Hokies Staging a "Blacksburg Bash," Modest Camp to Rev Up Recruiting for the Summer

A few days after 2017 LB Jaylen Griffin visited the Hokies last month, he decided to make the momentous move to decommit from Cal and open up his recruitment.

With his second visit to Blacksburg in as many months set for this weekend, the Hokies surely are hoping for some similarly good news in the aftermath of this trip.

The rising senior from Rome (Ga.) HS is bringing his whole family along for the ride this time around, including his brother, who's mulling a college decision of his own. From the sound of it, it could prove to be quite the meaningful visit for the Griffin family.

"(It) could be the home of all the Griffin boys," Griffin told The Key Play.

Yet the Griffins will hardly be the only prospects on hand this weekend for the Hokies. The coaches are holding a cookout they've dubbed the "Blacksburg Bash" Saturday, with a small camp planned for Sunday so the staff can get a look at a handful of 2017 and 2018 athletes.

In all, The Key Play's been able to confirm that the following players will be making the trek down to Tech for at least one day this weekend:

• 2017 LB commit Rayshard Ashby, L.C. Bird HS, Richmond
• 2017 OT Mekhi Becton, Highland Springs (Va.) HS
• 2017 OG Aiden Brown, Bullis School, Potomac, Md.
• 2017 WR Tahj Capehart, Bishop Sullivan HS, Virginia Beach
• 2018 RB Marcus Caldwell, West Forsyth HS, Clemmons, N.C.
• 2018 DB D.J. Crossen, Dudley HS, Greensboro, N.C.
• 2018 WR Jaelon Darden, Heights HS, Houston, Texas.
• 2018 QB DeJuan Ellis, Bishop O'Connell HS, Arlington, Va.
• 2017 LB Jaylen Griffin, Rome (Ga.) HS
• 2017 CB Quran Hafiz, Sandalwood HS, Jacksonsville, Fla.
• 2018 LB Dax Hollifield, Shelby (N.C.) HS
• 2017 OG Tanner Lawson, T.L. Hanna HS, Anderson, S.C.
• 2017 WR Sean Savoy, Wilson HS, Washington, D.C.
• 2017 CB Ameer Speed, Sandalwood HS, Jacksonsville, Fla.
• 2018 RB Nadir Thompson, Southern Nash HS, Bailey, N.C.

The Hokies have been trying to get Becton back on campus for months now, especially as offers have poured in from prominent programs like Michigan, Southern Cal and Penn State.

Becton noted that the Hokies offered him in late April, with safeties coach Galen Scott and OL coach Vance Vice giving him the good news just a few weeks after he visited Blacksburg.

His coach at Highland Springs, Loren Johnson, was speaking at a coaching clinic at Tech, so he tagged along to get better acquainted with the new staff during spring practice.

"We sat down and watched film of practice one-on-one, things like that," Becton said. "I liked it a lot, it was very intense and fast."

He also got to spend some quality time with Justin Fuente, giving him his first extended facetime with the new head Hokie.

"He said he sees the program going in good places, they definitely have a good team ahead and things like that," Becton said.

Now, he's looking forward to "spending time with coaches and recruits" as he gets a closer look at a program he's been watching all his life.

"I know a lot about the program, I was watching them when Michael Vick started playing for them and Macho Harris and things like that," Becton said.

Crossen is equally aware of Tech's football tradition, it would seem.

"It's been a dream school of mine," Crossen said. "I know they produce a lot of great DBs and have a lot of first round DBs drafted, and my ultimate goal is to go to the NFL, so it'd be a good place to go if I want to get drafted. And the atmosphere is just incredible, it's a nationally renowned school, a great program. I like it a lot."

But even if he's been aware of the Hokies for a while now, the feeling has only been mutual briefly. Crossen said Fuente only decided to offer him after seeing him during drills in a Blacksburg camp this past weekend.

"In the middle of us doing one-on-ones, they stopped me and brought me to Coach Fuente's office and told me they wanted to offer me," Crossen said.

Crossen called it an "amazing" experience to earn an offer from Tech, and largely attributes the Hokies' pulling the trigger to the versatility he showed off in camp. He says he worked mainly with Scott and CBs coach Brian Mitchell, playing both cornerback and safety effectively enough to earn an offer.

"The main thing they noticed and liked was my athleticism and skillset, pressuring receivers, getting them off their routes, and my ball skills," Crossen said.

Crossen added that the Hokies didn't have a specific preference for what position they'd be offering him as, noting that he'd play "whatever they need me to play if I go there, but I feel like I'm versatile enough to play both, of course."

Now, he's hoping to go down for either the cookout or the camp, though he's currently undecided which day he'll attend. However, he did note that he'll have a few teammates camping on Sunday, which could influence his choice.

"I just want to get more comfortable with the campus," Crossen said.
While Crossen will have plenty of company whichever day he goes down, several prominent prospects will be giving the weekend a miss.

2018 Teradja Mitchell of Bishop Sullivan H.S. says he'll be tied up at a camp at Hampden Sydney College, while 2018 DT Dante Stills of Fairmont (W.V.) HS will be camping at West Virginia Saturday.

"If I didn't have that (I) would, definitely," Stills said. "I'm (going to) try to get back down there before the season, or maybe even during."

Others are passing this weekend up only because they're either fresh off VT visits, or have trips planned in the immediate future.

2017 RB Jalen Holston of Stockbridge (Ga.) HS is still planning on visiting July 29 with his family in tow, while 2018 QB Dylan Hopkins of Maryville (Tenn.) HS is heading to an N.C. State cookout this weekend after taking the unofficial visit he's been planning to Blacksburg for weeks now.

"I had an unofficial visit this past weekend," Hopkins said. "(I) spent time with Coach Fuente and (OC Brad) Cornelsen, they had the 2017 commit (ATH Caleb) Farley there as well."