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Hokies Recruiting: Virginia Tech Has a Chance at Flipping Tennessee CB Commit Marquill Osborne

The Virginia Tech Hokies have been building a solid recruiting class headlined by four-star athlete Reggie Floyd and 3-star athlete Jovonn Quillen. The Hokies have the potential to see their recruiting class significantly over the next few months with the Hokies right in the hunt for plenty of top prospects including Ellison Jordan, Tino Ellis, Landon Dickerson, Ahmir Mitchell, Dwayne Haskins, Jawon Pass, and more. Recently, ESPN Insider's Gerry Hamilton spoke with Tennessee commit and 4-star cornerback Marquill Osborne about where he stood with his recruitment. In the article, Osborne mentions that while he is still committed to Tennessee, he is also looking at Florida and Virginia Tech. Osborne is a four-star cornerback from Hough High School in Charlotte, North Carolina but is originally from Florida, which is a big reason for the Gators' interest. LSU is another school he mentioned, which isn't as big of a surprise given the strong look he is giving SEC schools. Osborne is also ranked as a four-star recruit by all three major sites with the 247 Sports Composite having him ranked 216th, ESPN having him ranked 90th, and Rivals having him ranked 95th in the nation. Osborne is also one of the best recruits in North Carolina as ESPN and Rivals both have him as the state's fourth best recruit, while the 247 Sports Composite ranks him ninth. The Hokies have had their fair share of success recruiting in North Carolina and are looking to continue their success with highly-rated North Carolina by getting Landon Dickerson. However, the Hokies have a shot to get one of the best cornerbacks in the Class of 2016 in Marquill Osborne. The reputation of the Hokies for producing great defensive backs along with the fact that Virginia Tech isn't too far from Charlotte has given the Hokies a shot. Of course, Tennessee has somewhat of a proximity to home advantage over the Hokies while Florida represents a chance for Osborne to return to his home state. The Hokies also will be able to give incoming cornerbacks from the Class of 2016 a chance to get some early playing time with Kendall Fuller likely headed to the NFL Draft after this season and Donovan Riley graduating. The early playing time opportunity would grow if Chuck Clark moves to free safety though that seems less likely right now. One recruiting pitch that could hurt the Hokies a lot is the fact that the SEC is a much stronger conference than the ACC though the Hokies are likely to use how the gap in number of draft picks between the SEC and ACC is small. However, this recruiting pitch is one that will give the Hokies a lot of issues, especially with the SEC's dominant run still not being that long ago. Osborne told ESPN's Gerry Hamilton that he is looking to visit Virginia Tech over the summer. That visit will probably be where either the Hokies are able to get in the serious hunt for Osborne or where they fall out of it completely. With the decommitment of Kareem Felder, the Hokies definitely will be looking to add a couple of cornerbacks to their Class of 2016. Right now, it seems like Florida has the best chance of flipping the commitment of Marquill Osborne, but the Hokies can't be ruled out.
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