Accident in the Rearview, Lakeem Rudolph Commits to the Hokies

Fractured jaw. Fractured back. Three-day hospital stay. Recruitment stalled.

Last November, while crossing the road before a charity basketball event, Lakeem Rudolph was struck by a car. Green Run HS coach Brandon Williams detailed his account of the incident.

"The accident happened right across the street from our school, and literally, I was one of the ones first to see him on the scene," remembered Williams. "How bad it was."

"I'm going to always feel the pain," Rudolph noted.

The outcome could have been much worse, but for Rudolph, a talented 2020 prospect with the measurables and ability to warrant Power Five offers, it pumped the brakes on what should have been an accelerating recruitment.

"Everybody heard about the car accident," said Williams. "Each coach that I've talked to, that's probably one of the first questions they ask me, 'How's he doing? What was the deal with the car accident?' and all that."