Isaiah Ford Helps Hokies Earn Commitment from S Chamarri Conner, Who "Might Love to Hit Too Much"

Charley Wiles is generally the Hokies' point man for recruiting down in Florida, but when it came time to sway another prominent prospect from Jacksonville's Trinity Christian Academy, the DL coach took a back seat in the process.

After all, who better to help persuade S Chamarri Conner to become the third member of Tech's 2018 class than someone he can easily relate to: star WR Isaiah Ford, an alumnus of the very same high school.

"I've known him since about ninth grade, that was his first year at Virginia Tech," Conner told The Key Play. "But I've known him because he comes back to Trinity and tells us everything about Virginia Tech...He's told me nothing but good things about it."

Gerard Ross, founder of the local college recruiting service Pro Impact Sports, says Ford does indeed make an effort to come back to his hometown "any time he has a chance," and that often involves trips to Trinity. His presence is not lost on the younger prospects Ross works with like Conner, it would seem.

"Any time he can come to Jacksonville, Trinity is like his second home," Ross said. "He's always around here, and all he does is express great things about Virginia Tech and the program, so that weighed heavy on (Conner)."

But Conner says he was swayed to become a Hokie by more than just Ford's overtures. The more he heard from Wiles and other Tech assistants about Bud Foster's defense, the more he he wanted to become a Hokie.

"The defense that they run, Coach Bud Foster's defense, I feel like I would fit in perfect with it," Conner said.

Ross added that "knowing that Coach Foster will be there for a while" also weighed heavily on Conner's mind.

Aside from Ford's prodding, Ross says the Hokies started making their pitch about the defensive staff's continuity to Conner by his sophomore season.

"They came out during spring football to see some of our other kids and kind of fell in love with him then," Ross said.

So when other Pro Impact prospects made the trip up to Blacksburg in June, Conner tagged along and got his first chance to see VT and "work out with the DB coaches."

"I liked it, all the facilities and weight room and locker room, I liked everything," Conner said.

The trip gave him a chance to connect with Foster, safeties coach Galen Scott, and Justin Fuente himself. Each one helped sell Conner a bit more on how exactly he might find a place within the defense.

"They think I could fit in at the rover position, playing over the slot, and I can also play free safety," Conner said.

Based on his time at Trinity, Conner said he'd be "most comfortable" with a strong safety-type role, but he's not shy about mixing things up.

"I can play free safety, cornerback, outside linebacker, whatever they need me to play," Conner said.

Ross thinks he's developed that comfort from his time working all over the field both in high school and during seven-on-seven play with Pro Impact.

"We keep him rolled out, flying around," Ross said. "He can cover guys in the slot, he can play safety over the top, and he's also good in run support because he's so strong and explosive, so that's kind of how we play him, between a safety, bandit spot and nickelback so sort of deal."

That sort versatility meant that Conner was in quite high demand — though he's currently rated a 3-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite ranking, he garnered offers from programs like Florida, Michigan, UNC and South Carolina.

But even with all that interest, Conner had little interest in drawing out his recruiting process.

"Chamarri recently wanted to narrow down his schools and Virginia Tech was to the top of his list, so he reached out to the coaches and made his commitment to them," Ross said.

Conner says Tech's coaches were quite "excited" by that news, and Ross believes they have every right to be, based on what a big hitter Conner's developed into over the years.

"He actually loves to hit," Ross said. "He might love to hit too much, and there's been times where he'll come out and be physical, and he'll hit his own teammates because he's trying to be so aggressive. So being aggressive is definitely a strength of his game, he loves to be physical."

The Hokies certainly have some history with hard-hitting safeties, and Conner says he won't be shy about bringing that sort of mentality to Blacksburg.

"It feels good," Conner said. "I've been doing it since I was little, I'm just used to it now."

Despite the punch he packs, Conner isn't the largest DB out there, standing at just 6'0". But Ross sees plenty of room for him to grow, particularly by the time he gets to Tech.

"He's in the 190s now, so he'll probably graduate knocking on the door of 200," Ross said. "He plays basketball as well, so he'll be able to maintain his weight and physique, so when he goes in, he'll let Virginia Tech put whatever weight he needs to be put on him."

But as just as junior, Conner still has a while before he has to worry about the demands of Ben Hilgart and company. In the meantime, he's hoping to make his second visit to Blacksburg in the coming months and get to know his new school a little better.

"I haven't planned it yet, but I think I'm gonna go up there either around spring or early summer," Conner said.

Yet Conner will hardly be the only Pro Impact prospect making the long journey from Jacksonville to Blacksburg. In fact, Ross said three of his top athletes got the chance to visit for the Hokies' clash against GT this past weekend: CB Shaun Wade (a 5-star Ohio State commit), RB Rasheed Martin (a 3-star UNC commit) and WR D.J. Matthews (a 4-star Florida State commit).

And, much like with Conner, it would seem the Hokies let Ford do the talking.

"Isaiah was up there and hosting those guys, so it should be a good deal for VT as well," Ross said.