Hokies Hoping 2017 DB Marquis Waters Becomes the Latest Atlantic HS Product to Head to Blacksburg

Charley Wiles is after another talented defender from the South Florida school.

2017 DB Marquis Waters could become the latest Atlantic HS product to commit to Tech. [Student Sports]

Ask Marquis Waters about Virginia Tech's history with players from his Atlantic Community HS in Delray Beach, Fla., and he has no problem rattling off famous alums that went on to become Hokies.

Luther Maddy and Dadi Nicolas are the obvious, recent examples of Atlantic players who found success making the move from South Florida to Southwestern Virginia, but the rising senior DB knows that the relationship between the two schools stretches back long past when those two signed in 2011.

"It goes back to David Clowney," Waters told The Key Play. "It means a lot, it means we've got a lot of history, and a lot of them end up good and going to the NFL and stuff, so that could continue."

Indeed, with both of Atlantic's most recent Tech graduates now trying their luck in the league, Tech's roster lacks an AHS alum for the first time in years. But DL coach Charley Wiles — long jokingly referred to as the "Mayor of Delray Beach" — is trying to change that, and keep the tradition alive with Waters.

Wiles took his first step in that direction in early April when he offered Waters, and now he's trying to entice him to make trip up to Blacksburg in the summer to help him see what so many of his Atlantic compatriots found so compelling.

Despite his knowledge of Tech's fondness for his school, Waters says it was "shocking" when the Hokies offered.

"I didn't see that coming," Waters said.

It was a less surprising occurrence for Waters' head coach at Atlantic, T.J. Jackson. He played under Wiles and Bud Foster back in the early 2000s, and since taking over as Atlantic's coach back in December 2012, he says they haven't been shy about staying in touch.

"Coach Wiles, we communicate every year, to check in our kids, and every year so far they've offered a kid from this area, particularly from Atlantic, which I think is a great thing," Jackson said.

Accordingly, when Wiles felt ready to offer Waters in April, he let Jackson know, who passed along the good news to the DB.

"He's excited about all this, but I told him it's a long process, and he's definitely gonna consider Virginia Tech as one of his top priorities," Jackson said.

Since then, Waters says he's talked with Wiles directly a good bit to start building a relationship of his own with Tech.

"They said they liked the way I played and can help their team," Jackson said.

But how exactly he might be able to help the Hokies is a bit uncertain. Waters said the Hokies offered him as a safety, and while Jackson admits he'll "probably" end up "on the defensive side of the ball," he notes that he's shown explosive ability at running back as well.

"He's a powerful runner, a good running back, can stick his foot in the ground and get upfield, and he's got nice speed," Jackson said. "And you look at him from a safety standpoint, he's very smart in the classroom, very smart on the field, understands the game, knows how to make the calls and reads."

Waters says most schools that have offered him agree with Jackson's assessment, as Duke and Maryland are among those programs that think he'd be a good fit in the defensive backfield. However, he said that others that have extended scholarships, like Wisconsin, Temple and West Virginia, aren't ruling out offense for him quite yet.

During the season itself, Jackson says "he's gonna play a little running back, but mostly safety for us," and but he plans to give Waters the final say on the matter.

"It's kind of up to him," Jackson said. "It's something I'll have to sit down with him on in the summer, once all the recruiting dies down for him this spring, just seeing what position he wants to play and what position he can focus on to get better."

Waters, who's rated a 3-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite ranking, says he has no strong preference one way or another, and does his best to bring the same mentality to both sides of the ball.

"I feel like my strong point is not giving up, always working, gotta help the team win," Waters said.

Jackson agrees, and says that he isn't just giving lip service to the idea of working tirelessly.

"Marquis is a kid that wants to get better, always working hard, doing extra work," Jackson said. "He's one of those kids that we have to tell to slow down so as not to overtrain your body, so he's a kid that loves to work out and loves to get better. No one will outwork him."

With all that focus on his game, Waters hasn't had much of a chance to take visits just yet, and while he says he's planning on taking visits this summer, he hasn't made any concrete plans.

Yet, since he's never been to Blacksburg, Waters says he's definitely "thinking about" making a trip to see campus, possibly even for "an official after the season."

But he might be able to hitch a ride up that way with Jackson a lot sooner than that.

"I'm planning on possibly getting up there this summer, once kids know their summer camp schedule, going out and going to the Virginia area, going to the Virginia Tech camp and a few other camps in the area as well," Jackson said.

Should Waters get a chance to tag along and get a personal tour of Blacksburg from his coach, Jackson doesn't think it's inconceivable that Waters could help continue the Atlantic legacy at Tech that Clowney started all those years ago.

"With Tech being down in this area and at the school over the years, and all the kids that have gone there, I think if Tech keeps it going, then I think they'll start having kids coming back up to Virginia Tech from Atlantic," Jackson said.

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