For Alford, the next six months will be as drab as his new moniker – greyshirt.
A relatively new phenomenon, a greyshirt arrives at school for the second semester, delaying the start of his eligibility clock and allowing teams to better maneuver scholarships.
Six months as a greyshirt could easily be followed by a redshirt, meaning Friday's Virginia High School Coaches Association all-star game could be Alford's final time hitting anything other than teammates for a while.
"They talked about the greyshirt going in," Alford said. "I picked Virginia Tech because I wanted to compete at the highest level that I could."
He'll take a class at Tidewater Community College, look for a part-time job and spend as much time as he can in what passes for a weight room at Nansemond River.
Despite limited national notoriety, Alford stood out on a below-average Nansemond River team, in combines and, eventually, at a summer camp at Virginia Tech.
At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds and, if he can keep that speed while adding muscle, he should help the Hokies as a pass-rushing defensive end.
"When we greyshirt a kid, what it usually means is we want him to get a little more physically prepared," said Virginia Tech assistant Curt Newsome. "The big thing is he can rush the passer. You can never have enough of that. The position (defensive end) isn't one where you play one or two guys, you rotate guys in."
While the Hokies say all the right things, the unspoken meaning behind a greyshirt is that Virginia Tech likes Alford, just not quite as much as the other recruits. Before committing last summer, Alford's other offers were from Old Dominion and James Madison. The main BCS schools that showed interest were East Carolina and Duke.
Some great insight on what it means to greyshirt.
