have to play three years with your first institution before you could transfer without penalty. Kind of gets us kind of back into basically the framework that we were operating under before the transfer portal and before the one time transfer rule kind of came into play for these institutions.

59:40 Just think about the players you've spoken with, You think? They would be more willing to take some concessions on the NIL front. Or do you think they'd be willing to sacrifice the lack of freedom of mobility in order to be able to maximize NIL to a little bit more of a situation with those new guardrails in place? Yeah, that's a really good question. I I would say that you know if that if that were to be the case first of all it's it seems like so completely arbitrary like just putting a time frame on you know someone. But I understand that's the old days and now we're like kind of caught up to current standards and you know portal madness all the time. But I feel like, you know that just makes recruiting tougher and it makes NIL that much more important because if you're going to stay at a place you want to make sure you're taken care of whether you're on, especially if you're not on the field, you know to to make sure those promises are up are up kept.

1:00:37 And so I definitely think that would become a bigger topic of conversation. And to your point maybe that's where maybe it hurts. Virginia Tech, you know, I would say they're competitive right now. But if everyone has equal playing fields, you know, you're really going to have to start to target the Brody Adams of the world early on and and and try to make sure that you're good with them and then you know you move on to your next one. But yeah, overall, I I definitely think, you know, it would cause more players to think about longerterm futures and, you know, kind of making sure that they keep their NIL intact. Yeah, I just was looking at that. I was like, you know, I was trying to think back to my playing days and like if if I had something in place like that would would mobility matter more to me or being able to to make the money?

1:01:28 And obviously that's a different conversation probably depending on who you are and where you come from and and everything like that, but. You know they're they're talking you know I'm always I'm I'm big on player mobility and and player choice so I've always been kind of that advocate. So looking at it, I'm like, all right, so you you're putting a three-year on on the player. Are we going to put five years on the coaches unless their contract runs out or they get fired Like what what what are we doing here. So that that was my first thought. When I saw that pop, I was like, all right. So we we going to start doing, you know, is this just for the players? Are we going to, you know? You'll talk about coaches. Yeah, you know it's going to be just for the players. If I'm going to play, I'm taking the money. Give me the money.

1:02:12 I want the money wherever I choose. I chose that because I'm happy. But if I can get a little bit of fiddles while I'm now hook me up, that's just me. I kind of agree. Yes, man. We've had a great time tonight, man. We appreciate you coming in and giving us your expertise. We know that you're going to work hard. When you get back to the office to get those guys to bump some rankings up for us, man, we're just trying to get the top 25. That's all. We ain't asking for much. We're creeping, we're creeping on the top 25 in terms of average. So I like that. I like we're treating up on that, that that's nice. That's really nice. I'll make some calls, don't worry. Thank you.

1:02:54 Thank you, man. That's all we wanted to hear. That's all we wanted to hear. We went to the good guy name, I mean. You know, your dad did not name you that cool name for you to be and be an asshole to people. I'm not the superhero, so no promises. But I am the good guy, so I'll put in a word. There you go. We appreciate you, brother. Yep. Well, we appreciate it. But hey, it's been a blast tonight. As always, every time you come on it's a good time and we really appreciate you taking the time to come on and chop it up with us and give us some some new information and take your victory lap a little bit on what you talked about in March. Yeah, feels good and obviously always a blast. So looking forward to the next time we got to do it again.

1:03:35 Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir. That's going to wrap up this episode of the Boundary Corner Podcast brought to you by Main Street Pharmacy in Blacksburg on behalf of Batay sis, our guest and our partner Curtis Wilson. I'm Brian Siegler. Jonathan Talley, visit our. Website at Boundary Corner V t.com to listen to all of our episodes. While you're there, don't forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. We're on threads now, guys. Whoever's on threads, we're on threads subscribe on YouTube and your favorite podcast source, including Spotify, Amazon, Apple Podcast. We always let our buddy Jason Long play us in and play us out. Check him out on his website jasonlongmusic.com where it will link you to his music on Apple and Spotify, his YouTube page and Facebook pages. We thank you, as always, for listening. And as always, let's go Hokies.