What Gunner Kiel taught me about Quin Blanding and Andrew Brown

Like most of you, I'm obsessed with Virginia Tech football. I don't have the knowledge of a guy like French or the visionary magic of BilldozerVT/Mstrawther (you guys rock). But what I do have is unbridled passion from my alma mater and the extreme inherent bias that comes with it.

I firmly believe Frank Beamer is the best head coach in the country. I firmly believe Bud Foster is the best defensive coordinator in the country. I firmly believe Hokie Nation is the best fanbase in organized sports. I firmly believe Danny Coale did catch the ball. I firmly believe in blacking out during tailgates and blacking in to Enter Sandman. Finally, I firmly believe that it's cute that UVA thinks they are beginning to "build a dynasty".

When UVA received verbal commits from Quin Blanding and Andrew Brown, I was impressed that they pulled it off and frustrated that our coaching staff let two of best prospects that the commonwealth has ever produced go to the Wahoos. At the time, this is what I wanted to say to both Brown and Blanding:

Then I realized I'm (sort of) a grown man in my mid-20's and telling a child he's stupid is in poor form. Then I remembered the Gunner Kiel saga a couple of years ago.

On July 27, 2011, Kiel committed to Indiana, a school that rivals UVA in terms of football competence. I was as befuddled about Kiel's commitment to IU as Brown and Blanding to UVA. Bleacher Report listed five of the main reasons he committed there:

1) It's Where his Brother Goes
2) He Will Stay Close to Home
3) Could Turn a Program Around
4) He Will Stand Out
5) Has a Chance to Become the Best Ever in IU History

Sound familiar? These were the main selling points that Mike London used to lure Brown and Blanding in (and apparently it was a positive that London was considered "real" to them. Did VT send out holograms of Bud Foster and Shane Beamer to meet with these guys? I'm thoroughly confused by what being "real" is).

It looked like the Hoosiers had Kiel wrapped up until Kiel actually watched the Hoosiers play football. The Hoosiers went 4-8 that year including ass-kickings by Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern and Russell Wilson-led Wisconsin

(Side note: One of the biggest Wahoo recruiting blunders in recent memory was choosing Peter Lalich over Wilson. Wilson badly wanted to go to UVA because it was his parents' alma mater. Can't blame them though, Lalich was a 4-star and Wilson was only a 2-star. Glad to see they haven't learned from their mistakes).

As most of you know, Kiel de-committed and committed to LSU...and then to Notre Dame, and then to Cincinnati, but that's besides the point.

So my question is simple- Since UVA is projected to go 4-8 with inevitable ass-kickings mixed in, how likely is it that Brown and Blanding will de-commit? I'm just as excited to see what happens with these two kids as I am for the return of Hokie Football.