Tech Prepares to Host Dozens of Rising Seniors/Juniors for Combination Cookout and Camp Weekend

After a few slow months on the recruiting trail, things are now moving at light speed for the Hokies, with an extensive list of visitors on tap this weekend.

Starting Friday, Tech will welcome more than two dozen prominent prospects to Blacksburg. On Saturday, the team will hold a lengthy cookout to help coaches interact with some of the team's top targets, while Sunday will give the team a chance to work out others in its second camp of the summer.

Over the last few weeks, The Key Play has worked to confirm that the following players will be visiting this weekend after dozens of conversations with Tech recruits.

Many of the weekend's visitors will be making the trip for the first time, including 2016 DE and Florida commit JaQuan Bailey. The Hokies have been trying to get the Jacksonville, Fla. prospect on campus for a while now, and Bailey says he suspects the trip will prove worthwhile.

"I'm (going to) love it, I got the feeling," Bailey said.

Fellow Florida prospect 2016 WR Dredrick Snelson of Fort Lauderdale's Charles Flanagan HS also plans to make his first Blacksburg trip this weekend.

Snelson, rated a 3-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite ranking, got an offer from DL coach and Florida recruiter Charley Wiles back in February and has been hoping to get to campus ever since.

"I really want to get a feel for the school, since they're one of my top schools," Snelson said. "I just want to learn more about the program.

Since getting the offer from Wiles, Snelson says he's kept in touch with WR coach Zohn Burden, both on Twitter and over the phone, and is looking forward to meeting him in person.

"I'm just looking to get to know him and find out how his coaching could benefit me," Snelson said.

Snelson is considering the Hokies among serious interest from Minnesota, Miami, Florida State and Michigan, yet he could be closing in on a decision soon.

"If I don't make a decision this weekend, I'd consider waiting a while," Snelson said. "It kind of depends on the Hokies."

Snelson won't be the only WR making his first visit to campus that could be making a quick decision. Rising senior Phillip Patterson of Bayside HS is a top target for Tech, and his visit comes just before he's set to decide on August 1.

"I want to see the stadium and all the facilities, but I want to learn about more than just football, I want to see about their academics too," Patterson told The Key Play last week.

2017 WR/S Devon Hunter has made a number of trips to Tech's campus, but he's another prospect the team is hoping to make a big impression on this weekend, and he's not the only player from Indian River HS to be making the trip.

Hunter will be joined by his rising senior linebacker teammates Tavante Beckett and Jaquan Yulee.

Beckett has long been interested in the Hokies, but Yulee's presence is most notable after his commitment to Alabama back in June. Hunter says Yulee simply wants to "see how it is down there."

But Indian River won't be the only school from the 757 sending a contingent to Tech for the weekend. DT Eric Crosby, DE/OLB Tre Hubbard, WR Tahj Capehart and RB Khalan Laborn of Ocean Lakes HS all visited Tech this spring and will now be returning as a group on Sunday.

Charlotte, N.C.'s South Mecklenburg HS is also sending a pair of players to the event in 2016 DE Zack Gilbert and 2017 DE Jake Lawler, and Lawler confirms they'll be traveling together.

A pair of Tech's current 2016 commits will also be making the trip up from South Carolina to help out with the recruiting efforts. CB Troy Pride and WR Samuel Denmark will both be on hand to help out the staff with recruiting at the cookout, and Pride notes he's especially excited to spend some extra time with Denmark now that they'll be teammates some day.

New 2017 safety commit Devante Smith was planning on joining his fellow Hokies for the weekend, but now he says "a tournament for school" will keep him home in Northern Virginia instead.

For all of Tech's success in luring targets to campus, Smith isn't the only one giving the weekend a miss.

2016 WR Tino Ellis of Hyattsville, Md.'s DeMatha Catholic HS has long considered coming down for the weekend ahead of announcing his decision at the end of the month, but as of now, he says he "won't be able to make it this weekend."

2016 OT Pete Leota of Asheville, N.C. also sends his regrets.

"I'm sorry that I have to say that I will not be going to VT this weekend," Leota said. "I wish I could, but both my parents will be busy at their jobs."

2017 WR/CB Tyrin Summers of Clewiston (Fla.) HS had to scrap his plans for the visit, as did 2017 C Stefan Touani and 2018 WR Daniel George, teammates at Oxon Hill (Md.) HS.

Touani says it was a "family situation" that's keeping him home, while George says he'll be tied up at Ohio State's "Friday Night Lights" camp this weekend.

Nevertheless, Touani says he hopes to make it back to Tech with George in the future, because he's "heard a lot of good things" about Tech, specifically that "Virginia Tech has coaches that actually care about their players and has great academics." He adds the next visit for the pair could come as soon as the opening of fall camp in August.

Despite those negatives, the Hokies are undoubtedly excited about the chance to see a bevy of prospects for the team's Sunday camp.

Hubbard and 2016 OLB Arman Jones of Chesapeake's Western Branch HS have both been on the team's radar for a while now without receiving offers. Hubbard in particular says he's excited to "try and get the offer" on the visit.

2017 WR Dazz Newsome of Hampton HS is in a similar boat, but he's got family ties on his side. He says he's been in Blacksburg since Monday now staying with his brother, redshirt sophomore WR Deon Newsome.

Newsome's Hampton teammate, 2017 DE Elijah Conliffe, will also be on hand. He says he's anxious to prove to the team that "he's gotten better over the last year" and earn an offer, but he also wants to get a look at "how close the team is, how the coaches assess people, just how they take care of you there."

2017 Mike Tverdov of Union (N.J.) HS is also among those prospects hoping to "pull an offer" out of his weekend at Tech. He says he's on a "hot streak" after earning offers from Rutgers and Temple following camps at those schools and he wants to keep that rolling with a school he says he's grown up watching.

"I know Coach Beamer has a great tradition there, so it would be nice to take a look around there some and get to know the coaches," Tverdov said.