Hokies Invite a Variety of Visitors to Watch Tech's "High Intensity" Spring Practices

As 2017 DE Mike Tverdov of Union (N.J.) HS examined his GPS on the way home from a series of visits in North Carolina, he couldn't help but notice exactly how close Blacksburg is to I-81.

He wasn't planning on visiting the Hokies again so soon, but since the team offered him in March and campus was just a stone throw's from the highway he'd be using to get home, he decided that "it would be silly not to stop by and show my face and take a look around." Luckily for Tverdov, the Hokies have been so busy hosting visitors this spring that Justin Fuente and company had no trouble throwing together a quick visit for him.

"I visited Duke on Saturday and we stayed at a place literally like five minutes outside of Wake Forest, and the route it was taking us back to Jersey, Virginia Tech was 15 minutes off the highway," Tverdov told The Key Play. "I got in contact with Coach (Chuck) Cantor, the recruiting coordinator, and within an hour and a half, he did a good job setting it up for me."

Just like that, Tverdov had a trip planned to Tech for this past Sunday. Though the visit was a bit spur of the moment, he says the Hokies still devoted plenty of time to showing with him around and meeting with him. Fuente himself carved out a solid "30 or 40 minutes" for his first face-to-face with the DE, Tverdov said, and he didn't hesitate to sell the rising senior on how he might be a good fit for his style of coaching.

"Memphis, they didn't have these gigantic linemen or the fastest receivers, stuff like that, but he coached them and coaching beats talent if you have guys that are willing to get better," Tverdov said. "That's something that he likes about me, I'm always driving to get better, I'm not gonna settle for the smallest amount, and that's something he really likes."

Tverdov says the two even shared a laugh over the fact that both happened to attend a high school dubbed "Union HS" — Tverdov in the Garden State, Fuente in Tulsa, Okla.

"That's kind of a connection there, so that was kinda cool," Tverdov said.

Defensive coordinator Bud Foster was similarly generous with his time, according to Tverdov, carving out an hour of his Sunday to talk through the specifics of the defense with the DE.

"Basically, he could've been doing a million things, and on such short notice, I was really so happy that he took the time for me," Tverdov said. "Pretty much he went over his schemes with us, what he sees me as, the players he's coached in the past, telling me about the school, the football program."

But beyond the X's and O's, Tverdov says the most impressive part of his conversation with Foster was the DC's devotion to the program.

"He was telling me what he thought of Coach Fuente and how much Virginia Tech means to him, because everyone knows he could've gone anywhere in the country to be a defensive coordinator or a head coach, and he chose to stay at Virginia Tech, so that says that he really cares about the school and it's home to him, so that was really cool," Tverdov said.

The only downside to Tverdov's last-minute visit was the fact that CBs coach Brian Mitchell — the assistant who offered Tverdov and will recruit his area — and DL coach Charley Wiles weren't around to discuss their own perspectives on Blacksburg.

"(Mitchell) was actually in West Virginia with his family, Coach Wiles was away out of town, so I couldn't see those guys, but next time I'm up, I'll definitely get a chance to see them," Tverdov said. "They got in contact with me on Twitter afterward asking me if I liked it, they said they're definitely gonna catch me next time and thanked me for taking the time and I thanked them back."

But that's not to say that Mitchell hasn't been involved with the slew of visitors streaming into Blacksburg to watch the Hokies' spring practices. Indeed, on March 31, he played host to 2017 ATH Germane Crowell of Winston Salem, N.C.'s Carver HS.

"It was my first time up there and I didn't really expect it, but from what I saw, I was just blown away by most everything," Crowell said.

When the Hokies offered Crowell, they told him he could play quarterback, wide receiver, free safety or cornerback, but after an initial conversation with Fuente, Crowell said it became increasingly clear that Mitchell would be the coach he needed to get to know.

"I told them I wanted to play corner, but I asked when I was there how he sees my skillset contributing to the program and he said 'I see you being a leader, being a lockdown defender at corner, and then maybe possibly even impacting the game on both sides of the ball at wide receiver,' but it's wherever they need me," Crowell said.

Crowell got to see all the staples of any visit to Blacksburg — touring the athletic facilities, primarily — but he also got a chance to spend some time getting to know Mitchell to see how he might mesh with his system.

"My style is aggressive, in your face, not letting you off the line of scrimmage, press man, and he said he teaches five different press man techniques," Crowell said. "I think that's really good, because if I'm gonna make it to the league, I'm gonna need to know all those things, so it's good that he teaches everything, but he said wherever your best at, that's where you're gonna play, so we'll see."

From there, he got to see a practice session and a "mini-scrimmage," that he described as "high intensity" with "the offense always moving."

Then he got another chance to chat with Fuente, and he came away even more impressed with the head Hokie.

"Going in, I didn't know what to think of him," Crowell said. "But when I got there and started talking to him, I realized he was a really humble dude, he's a brilliant guy, he's bright, he's got a great vision when it comes to the program, and not just football, but developing young men as well. Preparing them for the next 50 years, not just four years, and I thought he had a real good handle on that. I loved everything about him."

Part of the reason Crowell was likely unsure how to feel about Fuente is that he has plenty of experience with the Hokies' biggest rivals — his dad played at UVA in the late 1990s before heading to the NFL.

He took a visit to meet with new head coach Bronco Mendenhall immediately before seeing the Hokies that he also enjoyed, but he insists that "the fact that my dad went to UVA really doesn't have any bearing on my decision" and that "I'm going to go to the school that best fits me," making the visit with Mitchell so important.

The week before Crowell swung through town, Mitchell also got to make his case to 2017 CB Madison Cone of Kernersville, N.C.'s East Forsyth HS.

"I like the new guys, I like the direction they're heading, especially getting to meet and talk with Coach Mitchell," Cone said. "The way he coaches with his coaching style, I feel like my game fits with him well."

Cone had a good relationship with former DBs coach Torrian Gray for a long time, but the CB feels that Mitchell's "personality" and aggressive coaching style eased his mind about the changes in Blacksburg.

"He said they probably were going to play a lot of man, a lot of in your face, physical coverage and that's how I like to play," Cone said.

The continued presence of Wiles — Cone's area recruiter — on the staff also helps in that department. Cone said that the DL coach did "a great job of keeping me up to speed and keeping me updated with what's going on in the program" during the staff transition, and the pair got to spend more time together during a spring practice session on his visit.

"The guys were looking real good, it was real up-tempo, fast paced, I had a great time watching them," Cone said.

But Cone wasn't alone as he took in the practice. One of the Hokies' newest commits, 2017 QB Hendon Hooker of Greensboro, N.C.'s Dudley HS, joined him on the visit shortly after making his pledge to Tech.

VT last week with my dawgs! pic.twitter.com/g7Eqf6JDJ2— Madison Cone (@_the_future21) March 31, 2016

While Cone noted that Hooker didn't give him the hardest sell possible on the school to let him make his own decisions, he acknowledged that it's not impossible that they could end up playing together at some point.

"Me and Hendon, we've been best friends since I was four or five, he's been my guy from day one, and growing up together, we've talked about playing together, so it's one of those things where people are looking at it, like 'Can it happen, will it happen?'"

Cone wasn't the only recruit to bring some friends along for the visit to Tech. 2017 ATH Brailyn Franklin of Haymarket's Battlefield HS swung by for the same practice as Cone on March 24, with some of his teammates in tow.

"I enjoyed it a lot, got to throw the football around with my buddies and stuff like that," Franklin said. "It was like I was a little kid at a playground, that's what it felt like."

Franklin said 2017 RB Chris Ferrill and 2017 TE/DE Mason Crawford were the players in question that he rode down with, and he said the experience was helpful to "let them see the reason why you like the school or the reason you've got love for the school."

The Northern Virginia athlete is fresh off a visit to Blacksburg in February for a junior day, so he didn't need a comprehensive campus tour from the coaches. Instead, he focused on spending some more time with Foster, and he continues to be impressed by his area recruiter.

"He's somebody that's really there for you, somebody that stands behind you and supports your every move," Franklin said. "Just a family type guy, he's real cool. He's a real down to earth coach."

Overall, Franklin said the visit left him wanting to see even more from the Hokies.

"I didn't get to stay as long as I wanted to, because we needed to get back on the road, but if I could've stayed longer, I sure would have," Franklin said.

Luckily for Franklin, it seems his wish to spend more time in Blacksburg will come true very soon — he plans to visit again on April 16 and on April 23 for the spring game. But he also hopes to visit Maryland again soon, in addition to Kansas and Marshall.

For his part, Tverdov will be visiting Rutgers on April 16, but could "possibly" visit for Tech's spring game, or for a summer practice.

Cone thinks the spring game could also be the "earliest I could get back to campus," but hopes to get in another visit soon with a decision looming.

"I hope to decide soon," Cone said. "Virginia Tech, they aren't the only school that's had coaching changes, I want to say like two or three schools that are really recruiting me have had changes, so I'm still in the process of trying to meet the coaches and things like that, but I hope to make a decision soon."

Crowell is also targeting a decision soon, thinking he'll commit "probably this month or the early part of next month," and he's making it a priority to see Blacksburg again before he makes up his mind.

"I'm planning on going back up there, probably if not this Saturday then next Saturday so I can get a tour of the school and all that stuff," Crowell said.