Hokies Work to "Build a Bond" with Top Virginia DB Devon Hunter, Bevy of Others on Junior Day

The Hokies used their most recent junior day event to host some first-time visitors, and hand out several new offers, but one player on campus for the day was no stranger to Virginia Tech.

Tech has been fervently recruiting 2017 DB Devon Hunter of Chesapeake's Indian River HS since he was in eighth grade, yet the visit to Blacksburg felt brand new to him in many ways.

Though Hunter has seen campus several times now, he put a priority on visiting this past weekend to help rebuild his relationship with Justin Fuente's new staff.

"They wanted to build a bond as fast as possible, because coming in with the new coaching staff, they hadn't met me yet," Hunter said. "That's what the whole trip was for."

When Frank Beamer retired, Hunter admits that the departure of longtime 757 area recruiter Bryan Stinespring "hurt a little bit" because he had a "great relationship" with him. Then, when his prospective position coach, Torrian Gray. left unexpectedly last month, Hunter was concerned because another one of his "favorite coaches" was suddenly out the door.

"Them leaving, I'm not gonna lie, it played a big part in my recruitment, because all my high school career, I'd been talking to them and building a relationship with them," Hunter said. "They both showed me about a lot more than just playing the sport."

But Hunter was still willing to give Fuente and the rest of the new coaches a chance. While he says part of the trip was devoted to touring campus, the bulk of the visit consisted of sit down meetings with the staff to help get to know them a bit more.

"They sat me down a couple times and talked about my future if I were to play with them, so it was just very interesting to meet them," Hunter said.

In particular, Hunter got plenty of face time with Fuente, even as the new head Hokie tried to spend time with the rest of the recruits on hand. Though Hunter met Fuente in passing at his high school when the Hokies were still recruiting teammate (and eventual Tech signee) Tavante Beckett, Hunter says this was his first chance to "talk to him man to man and have a conversation about my future."

"He's a very passionate coach," Hunter said. "He means more than just football. He wants to make me a better player, but also a better man, so it was good talking with him. He had a lot of passion about me playing with them, and he really wants to coach me bad, so I have nothing but respect for him."

Hunter also got the chance to meet assistant head coach Galen Scott, who could one day end up as his position coach as well. Hunter says Scott told him that the Hokies see him as a safety, putting him under Scott's purview going forward. Gray's reported replacement, Brian Mitchell, was also on campus this weekend, but it would seem that he'll only coach cornerbacks.

"The safeties coach, Coach Scott, I was very impressed with him," Hunter said. "He laid out to me what he wanted to do and how he was going to turn things around and his goals for me, and he showed me his plan for what the DBs will do each week in terms of game time and practice time. All of it was very organized.

"So I know with him, coming in, I didn't know too much about him, but I know he means business. With Coach Gray leaving, it kind of messed with me, but at least his replacement wasn't bad and is just as good as him, so I respect that."

Indeed, it would seem that after meeting Fuente and his new batch of assistants, Hunter has a similar attitude about the changing of the guard overall.

"With the new coaches coming in, it wasn't too bad, because they have the same mindset as the other ones," Hunter said. "It wasn't all about football, it was about the players and what they can do to make the players better men. So I just took it all in. I've just got to keep talking with the new coaches now, and it's headed in the same direction as what I had with the other one."

Hunter was hardly the only player on campus this past weekend looking to lay the foundation of a relationship with the new staff.

2017 ATH Brailyn Franklin of Haymarket's Battlefield HS only moved up to Virginia from Texas last February, so unlike Hunter, he wasn't terribly familiar with Tech. However, he did have a passing familiarity with Fuente.

"Coming from Texas, the school that I went to, when he was at TCU, our whole entire offense was based off his offense at TCU," Franklin said.

Gray was the first to reach out to him a few months ago, but as DEs coach Charley Wiles and defensive coordinator Bud Foster got involved in his recruitment, Franklin became more and more intrigued about seeing what Fuente could bring to the table now that the pair shared the same state once more.

"I was treated very well, and I loved the campus itself and facilities," Franklin said. "I got to see the stadium, we got to go into one of the presidential suites. I also got to see the new indoor facility they just built and see the plan (for what) they're gonna do around the athletic facility for football and it looks real nice."

Franklin added that the group of recruits on campus also got a chance to go try on jerseys in the team's locker room, where they ran into a handful of current Tech players, including one from Franklin's neck of the woods — DT Tim Settle.

"He told me it was a great school," Franklin said.

Im blessed an glad to say ive officially recieved my 1st offer from VT on Junior Day #VT#GoHokies!!!! pic.twitter.com/9CBou5YB3P— DeuceBoog1e (@prettiboi_23bra) February 27, 2016

Once the tour was over, Franklin also managed to earn his first college offer on the visit.

"I was eating, and they asked me to come upstairs and they escorted me to wherever Coach (Fuente) was," Franklin said. "So we started talking, and coach told he was gonna offer me, and my reaction wasn't what some people would expect. On the inside I was excited and everything, but on the outside, I was calm because it hadn't hit me yet. I was just cool."

Franklin says the Hokies didn't offer him at any specific position, pledging to play him "wherever I fit best." But based on his background in high school, where that could be is an open question.

"I finished off this past season playing nose guard, but I started out at receiver on offense," Franklin said. "And on defense I was playing cornerback, free safety, defensive end and nose guard. On special teams, I was doing punt returns and kick returns and on kickoffs I was the safety man."

But even if the Hokies are sure where he might fit in just yet, the mere fact that they were willing to become the first team to take a chance on Franklin was meaningful for him.

"They see great potential in me," Franklin said.

Fuente and company also saw plenty of potential in 2017 CB/WR Sean Savoy of Washington, D.C.'s Woodrow Wilson HS, as they chose to offer him on the trip as well.

"Coach (Fuente) brought me into his office and told me with my family," Savoy said. "It was real good, I was excited."

TRUELY BLESSED TO SAY I RECEIVED MY 3rd offer from #VT #GoHokies pic.twitter.com/us3n95g0Dx— S.Savoy2 (@bando_sean) February 27, 2016

Fuente also took a few minutes to sell Savoy on what he hopes to achieve with the program.

"He was just real open minded, telling me about what he believed the program could be when he gets everything in place," Savoy said. "It was good, especially knowing his background. Everywhere he's gone, he's had top offenses, so you know he can do it."

Savoy said he also got to spend plenty of one-on-one time with WRs coach Holmon Wiggins, since the Hokies offered him as a receiver, going on a full tour of campus as well.

"They just showed me their restaurants, their library, the classrooms, the pond and all that," Savoy said. "They just showed me around campus, showing how they cared about the kids and their players in general."

But not every player in attendance earned an offer from the Hokies. For others, like 2017 ATH Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah of Hampton's Bethel HS, it was merely a chance to get acquainted a bit with the program.

"On a scale of one to 10, I'd have to give it an 11, because they showed me so much love and I just felt like I was the only recruit there," Owusu-Koramoah said.

Owusu-Koramoah said he got his first campus tour, and liked what he saw, particularly of Lane Stadium. But he says he came away especially impressed with how Fuente described what he's heard about the environment in Lane.

"The most interesting thing to me was the head coach talking about Lane Stadium and how loud it can get," Owusu-Koramoah said.

Awesome day in Blacksburg pic.twitter.com/spkNWomIYw— Jeremiah Owusu (@owuu_) February 28, 2016

Overall, he said that the more heard from Fuente, the more his message resonated.

"I just really liked what he was saying, and I was really in tune with what he was trying to get out about getting the program back to what it was, getting the program with the recruiting elevated," Owusu-Koramoah said. "I believed in his offseason program and all the stuff he was saying, I really bought into it."

But he noted that he also heard plenty from Foster and Scott, as the coaches seemed to think that he'd be a good fit at strong safety or outside linebacker at the next level.

"Coach Scott, definitely, he was really involved with me," Owusu-Koramoah said. "Just joking and playing with me, helping me to learn the coverages and telling me about the defense and what the schemes are and what they do on the defensive side of the ball."

Owusu-Koramoah also managed to run into Mitchell briefly, though he didn't spend too much time with the latest addition to Fuente's staff.

"Like with all the coaches, he had a smile on his face, they give you that strong handshake, they're just 100 with everything," Owusu-Koramoah said.

Yet he said the Hokies stayed mum on what he'd need to do to earn an offer.

"They just said they were still in evaluation mode with recruitment, so they're just trying to get a little bit more from me and see me actually play on the field," Owusu-Koramoah said.

2017 LB Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey of Norfolk's Lake Taylor HS also came away from the trip without an offer in hand, but he had a similarly positive experience on the weekend.

"I love it, and I think it's gonna be a good year for them, this year and the years coming after," Tucker-Dorsey said. "Because the new coach they've got, he was telling us about how he brought the college he was just at out of a bad situation and brought them up to being good, so I think with the defense they already have, mixed with that offense, I think it's gonna be good."

Tucker-Dorsey says he's been in contact with the Hokies since before Fuente brought that new vision to Tech, visiting with some of his teammates last summer. Since then, he said RBs coach and area recruiter Zohn Burden has stayed in contact and built a "good relationship" with him, and ultimately convinced him to come back to campus.

Once he was in Blacksburg, Tucker-Dorsey says it was Foster that bent his ear the most.

"The defensive coordinator, I liked the conversation that we had, so it's looking good for me right now," Tucker-Dorsey said. "He said he wants me to come back so we can have some one-on-one time and get to know him a bit more, talk about the schemes they run, and things like that."

#gohokies pic.twitter.com/i3poPMQIkf— #BredLife (@TuckerDorsey_) March 1, 2016

Even with interest from JMU, Wake Forest, Temple and Michigan State, Tucker-Dorsey is happy to accommodate that request from Foster, as he feels that "Tech is really number one, I really want to go there, that's been my dream." He's specifically hoping to return later this spring once he goes on visits to Harrisonburg and Winston-Salem as well.

Savoy said he wasn't sure about when he might return, while Owusu-Koramoah is aiming to return for a spring practice or the spring game. Franklin is a bit more definitive, saying that "I know I'll be back for the spring game," and could make to a spring practice as well.

Hunter is aiming to return for a practice too, but his dizzying upcoming schedule of spring visits means that the Hokies will have to wait their turn to see the highly touted prospect again.

"We're going back down to Clemson, Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland again, Florida State, Tennessee, UNC again, NC State sometime, Alabama, Auburn," Hunter said. "I'm gonna go down to Georgia, South Carolina. I'll be going everywhere. Notre Dame too, maybe some more schools."

With all those visits left on the docket, Hunter says he's holding off on setting a decision date until he can make all those trips. But even with that packed schedule, he's confident that a return to Blacksburg is in his future.

"I'll be back there, watching them, because I haven't seen how those coaches there now coach," Hunter said. "I saw the other ones, but I've never seen them, so I want to watch and see their ways of coaching and the skills they teach their players. I just want to listen and observe."