Punter Brandon Nickle Picks the Hokies, Hoping for an Early Chance to Face His Hometown Team

Brandon Nickle grew up just 30 minutes outside of Knoxville, but when given the choice to play for the Tennessee Volunteers or against them, he picked the latter.

Butch Jones and the Vols were willing to let the punter from Oak Ridge HS join their 2016 class as a preferred walk-on, but he spurned his hometown team and picked the Hokies instead.

I have decided to further my education and football career at Virginia Tech! pic.twitter.com/mgzZZ05a8y— Brandon Nickle (@bnickle3) April 12, 2016

Now that four-year starter A.J. Hughes has graduated, Tech has a gaping hole at the position, and Nickle is hoping to fill it right away. But while any freshman might try to start right away, Nickle is looking to take the field in time for a certain ballyhooed game in a stadium normally reserved for NASCAR races.

"It would be pretty neat for me if I did earn the job and I got to kick against Tennessee at Bristol," Nickle told The Key Play. "Tennessee's right here, I'm right outside of Knoxville and I've grown up watching Tennessee play, so it would be kinda neat to go play against them."

Given the Hokies' dearth of depth at the position, and his status as the ninth best punter in the 2016 class in the Kohl's Kicking rankings, he may very well get the chance.

New special teams coordinator James Shibest thought he'd found his punter of the future when the Hokies secured a January commitment from Marshall Long, but he reversed course quickly and chose to join Shane Beamer at Georgia just two weeks after making his pledge. Redshirt junior Mitchell Ludwig and redshirt freshman Jackson VanSickle competed for the spot during spring ball, but Shibest admitted during spring practice that he'd like "another guy or two possibly competing there."

It would seem that Nickle is exactly who Shibest had in mind when he made that comment. The senior says Shibest has been after him for a while now, first reaching out on National Signing Day when it became clear that he'd be waiting to make his college choice.

Nickle didn't lack for other options headed into February — he says he had scholarships on the table from New Mexico State, North Dakota State and The Citadel, while Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State, Minnesota and Oklahoma State all offered him preferred walk-on spots.

Nevertheless, he decided to follow his gut and wait a bit to make his college choice.

"I had a few scholarship offers and other preferred walk-on offers, but I've been told by people who have been recruited before that you'll know when the right time is, and I just didn't feel like it was the right time for me until I came up to Blacksburg in March," Nickle said.

Indeed, Nickle credits his visit on March 22 to catch Tech's first spring practice — his first ever visit to Blacksburg — for playing a huge role in his ultimate decision.

"I got to look around campus a little bit, and it was just beautiful," Nickle said. "Then I watched practice and the coaches just seemed like they really cared about the players and the players seemed like they really cared about each other."

Nickle says he got to spend some quality time with Shibest both before and after practice, and also got to meet Justin Fuente for the first time, and they had a common message.

"They just said that their starting punter from last year graduated so the position's wide open, and it would be a good opportunity for me to come in and compete for the starting position," Nickle said.

By the time the trip was over, he said Blacksburg "just felt like home," even more so than the schools based in his own backyard.

After waiting a few weeks and mulling the decision over, he called Shibest to give him the good news, and Fuente followed up with a congratulatory call later that night.

"Coach Shibest was excited, he said it relieved him a lot," Nickle said. "He said he was just happy to get me up there and he's excited to see me work, and Coach Fuente basically said the same thing."

Though Nickle will have to wait until the summer to join the competition, he says his future coaches want him to hit the ground running when he gets his shot at earning the job and facing off against his hometown team in Bristol.

"They told me just to keep working hard and they want me to come in and be hitting the ball well so I can compete for the starting position," Nickle said.