Stacy Searels Returns to His Georgia Roots, Offers 2016 OT Patrick Kearns

When Hokies offensive line coach Stacy Searels heard that an OT prospect was turning heads in Rome, Ga., he must've had flashbacks to his playing days.

As a native of Trion, Ga. Searels grew up just over 27 miles away from where rising senior Patrick Kearns takes the field these days. As the buzz around Kearns built over the past year, Searels quickly saw the opportunity to revisit some of his old stomping grounds and see a promising prospect in person all at the same time.

"Coach Searels messaged me on Twitter last week that he wanted to one of my practices and see me work out," Kearns said. "He came up Thursday (May 14), then I called him later that night and he offered me, so I guess he liked what he saw."

Blessed to receive an offer from Virginia Tech!! #GoHokies pic.twitter.com/iBqSDjt9OR— Patrick Kearns (@pkearns50) May 14, 2015

It would seem Searels has been able to leverage those common connections with Kearns, who's rated a 3-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite ranking, to make a quick impression on him.

"He's a great coach with a great track record, plus his hometown is close to where I live," Kearns said.

Word of Searels' heroism back in his days at Appalachian State, when he worked with some of his fellow coaches to save some of the team's support staff trapped in a van after an accident, also made its way to Kearns and clearly stuck out.

"I also heard about how he saved some guys during a car wreck when he was at Appalachian State, so he's clearly a good guy," Kearns said.

Even though the Hokies are hardly a local program for Kearns, he says his impressions of the program are equally favorable at this point.

"They play great football there, Coach Beamer is one of the best," Kearns said.

But for all his interest in the Hokies, the staff wasn't reciprocating until only recently. Kearns attributes some of that change to a sudden growth spurt — a sure feature of any Division I success story.

"There was a dramatic shift in my weight from last year, and that probably had a lot to do with how my recruiting's picked up," Kearns said. "I went from about 235 pounds last year to 270, 275 now and stayed just as mobile."

Combine that weight with his 6'5" frame, and it's no shock that Kearns is suddenly hearing from coaches across the country.

"Coaches always tell me that they like the way I run, but at the same time, they say you can't coach size," Kearns said.

The Hokies are hardly the only team to offer Kearns in recent weeks. Scholarship pledges from teams like Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Indiana, Cal, Florida and N.C. State have all come rolling in for Kearns in May and June alone.

With the recent whirlwind of attention, Kearns is trying to do some research on each program in person before making any kind of decision.

"I went to set visits with all the schools that have offered me," Kearns said. "Then after those visits, I can hopefully commit sometime before my season starts in August. I just want to approach my senior focused on football and build a relationship with my school's coaching staff."

Kearns says that he's "pretty sure" Virginia Tech is among the programs he'll be visiting this summer, and adds that he's currently working with the staff to set a concrete date now.

Once he stops by campus, he's hoping the coaches can help Blacksburg feel more like Rome.

"I definitely want good academics, but I really want a place to feel at home, that makes me feel comfortable," Kearns said.

With Searels on hand to regale him with stories from the Peach State, the Hokies are hoping they have just the right ingredients to make Kearns feel welcome.