The Hokie Haven Mailbag!

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Tack007: Is Corbin Page still rumored to flip to VT?

At this stage, the West Virginia commit and VT legacy (dad, Taron, was a special-teamer in 1987 and '88) doesn't really have room at the inn.

He quietly took a visit at the beginning of June, but even at that time, it was more a "let's see what's out there" situation than a true likely flip. When a kid's got the family connections, you are willing to let him kick the tires a bit (as you do the same) and see if the parties have the same ends in mind.

However, VT has been on a hot streak on TE, DE, and OL recruiting, and if your needs at those spots are diminished in a huge way... well, there's not likely space for a guy who was a later offer - i.e. a player the staff didn't rate as highly as some others, despite being on the radar - in the first place. The resources that need to go into flipping a kid from a current commitment are probably better-spent elsewhere for VT, and the staff recognizes that.

All that said, the lines of communication will remain open, and if Page's interest in following the family tradition is piqued at some point, the Hokies will once again evaluate if and where he'd fit into their big picture.

BigHokieFan: Hokies have been putting in work in the state and in particular, Highland Springs. Appears we are starting to get going again there and excepting some payoffs this year. But….. what about the other powerhouses that we are used to seeing names on our recruiting board. I’m not seeing or hearing much of the schools that built us. Hampton, Varina, Oscar Smith, And others out of the 757 along with the Richmond area and Nova at places like Chesterfield? Is it mending one school at a time? No top recruits at the fore mentioned schools? Where are the other pipelines schools recruits and how well are we mending those ties?

There are a few reasons, some of them directly related to each other, and some of them unrelated except inasmuch as they end up with the same results - fewer guys from the Tidewater, etc.

For starters, there simply isn't the same level of talent at some of the traditional powerhouses as there has historically been. The talent in Richmond is not at Varina anymore, it's at Highland Springs, or just down the road in Chesterfield or Midlothian. In the 757, the talent is a little more spread out in some ways, but there also just isn't as much talent as there has historically been. There are still some really good players, but not nearly the volume of four-star and higher options there. That's demographic change via moves to suburbs, decreased military presence (particularly true of the 757, where military kids have long been an outsized proportion of the top-end talent), and obviously combinations thereof.

Some of the schools that have fallen off may very well bounce back: head coach Chris Scott turned Virginia Beach Bishop Sullivan into a powerhouse, partially at the expense of the Oscar Smiths of the world, and has now become headman at Oscar Smith itself, for example.

The greater issue from a Hokie perspective is not particularly where the talent comes from in the sense of individual high schools or powerhouses. As in the college world, the strong teams will ebb and flow over time. It's that VT hasn't been able to remain a factor for top in-state players, no matter where they play their high-school ball. Once again, there's no one factor to blame: fractured relationships, shifting resources to recruit out of state, some players just never had interest in staying home (particularly in a modern era of recruiting where guys seem not only willing, but preferring to head farther from home).

It's up to the staff to mend the bridges they can, and to work hard on the trail to get results. But in the end, I don't think you'll see a situation where individual in-state programs that were strong in the 90s rise up once again and become the powerhouses any time soon. Talent is cyclical, and it's others' turn on top.

cmmcclu: The upcoming Football season could be really good or really bad, How many wins do you see team getting and against which teams?

I actually have fairly high expectations in comparison to other analysts. However, I will throw in one caveat: last year was when VT was supposed to hit a bit of a peak, and of course the pandemic and all its effects meant that the Hokies did not get to reap the rewards of a team with any depth (to say the least) and the final year for Caleb Farley, Christian Darrisaw, and others. A step back from what last year should have been is fair. A major step forward from what it turned into is not only expected, but necessary.

So: I think a 3-1 record against the non-conference slate includes wins over Middle Tennessee and Richmond, and a loss to either West Virginia or (more likely) Notre Dame.

In the league, the Hokies must knock off North Carolina if they want to stop or slow any narratives of the Heels' rise in the ACC. However, UNC is also the most-likely loss in the group. The rest of the schedule is fairly soft: Pitt, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and Duke are should-wins, while BC, Miami, and Virginia are toss-ups that should all lean toward the Hokies.

Split the difference and call it 6-2 in the league, and you have a 9-3 season. Win a bowl game (or split an ACC title game and the bowl), and it's the best since... 2011? Certainly not the decade that Hokies thought they'd see, but getting back on the right track late is better than remaining on the wrong one.

ashcroft: How many of the remaining VT commits do we expect to be 4 stars? At what positions will they be?

This one's always tricky because I think when all is said and done, some current commits are also going to earn four-star status. If QB Alex Orji and OL Jakson LaHue have the senior years I expect of them, they should easily move into that category. There are plenty of longer shots to move up (or guys who are further away from getting to the physical benchmarks that could facilitate a move up) like DE Kyree Moyston, LB Xavier Simmons, or even WR Tucker Holloway, too. With the season we had in 2020 - or more accurately didn't have - the potential for big swings is there, and in this Hokie class, they'll be largely for the positive.

So with all that said, upcoming commits. I have a Rivals FutureCast in for Gunner Givens, the local four-star OL who announces his commitment July 16. I'm pretty close to one for in-state RB Ramon Brown, whose decision comes this very weekend. That's a pair of 'em right there if VT can seal the deal.

Get those guys in the boat, and the likelihood that other four-stars around the region and country give VT a serious look improves. Seeing as how the majority of the class is already on the offensive side of the ball (12/17 commits), and not only the remaining four-stars, but the vast majority of remaining pledges will be on D. Defensive end Bryson Jennings has a lot of competitors in the mix (but is good friends with Brown, so landing one helps with the other), and then I think you see VT really work hard on narrowing its focus to land a four-star DB or two.

Tack007: With Radford gone, what is your starting lineup and depth chart? Also, why did he leave?

A hoops question! I don't think his departure impacts the depth chart too much. Even though he started the majority of the games last year, the staff really gave other options a closer look during his suspension for a DUI and weapons charges. In fact, I think some of the souring of the relationship that has seen the former walk-on depart Blacksburg comes from the fact that the staff had to look at other pieces to move along from him - and a recognition by Radford that he may be better off with a change of scenery (possibly one closer to his home in Louisiana).

You're likely to see more two-big lineups (inasmuch as VT wasn't already doing that last year) with Keve Aluma at the four and a defense-first center (hopefully a healthy David N'Guessan and John Ojiako, but Clemson transfer Lynn Kidd is an option, too), and the expectation is that Nahiem Alleyne is ready to shoulder big minutes at the three - and Hunter Cattoor and others can fill in a bit there, too, with the SG spot getting some help with more PG depth.

The overall depth situation isn't great - and for that reason, the Radford departure hurts - but in the long-term, the Hokies have the pieces to fit together a cohesive roster.

cmmcclu: On the Basketball front will team make NCAA again this season and how many wins?

Following in the same vein...

I didn't see the Hokies as an NCAA team last year, but they rose up and surprised the heck out of me. That said, I think there was a bit of luck involved, and the roster losses (not just Radford, but the guys who graduated as well, including Wabissa Bede - a deeply flawed player but the heartbeat of the team in a lot of ways) barring some unforeseen COVID-sixth-years.

As with any season, getting through the softer portions of the non-conference schedule unscathed has to be the bare-minimum. Beyond that, close to a .500 record in the ACC gives you a chance to be playing for a tournament berth when Selection Sunday rolls around, and while I think that's a semi-lofty goal this year, there are so many unknowns about how individual guys will perform that it's totally possible the Hokies aren't even sweating when the ACC Tournament begins.

This should be an exciting year not just because VT has the chance to defy expectations, but because it's hard to determine what those expectations should even be at this point.

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