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Virginia Tech Makes the Top 5 for Three-Star RB Marcus Caldwell

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After signing Jalen Holston and Terius Wheatley in the 2017 class and no running backs in the 2016 class, the Hokies are looking to bring in at least a pair of running backs in the 2018 class. Virginia Tech also is making the state of North Carolina a high priority on the recruiting trail in 2018 with VT launching the #NC2VT as they look to bring a large group of 2018 recruits from the Tar Heel State. The good news is that the Hokies are in good shape for a top RB target out of North Carolina. https://twitter.com/techlunchpaild/status/869360651327635457 Three-star RB Marcus Caldwell released his top 5 which included Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Louisville, North Carolina, and Purdue with Caldwell telling us that he plans to visit his whole top 5 this summer. Caldwell currently has 7 offers from his top 5 plus ECU and Charlotte though the lower number of offers may be in part due to the fact that Caldwell already has a strong group at the top that other schools don't believe they can get into. Caldwell also gave us a few reasons why each school in his top 5 made the cut.
  • Virginia Tech: "Tradition and culture"
  • Tennessee: "Tradition, History"
  • North Carolina: In-state, staff, academics
  • Louisville: "Staff"
  • Purdue: "Coaching staff"
Caldwell is fairly well-rated all-around as a three-star recruit with Rivals having him as the 19th best all-purpose back, 247 Sports having him as the 50th best running back, and the 247 Sports Composite having him as the 49th best RB. Caldwell is also fairly well-regarded in North Carolina with Rivals and the 247 Sports Composite ranking him 29th in North Carolina and 247 Sports ranking him 26th. Virginia Tech appears to have Caldwell high on their RB board and making a big push for him with Caldwell telling us that Virginia Tech is recruiting him the hardest. The Hokies' big push for him appears to be paying off with Caldwell telling us that the coach he has the best relationship with is VT DL coach Charley Wiles while also having a great relationship with VT Director of Player Personnel Chuck Cantor. The Hokies have been interested in Caldwell for a while after offering him last June and have persistently continued to push for the talented running back who is also teammates with five-star DE KJ Henry who VT definitely has at the top of their board for the Class of 2018 as a whole. However, it seems clear that the Hokies' interest in Caldwell is about his own talent as a running back and not about trying to get a teammate of one of America's top 2018 recruits though getting Caldwell would likely help VT in their pursuit of Henry in addition to Caldwell being a quality RB. At this point, Virginia Tech appears to be the favorite though Tennessee and North Carolina definitely continue to loom large as schools that offered Caldwell before the Hokies did along with UNC being the in-state school and Tennessee having rich football tradition. Virginia Tech has emerged as the frontrunner for one of their top running back targets in Marcus Caldwell due largely to the Hokies making a significant push that isn't going unnoticed by the Clemmons, NC tailback.

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