Stacy Searels Leads the Charge in Targeting "A Special Kind of Breed" of Offensive Linemen in 2016

The Hokies signed five offensive linemen in their 2015 recruiting class, but position coach Stacy Searels knows his work isn't finished yet.

After years of struggling with depth at the position, and some inconsistent efforts on the recruiting trail, Searels is leading a renewed effort to aggressively recruit linemen for the 2016 class.

That process began in earnest this February, with the team using a pair of Junior Day events to get players considering Tech on campus. According to some of those recruits, in his second year at Tech, Searels is starting to hone in on the type of players he's looking for.

"He said they need a lot of linemen, but that they also need a special kind of breed," said Pete Leota, an OT out of Asheville (N.C.) HS who attended Tech's Junior Day on February 7. "They need to be aggressive, with fast feet, and bring the intensity out there, and he thinks I fit that mold."

But beyond any specific traits, it seems that Searels is targeting one particular position above all others at the moment: tackle.

"He told me that right now, they're offering tackles, then they'll see where they are numbers-wise after spring practice," said Reed Kroeber, a guard out of Roswell, Ga.'s Fellowship Christian School that attended Tech's Junior Day on February 28. "They haven't offered me yet, because it's kind of a wait and see thing about depth at this point."

Considering the team's sudden dearth of options at tackle headed into the spring compared to a glut of guards, that priority seems to make sense. With Jonathan McLaughlin expected to return to his old role on the left side, right tackle remains wide open. Searels likely isn't looking to experience that kind of uncertainty in the future.

"He's definitely emphasized the team's need with me," said Josh Ball, an OT from Fredericksburg's Stafford Senior HS that attended the team's February 7 Junior Day. "He's talked a lot about the potential for early playing time, and that's a big deal to me. I'd love to start early on, just play as soon as possible."

As a rough-hewn Georgian offensive line coach, Searels might not seem like the most technologically savvy of Tech's coaches at first glance. But Ball says that's most certainly not the case.

"We talk on Twitter pretty much daily, at least once a day," Ball said. "He says they want me bad."

Whether online or in person, it seems that Searels is casting a wide net to find his tackles of the future. While Ball may be an easy in-state recruit to target, his pursual of North Carolina players like Leota and Landon Dickerson of Hudson's South Caldwell HS makes it clear that he's willing work outside his comfort zone a bit.

"He tells me all the time about them needing more guys on the line, and they believe I can help with that," said Dickerson, who also attended Tech's February 7 Junior Day.

Those Junior Days have proved to be an especially important facet of Searels' strategy to build his 2016 class. While some of the linemen he's chasing had visited Tech before the February events, each of them appreciated the chance to spend time with Searels in a smaller group setting and better understand how he coaches.

"He took us into the film room and the offensive line meeting room to show us how they do things, how the offensive line protects," Leota said.

That clearly had an effect on the players, with each one making a point to mention it when asked about their visits.

"It was just really cool to kind of see their philosophy in action," Kroeber said.

But the trip to campus is never all business; the staff makes a constant effort to give the recruits a taste of student life.

"I loved the atmosphere there, the student life and facilities seem great," Leota said. "And I loved the food."

The team also made a concerted effort to pair the recruits with some established players at their positions. Dickerson specifically remembers spending time with a number of linemen, including guard Wyatt Teller.

But Leota was especially impressed by a player on the opposite side of the ball.

"I saw Kendall Fuller there, but at the time I didn't know he was, but it seemed like the corners there really looked up to him," Leota said. "Then I did some research on him when I got home. I found out about his family all going there, going to the NFL. It's a true inspirational story."

For Dickerson, whose grandfather Herman was the first Hokie ever selected in the NFL draft back in 1937, the trip had a more personal feel.

"They took me over with Coach Beamer and they showed me how they had a picture of my granddad in the football offices," Dickerson said.

Given his family ties to Tech, this was hardly Dickerson's first visit to the school. He says he attended last year's spring game, as well as the team's games against Georgia Tech and Virginia this season.

But Searels clearly wasn't taking Dickerson's connection to Tech for granted, keeping in constant contact with him and offering him late last summer.

"It was the start of football season, late August, when I called Coach Searels about it," Dickerson said. "They said they had a meeting about offering me and everything."

Searels also hit the road to get a closer look at Leota and offered him in person.

"He told me they'd wanted to offer me for a while, but he wanted to see me in person first," Leota said. "I couldn't go to any of their games, but after the season, he came to my school. Then we sat down in my coach's office and he offered me."

Leota thinks Searels must've liked what he saw from him both on film and in person.

"My team runs a power offense, and the running back likes to run behind me every chance he gets," Leota said. "I just think I can create holes. I played on both the left and right sides. I can move to a spread system if I need to."

Dickerson hopes Searels took notice of his versatility as well.

"I think I've got the ability to play wherever, anywhere on the front line," Dickerson said. "And I think I've got a lot of meanness, a lot of aggressiveness."

There's little doubt that those types of traits have piqued Searels' interest in each of these players he's doggedly recruiting.

"When he offered me, he talked about how he loved how I finished blocks," Ball said. "He told me he thinks I have all the tools in the toolshed."

While Searels' interest in these linemen seems plain, it remains to be seen if that feeling is mutual. Ball is fielding offers from schools like West Virginia, Penn State and UNC, while Kroeber is making the rounds at the Carolina schools, visiting Duke and Clemson in the past two months.

Leota made a trip to Chapel Hill for the UNC-Duke game this past weekend, and he notes that ECU is also "recruiting me hard."

Dickerson says that Tech, Tennessee and South Carolina are his top schools, while he's also nursing some interest in Georgia Tech and Florida State as well.

But for all the overtures from other programs, each of the four linemen are thinking seriously about returns to Tech's campus. Ball and Dickerson are both aiming to return for the spring, while Kroeber is hoping to camp at Tech this summer and come away with an offer.

Leota is targeting the spring game for his return, and is clearly already looking forward to letting more of his family meet Searels after what must've been some positive early experiences.

"I really want to go with my dad, he wants to see campus and meet the coaches," Leota said. "I just think that would really top things off."