2015 DE/OLB Damien Dozier Flips from VT to Marshall in Relatively Amicable Switch

When a recruit flips their commitment a little over a month before Signing Day, emotions can run high, almost like a bad breakup.

And it many ways, that's exactly what it is: the end of a long-term relationship.

Accusations could be thrown around on both sides about the way the coaches acted, or the way the player performed in the classroom.

But when 2015 OLB/DE recruit Damien Dozier, who last played football at Lynchburg's Virginia Episcopal School, announced he would be spurning the Hokies in favor of Marshall, there weren't any of those familiar recriminations on either side.

Instead, this seemed to be a mutual decision for both the Hokies and Dozier, one forced by their differing perceptions of Dozier's potential role on the football field in 2015.

At 6'4" and 225 pounds, Dozier has an impressive frame. Yet it would seem the staff believed Dozier needed some extra time to develop before he saw meaningful playing time.

So while Dozier had long planned to enroll early and join the team in January, that all changed a few weeks ago.

"About three weeks ago I got a call from Virginia Tech saying they wanted to move my scholarship back to 2016," Dozier said. "It wasn't because of academic reasons or because of trouble, they just wanted to bring people in."

Tech's 2015 class is starting to get pretty large, boasting 21 total members at this point and seven early enrollees, and it would seem the team's need for immediate contributions on the field combined with scholarship limitations to prompt this move.

"They need certain guys in that would be able to produce and be able to play that year," Dozier said. "So they asked me to move my scholarship back to 2016, so at that point I opened up my recruitment."

Dozier believes this didn't come as a shock to the staff, given his emphasis on playing early. He says he's developed a close relationship with outside linebackers coach Cornell Brown, and Brown knew exactly what his response would be if he was asked to wait before getting on the field.

"Coach Brown and I, we've had a pretty good relationship throughout my recruitment. So I'd call him, and he knows how I am," Dozier said. "He knew that when he called and had to say that they're asking me to come in 2016 that I was going to be looking around, because I was looking to play football this year. And I don't feel like I need to redshirt, I can make an impact. So Coach Brown knew I'd be looking for an impact where I could do that."

From there, it didn't take him long to find another school that could offer a clearer path to playing time.

Marshall had offered him previously, and once he made it be known that he was looking around for a different opportunity, Thundering Herd defensive tackles coach J.C. Price got Dozier down to West Virginia to see the campus.

"I took a visit to Marshall, I really enjoyed the coaching staff, they have good people," Dozier said. "(He) saw my film of my camp at Virginia Tech and Coach Price made some things happen and showed me around Marshall."

From there, it was a relatively simple decision. He let Brown know about his intentions, and asserts that it was entirely amicable. Now, he has assurances that he'll play sooner rather than later and will enroll at Marshall in January.

"I believe I'll be able to have an impact on the field my freshman year at Marshall," Dozier said.

So while the Hokies surely would've liked to retain his services, there are certainly worse ways for a relationship to end.