Signing Day capsule: Mario Kendricks

A key piece of Virginia Tech's defensive line future is in: Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola combo lineman Mario Kendricks has faxed in his Letter of Intent.

The 6-2, 265-pounder plays multiple positions up front, but is most comfortable on the interior, where he'll likely bulk up and continue to play when he gets to the college level.

Three-star, unranked at his position or within the state of Florida.

Arkansas, Cincinnati, Duke, East Carolina, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NC State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Wake Forest

Kendricks was offered in May, and visited Blacksburg along with his friend Norell Pollard about a month later. Pollard pulled the trigger relatively quickly in favor of the Hokies, and Kendricks waited less than a week before doing the same. Syracuse and Maryland were among his other top suitors - he didn't have the big national profile of his friend - but he remained solid to the Hokies (even doing a little bit of recruiting among other Florida prospects) throughout.

Kendricks is the more likely of the two Orlando-area defensive linemen to end up on the inside. He mostly played defensive tackle for his high school team this Fall, and while he'll have to add weight to reprise that at the college level, he took to the position very well. He's a spark plug in the middle, capable of pushing the line of scrimmage back a bit, disengaging at the line of scrimmage to make a tackle, and even of penetrating some. A bigger version of Kendricks - he can probably get to 290 pounds before the worry of losing explosiveness even begins to set in - can be a beast at the line of scrimmage. As long as he carries added weight well, the potential is high here.

Osceola finished 9-2. In eight games, Kendricks had 21 tackles, 14.5 for loss, and 10.5 sacks, plus three pass breakups and two QB hurries.