Hokies Preview Schemes with 2017 Prospects During "More In Depth" Recruiting Weekend

Once all the hustle and bustle of Justin Fuente's first Blacksburg camp weekend died down, the Hokies had a little more time to sit down and truly sell their vision for the new program to some top 2017 recruits.

Tech's staff got plenty of good news last weekend with a pair of commitments in one day from visitors on campus, but there were several other prominent prospects in Blacksburg that Fuente and company courted. 2017 OG Aiden Brown of Potomac, Md.'s Bullis School was in town for the aforementioned camp and when he returned last week, he noticed the difference.

"After the camp, we just the saw facilities, but this was nice because it was more in depth, more personal, more one-on-one type stuff," Brown told The Key Play. "I learned a lot more about the university."

Indeed, the coaches seemingly put a premium on using the weekend with a smaller batch of visitors as a chance to go more in-depth with each prospect. For 2017 RB Jalen Holston of Stockbridge (Ga.) HS, that meant spending some quality time breaking down film with his would-be position coach, Zohn Burden.

"Me and Coach Burden are real close," Holston said. "I just like how he's the first coach that really watched film with me, and he broke down my own film, went over and showed me some things I can get better at and some things I can do. And he showed me what things that I do that he likes, things I can do for the team.

"They like how I'm a north and south runner, how I can break tackles and get downhill, after I make a cut, get vertical. And my speed, and how I can really just make plays for them."

But Burden also spent a few minutes detailing what sort of role exists for RBs in the scheme Fuente is installing in Blacksburg.

"With my position, they're gonna do a lot of versatile things, like get the running back out of the backfield and get him in the pass game, go north and south in between the tackles running the read option, the pistol," Holston said. "They're gonna be pulling guards with the running backs, a lot of things. The offense is gonna be real pretty."

Defensive coordinator Bud Foster may not have a shiny new scheme to bring to town like Fuente, but he took a similar approach when he got his first chance to sit down with 2017 LB (and current Cal commit) Jaylen Griffin of Rome (Ga.) HS.

"He told me I'd be playing the backer spot," Griffin said. "The backer is more diverse, kind of outside the box, and that's where I see myself playing. He said with my build, how I can run, that'd be my spot. The playmaking spot, that's where they want to be. And when I saw the film, number 49 (Tremaine Edmunds), he kinda has my build, so I can see why he sees that."

The Hokies also focused on getting the visitors some face time with Fuente himself as well, and that effort didn't go unappreciated.

"Out of all the colleges, he's really the first head coach to actually sit down and talk to me like that, that was pretty cool to me," Griffin said. "He's a very cool, laid-back guy."

Holston said he also got to spend a "long, long time" getting to know the head Hokie, and formed a similar impression during what he dubbed "the best trip I've been on so far."

"Fuente, he's real," Holston said. "He's not gonna lie to you, he's a real down to earth kinda coach. Even with it being my first time meeting him, it felt like he was family. I could ask him anything and come to him with anything I need."

Brown and his running buddy on the visit — his teammate at Bullis, 2017 OL/DL Derrick Tangelo — also got some alone time with Fuente and the coaching staff, but only after they made quite the theatrical entrance coming off a tour with Matt Transue, the team's assistant director of player personnel and recruiting.

"We came in, and it was kind of funny, Coach Matt, he took us into the facility and they were in a team meeting watching film, and me and Derrick walked in, and they gave of us a round of applause, then we met everyone," Brown said.

Brown then got another chance to chat with Fuente and OL coach Vance Vice, while Tangelo got to talk with DL coach Charley Wiles, who "told him what he needed to see from him to eventually get an offer."

While Brown might've been fresh off a visit, this was Tangelo's first trip to Blacksburg, and Brown thinks his teammate enjoyed himself as well.

"We got in one of those golf carts and took a tour around campus, saw all the buildings and all the construction they're doing, then did a tour of the academic building and sat down with the academic advisors to talk about all the help and support they'd give," Brown said. "He was just amazed by how beautiful the campus was and the facilities. He was just going on and on about it in the car."

Brown enjoyed the trip plenty himself, and now he's angling to get back next month for a cookout for recruits he said the coaches have nicknamed the "Blacksburg Bash" on July 23.

Griffin is also planning on swinging by for that event, with his family in tow.

"I'll have the rest of my family down there with me," Griffin said. "And I'll get a chance to get my brother down, because wherever I go, he'll go with me."

Two visits in the span of a month to a school he's not committed to might seem odd for a Cal commit like Griffin, but he said it's merely part of his effort to keep his options open.

"My recruitment is open," Griffin said. "I'm still committed to Cal, but verbally, so everything is still up for grabs. But my number one is Cal."

For his part, Holston is targeting a return visit to Tech in mid-July so his mom can see campus, with his "official plan" to commit "before the end of the summer."

Unsurprisingly, the Hokies have plenty of reasons to feel confident about their chances.

"They stand real high on my list," Holston said.