Hokies Offer Pancake Enthusiast Gabe Gonzalez

Gabe Gonzalez was not expecting a scholarship offer from Virginia Tech.

"I was really surprised and shocked," Gonzalez told The Key Play. "I didn't know how to react. I had so much energy.

"I thought I was going to have to take a few more visits and at least go to camp to even have a chance at getting an offer."

The Hokies are among a bevy of Power Five schools to recently throw their hat in the ring for the Eastern Alamance HS (Mebane, NC) offensive tackle. N.C. State offered at the end of March. Duke, Wake Forest, Minnesota, Purdue, Tech, and Vanderbilt followed suit in May.

"Over the past three weeks it's kind of been a rollercoaster," said head coach John Kirby on the influx of schools keen enough on Gonzalez to swing by Eastern Alamance for a visit. According to Kirby, Tech OL coach Vance Vice attended a workout last Tuesday and the Hokies offered the following day.

"(Vice) just said he really liked the the way I moved when he evaluated me at practice," Gonzalez said.

Kirby concurs with that assessment.

"We try to utilize our tackles a lot in running what we call our dart play," said Kirby. "We'll pull our tackle to the play-side from the back-side; try to lead up on a linebacker. He does a good job of pulling and letting our quarterback and running backs get in front of him.

"He also does a good job of setting the edge. He's a very aggressive player. You talk to him, it's kind of like a gentle giant, 'Yes, sir. No, sir.'" Kind of quiet, don't say much, then you get to the game itself and it's almost like he flips a switch. I think he's a very aggressive player. He plays until the whistle blows."

In a word, Gonzalez summed up his favorite part of playing in the trenches — "Pancakes".

Kirby believes Gonzalez's long and lean frame is ideal for a collegiate strength program to mold into a tackle at the next-level. Although, Kirby noted Gonzalez will need to continue to address his feet and refine his posture before he's ready for the increased speed of the college game.

"He has got to improve on playing lower," Kirby said. "I think he plays high. In high school, being 6-5, 280 sometimes you can get by playing high because the guy in front of you is not as strong, is not as talented. ...

"But I think that's common too with a lot of high school offensive linemen."

Gonzalez is currently unranked by the major recruiting services. That may be an oversight, rather than an indictment of his ability. Gonzalez became a full-time starter last season, his junior campaign. Kirby explained 9th and 10th graders typically play JV football for Eastern Alamance, a program-first strategy he admitted may not result in the best players always on the varsity squad.

"Gabe is not a selfish guy," Kirby said about Gonzalez possibly being motivated by waiting his turn. "He's not a me guy. He's always been a team guy. To be honest with you, I don't know if he even knew any better. Because that's just what he was told and he respected it."

Gonzalez plans to make a decision this summer. He told The Key Play Vice wants him to visit Blacksburg again, and the Hokies are in his top three. He's weighing his suitors' offering of: education, football, and relationships.

"Before all this recruiting stuff heated up, he spoke of Virginia Tech, he spoke of Duke, he spoke of N.C. State, he spoke of East Carolina," Kirby said.

"I think he's in a whirlwind right now. I think he don't know which way to turn, and he's just going to have to figure it out,' Kirby added.