Commitments of 2016 ATH Henri Murphy, 2017 ATH Malik Willis Prompt Justin Fuente to Jump for Joy

The Hokies got their fair share of unexpected good news on Saturday, with a pair of commitments from visitors to Blacksburg, sending Justin Fuente airborne multiple times last weekend.

Indeed, when Henri Murphy, an athlete freshly reclassified for the 2016 class from East Central Community College, and 2017 ATH Malik Willis of Roswell (Ga.) HS chose to commit during their visits, they inspired similar reactions from Fuente.

"He was extremely excited, he started hopping up and down," Willis told The Key Play.

"We had a one-on-one talk before I left, and when I told him, he jumped up and gave me a big hug," Murphy said.

But even if the verbals from Murphy and Willis both got Fuente on his feet, the Hokies' efforts to recruit each player were anything but similar.

Fuente and the staffers who followed him from Memphis have been after Murphy for the better part of the last two years, making the Arkansas speedster's decision to commit during his very first visit to Blacksburg especially rewarding for the Hokies.

"They have a great coaching staff and I've known them for one and a half, two years now, and they've always been the same," Murphy said. "It's a great community and a great place to move."

Murphy hopped on a plane for the first time ever to make the trip to Southwestern Virginia, and once he got a feel for the "great atmosphere" in Blacksburg, he said it was an easy decision to commit. But Murphy also agreed to a sudden shift in his athletic future as part of his commitment — though he was initially classified as a 2017 prospect, he's electing not to return to the JUCO ranks and head straight to Tech as part of the 2016 class.

"I thought about it, and thought what's the reward for going back JUCO when I could go to the school that I want to go to right now, and get the feel of it and come up in the summer, start working out and getting stronger," Murphy said.

That means he'll report to Blacksburg for good in the "next two or three weeks," though Murphy will have to sit out the 2016 season due to transfer rules before he can exhaust his two remaining years of eligibility.

"I've got to redshirt my first year, so it'll give me some time to get stronger and get ready," Murphy said. "I'm just ready to be in the ACC. I'm coming from JUCO, I haven't been at a four year school yet, so I'm ready to see that atmosphere."

But he won't just be sitting on his hands during his redshirt year — Murphy said he'll also join the Tech track team once he gets on campus and compete in the coming indoor season in the fall.

Blessed to say I have committed to Virginia Tech! #STATEMENT17 pic.twitter.com/LVTgcXKwlO— Henri Murphy (@_hendog10) June 18, 2016

Willis' path to Tech is another matter completely. The Hokies only offered him after spotting him at their satellite camp in Atlanta earlier this month and marveling at his apparent athleticism.

"I was at quarterback and they asked me to run some routes at receiver, and they said they just liked me at everything," Willis said.

From there, RBs coach Zohn Burden set to work building a relationship with Willis, ultimately persuading him to visit this weekend.

"I toured the campus and met all the coaches, and they were real nice, we did a couple drills and looked at all the facilities," Willis said. "A great environment."

While this trip to Blacksburg was Willis' first as a recruit, he said it was far from his only experience with the program. After all, his uncle is former Tech LB (and veteran NFLer) James Anderson, and he visited when he was "six or seven" back when Anderson was still on the team.

That sort of prior experience with the program, combined with his comfort with the new coaching staff, quickly convinced Willis that Blacksburg was the place to be.

"It was a great fit, my uncle went there, and it just felt right," Willis said. "They had a lot of players graduating, and it was just place to come in, a new program with Coach Fuente just seems like a nice place to be the next couple years. They're trying to build a program and do some good things."

He's unsure the next time he'll get to visit Tech due to his HS team's demands this summer, but he says "of course" he wants to soon.

The Hokies are surely similarly anxious to get him to Blacksburg for good, though it's unclear where exactly he'll put his athleticism to use when he signs.

"They don't even know yet, but they think I'm an explosive player and I can stretch the field if I work hard and do what I'm supposed to do," Willis said.