2015 RB Coleman Fox Follows His Father, Picks Hokies

In many ways, it was inevitable that 2015 RB/ATH Coleman Fox committed to the Hokies.

Tech extended an offer to the senior from Virginia's Salem High School on October 2, and he'd made his mind up by October 10.

As of last night, I am committed to play football at Virginia Tech! Go Hokies!— Coleman Fox (@C_Fox_Run) October 11, 2014

"A couple days after I got the offer I knew I wanted to commit," Fox said. "It just felt crazy not to. I gave it a week, made sure it felt right, and it did."

Not only did Fox grow up just a few miles up I-81 from Blacksburg, but he has strong family ties to the Hokies. Both his parents went to Tech, and his dad, Rich, played fullback for Frank Beamer in the late 1980s.

"He's been following the Hokies his whole life," said Stephen Magenbauer, Fox's head coach at Salem. "Plus he's only lived 15 or 20 miles away this whole time."

That proximity to the program meant that he got a first look at Blacksburg long before he ever started considering playing college football.

"My parents have season tickets, so we go up for all the games, we go up for basketball games too," Fox said. "We're a big Hokie family, so we spent lots of time there, whether it was seeing the games or eating dinner, just being around Blacksburg."

Yet even with his strong ties to the school, his parents didn't sugarcoat their experiences when Fox was still weighing his options.

"We talked about the good and the bad, but ultimately the pros outweighed the cons," Fox said. "I just thought it would be cool to follow in my dad's footsteps."

Fox had other offers before the Hokies came calling, including overtures from JMU and Army, and had interest from schools like UNC, but when the Hokies offered, he wasted no time in deciding.

Yet Tech would've offered Fox sooner had recruiting coordinator Bryan Stinespring been able to catch up with him earlier.

"Coach Stinespring called me a couple times, and we missed each other, but he finally called last week and offered," Fox said. "Then I let him know my decision on Thursday so it would stay quiet Friday night for our game, then I got it out there."

Magenbauer chalks up Stinespring's eventual interest in Fox to Tech's relationship with his program.

"They've been very good to our program over the years," Magenbauer said. "He's one of the few scholarship guys we've had, we've had lots of walk-ons there too that have done well."

The Hokies have a pair of Salem grads on the roster this season, walk-ons Daniel Dyer and Colton Taylor, but Fox is likely the most talented player to come out of the school in some time.

He's rated a 3-star recruit by 247Sports, and has tremendous versatility on the field.

"He runs the ball, we put him out wide, he holds on PATs, he's our punt returner and even our starting safety," Magenbauer said.

Fox has spent the bulk of his career at running back, but he says he's willing to adjust based on the team's needs.

"The coaches haven't given me one position yet, I'll just come in as an athlete and try to fill a need," Fox said. "I'm comfortable lots of places. Sophomore year, I started as a wide receiver, so I'm comfortable catching the ball. Then junior year I went to running back. Now I start at RB, but when we go four-wide, they split me out too."

Even though the Hokies will have plenty of options at running back by the time Fox gets to campus, Magenbauer still projects that he'll wind up at tailback.

"He's just got a natural lean, he's much more a running back than receiver," Magenbauer said. "But we've had guys go from one position to another in college, so it's certainly possible."

With a few months left in his final year of high school, Fox has some time to work out the details.

In the meantime, the Hokies won't have to worry about getting him back to campus.

"I'm not 100 percent on any official visits yet, but I'll keep going to the games with my family," Fox said. "Then in a couple weeks, I'll try and see the coaches more, the players more."