Virginia Tech has put together a large, impressive 2018 recruiting class with 18 commits so far headlined by four-star WRs Tre Turner and Darryle Simmons. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech hasn't gotten a 2019 commit yet but it only seems like a matter of time especially with Virginia Tech's big BBQ recruiting event coming up in a couple of weeks.
Leading up to that big recruiting event, we will take a position-by-position look at Virginia Tech recruiting for the 2018 and 2019 classes starting with quarterback.
VT Set at QB for 2018
If you haven't seen, Virginia Tech is set at quarterback for the 2018 class with Elite 11 QB Quincy Patterson and DMV athlete DeJuan Ellis. With Patterson and Ellis both being strong in their commitments, the only QB targets left will be for preferred walk-on spots. Over the past several weeks, Patterson has made a name for himself impressing coaches and analysts at the Elite 11 competition and The Opening, proving how he is much better than his three-star ratings suggest. His junior tape also agrees with the assessment that he should be a consensus four-star and top 200 national recruit as the Chicago QB has a great arm and very good accuracy for a QB of his age. Patterson also has a good amount of poise in the pocket and does well at keeping his eyes down the field and finding an open receiver even at times when it looks like he's about to run. Patterson also has the speed and agility to make some plays happen with his legs and be a dual-threat guy though he definitely doesn't have speed like a Lamar Jackson. However, Patterson is plenty capable to make plays with his legs whether that be on read options, QB scrambles, or making throws on the run. Patterson has also become the biggest recruiter among VT's commits this cycle taking major ownership of this class and being very active on Twitter while consistently standing strong in his commitment even when some speculated if Penn State could make a push after losing Justin Fields. Patterson has a bright future as VT has a strong long-term QB depth chart with Josh Jackson, Hendon Hooker, and Patterson though Patterson definitely could be challenged by VT's other QB commit and one of the Mid-Atlantic's fastest high school football players, DeJuan Ellis. Ellis is more raw than Patterson as a quarterback prospect but he has the arm talent that makes you wonder why he isn't also pushing to be a four-star QB. Ellis has some work to do with his throwing mechanics while his arm isn't as strong as Patterson, but Ellis will definitely push Patterson especially with the speed and agility that make him look like the high school version of Lamar Jackson at times. However, Ellis could also get on the field in Blacksburg a way othet than QB due to his great speed and agility that helps make him a great athlete. Slot receiver would definitely be a possibility for Ellis as he has the speed to get separation quickly and the agility to make guys miss and turn a moderate gain into a big play or a touchdown. Ellis also seems quite willing to move away from QB at the collegiate level after recommitting to the Hokies as an athlete though Ellis would likely prefer to start at QB and see if he can get ahead of Patterson on the depth chart. Ellis did decommit from the Hokies at one point, but he's rock solid with VT now after recommitting to the Hokies days after his decommitment. Justin Fuente has continued to find and get talented quarterbacks recruits with Quincy Patterson and DeJuan Ellis being the latest great QB finds for Fuente alongside Jerod Evans and Hendon Hooker.Couple Early 2019 QB Targets
According to 247 Sports, Virginia Tech has only offered two 2019 quarterbacks so far in Jalon Jones and Taquan Roberson. For now, those 2 quarterbacks are at the top of the board though that list will likely change and grow as more evaluations are done this fall. However, both of these guys are likely to stay around the top of the board. Jalon Jones is definitely a name to watch as he recently moved from Richmond to Baltimore so he is still in the Mid-Atlantic region while also having Virginia connections. Jones already has a very good offer list that includes Virginia Tech, Alabama, UCLA, Mississippi State, Colorado, Indiana, and Virginia. The Hokies were the second to offer Jones, who visited this past spring and worked out at VT's Richmond satellite camp weeks after being offered. Jones is definitely at the top of the board for VT, but is already a national recruit with an Alabama offer that came not long after his VT offer along with offers from Pac-12 schools like UCLA and Colorado. However, the Hokies are likely to be a serious contender for Jones with VT being the major regional power involved here. Taquan Roberson is the Hokies' other 2019 QB offer as he has 6 other offers from North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, Wake Forest, Boston College, and Rutgers. VT has had some past success in New Jersey and were also the second to offer Roberson after in-state Rutgers. Roberson already appears on his way to being a double-digit offer QB, but VT definitely should be seen as a likely contender especially with some of their past success in New Jersey and how they've made the state a fairly high priority hosting satellite camps back-to-back years there. One other name to keep an eye on as Virginia's highest-rated 2019 QB is Brendon Clark out of Richmond. Clark only has one offer from Maryland currently, but VT will likely keep a close eye on him this fall especially with him already having a power 5 offer. The Hokies are done with quarterback recruiting for 2018 while 2019 QB recruiting is just getting under way with VT already having a pair of top targets.Stay up with The Tech Lunch Pail for the latest on the Hokies via Facebook and Twitter plus subscribe to our email updates.
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