recruiting perspective

good morning hokies! just wanted to share a little bit of inside insight on recruiting and how difficult a decision this is for these young men so next time we have a breakdown on a coach, kid, family, or whoever when a kid picks somewhere other than VT hopefully we can step back take a deep breath and try and keep a positive attitude and support (and stay the hell off twitter gosh dang lol) the kids we got and wish well the ones we don't get.

(only doing this because I know tyree wouldn't mind me sharing)

if you haven't had an opportunity to see some of tyree "showtime" saunders personality through social media or in person at a game let me tell you a little bit about this man. Hes a really really outgoing kid, his smile lights up a room when he is in it and he is ALWAYS smiling, laughing, and cutting up. I don't think ive ever met someone who doesn't absolutely love everything about him. Ive been blessed to have the opportunity to coach him in 7on7 and this kid absolutely LOVES the game. He works extremely hard but is so humble you would never know unless you saw it first hand, for a kid that talks, and talks........and talks lol he never talks about himself. to call yourself "showtime" (a nickname given to him by his father troy saunders FSU letterman and former NFL/CFL player when he was just a baby) you have to be a baller but you have to have some charisma about yourself too and confidence and swagger and he has that. He's an extremely confident kid. So when we were talking on Wednesday night (about 8 hours before he would sign his Nation letter of intent) and he told me

"coach I'm not going to lie I'm nervous. man I pray I made the right decision. they didn't keep my boy coach wiles and coach jafar only has one year left on his contract. which is my freshman year"

it really had me nervous for him.

I try to be as honest and supportive as I can be with these kids. I constantly reinforce to them that I am here for you first. and the hokies 2nd. If you decide that VT isn't the right fit for you I am not going to abandon you. I am here as a friend, mentor, coach, not a hokie fan. I responded and I'm not going to quote the whole thing telling him I was pretty hurt by the wiles news too wiles has been instrumental in the #FL2VT movement and more importantly the #904toVT movement and was really the first person to open up conversation with me and invite me into hokie nation as anything more than a fan. without him none of the stuff ive been able to do would be possible and none of the relationships ive made with the other staff members would have ever happened. I talked to him a little about tap and am exited for him to get to meet him because I know tyree will love him.

I talked to him a little bit about my feelings on jafar williams (and for the record I like him a lot, he relates to the kids extremely well, he has a great relationship with all the WRs, I think weve improved as a group in some areas and while there is still room for more I think the coaching in that department in trending upwards, can he recruit better? maybe idk. I don't follow how well coaches personally recruit and don't I'm more concerned with the relationships they have with the guys I know and how he treats them and hes always been amazing with any guys Ive brought up and treated them all great whether it was a guy committed like tyree or my no star son that plays WR, hes coached my son, gave my son tips, evaluated my son, broke down film with my son, and gone above and beyond the duties for him which may seem like normal stuff to a big time recruit but I think it just goes to show what kind of coach he is, his willingness to take time to get everyone around him better and his passion for coaching the position is important to me if I'm a recruit because walking in the room I may not be big play tre yet but I know I'm not going to get put on the back burner until its my time I'm going to get the same coaching as tre from day one.)

I told him if he has questions. call coach Fuente, call coach williams, call whoever you need to call. I know these guys will be as honest with you as possible and while no one can predict the future and plans can certainly change at the drop of a hat these coaches have a plan and you are a part of it, you are a part of it being successful and in turn making them successful and that leads to longevity for them. I told him communication is key, and fellow hokies ear muffs for the next part I told him if hes feeling uneasy he doesn't have to sign on early signing day he has time. I told him the importance of going into a situation that he is comfortable with and that he feels is really the best situation for him. its his future. its his 4 years. I want you to have a feeling of VT is about to get the best Tyree SHOWTIME saunders out of me that there is. He should feel that. he should feel strongly about the school he is singing with that they are going to do that. I reiterated that he has an AMAZING support system at home from his parents, coaches at his highschool, friends, family, me and that none of them are going to steer him wrong, if his dad can say go hokies and is in love with you going to VT and the coaches then I think that tells you a little something. I told him pray on it. that god wont give you anything you cant handle and every path has some bumps life is not without bumps but the folks at VT will be there with you every step of the way and help you through it all. that IF something happened where we lost a coach just like in the wiles situation that we would bring in the right kind of guys. guys that honor, believe in, represent VTs core values and that's one thing that separates us from a lot of other schools. the relationships are real. the people here are real. it sounds cliché but ive been around a lot of programs and nothing has ever came close to the way VT can make you feel.

anyways all this to say, so much goes into these decisions for these young men, and even a kid with supreme confidence like tyree who has already made plans for who his roommate will be when he gets to campus, already has made friends and himself just as much a part of the team as people who have been here for 4 years, already working on a relationship with his current starting QB, loves everything about VT, everything about being a hokie, understand what it means to be a hokie, takes pride in living up to and exceeding the standard of being a hokie, at the end of the day this is this kids life. most instances the first real decision they've ever made for themselves and they are getting a tremendous amount of pressure from every angle and at an age where ever GF is "the one" hes supposed to navigate through all these coaches tell you everything you want to hear just to get in your pants. All kids don't make the right choice. id love to believe VT is the right choice for EVERYONE but that's just not the truth. So lets try and have some respect for the kids that don't chose VT, embrace the ones that do as we are a big part of why he chose VT (even if indirectly I cant tell you how much the warm feeling of family means to these kids that are about to be far away from there family for 4 years and many for the first time, and the ability to provide comfort in knowing that they are in a safe place and they are indeed "home"). Virginia tech is more than football. and I say that with an immense amount of pride. the more we embrace these kids the more will come, the more VT we are the better our football team will be.

tyrees text to me yesterday morning at 6am. "coach you coming to the school for my signing?" wouldn't miss it for the world. he overcame the jitters, the fears, the nerves and signed his LOI yesterday morning and is officially a hokie and he hasn't stopped texting me about it since. and I'm ecstatic for him. I couldn't be more proud or excited for him to be a part of hokie nation and I cant wait for hokie nation to get to see him up close and personal. but it doesn't always turn out this way. all recruiting stories don't end well. just some perspective that has really hit home for me as I am no longer only invested in the wins and loses of VT football but the future of some amazing young men and now I'm tasked with a tremendous amount of eh I don't know the word for it, its not burden, its not pressure, but I want so badly for the recruiting process to work out perfectly for both parties. that's what the process is all about at the end of the day. getting kids that love Virginia tech and Virginia Tech getting kids that they love.

not trying to turn this into a recruiting debate thread. just wanted to share some insight from the kids and my perspective as a coach/ mentor because a lot of times we only get the "FANS" views on the who, what, when, why, and how we did or didn't get a recruit.