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Hokies Recruiting: Virginia Tech's Pursuit of Former Rutgers DT Commit Jarrod Hewitt

The Virginia Tech Hokies have built a fairly deep class at many key offensive positions while also getting multiple linebacker and defensive back commits. However, the Hokies have struggled to gain commitments from defensive linemen with three-star DE Jimmie Taylor and three-star DT Clay Dean being Virginia Tech's only two defensive line commits right now. However, the Hokies are the favorites for a defensive tackle for Florida. Three-star defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt of Venice High School in Venice, Florida recently decommitted from Rutgers and is planning on visiting Virginia Tech soon. Hewitt currently has 18 offers from a list that includes Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Purdue, UCF, Marshall, USF, Temple, and East Carolina. Hewitt is seen as a three-star recruit across all three main sites (ESPN, Rivals, 247 Sports) with ESPN ranking him as the 53rd best defensive tackle, and the 247 Sports Composite ranking as the 81st best defensive tackle. Hewitt is ranked as the 122nd best player in the Sunshine State by ESPN, and 196th best in Florida by the 247 Sports Composite. In his decommitment, Hewitt did mention that Rutgers was still a top contender for his commitment, but the Hokies have been pushing for a while to get him and are now the favorites. However, Pittsburgh and Indiana both could be schools to still keep an eye on with Indiana off to a 4-0 start and Pittsburgh having Pat Narduzzi as their head coach. In the case of Indiana, the Hoosiers have not played a very tough schedule so far, but have the chance to make a statement if they can keep it interesting for most of the game against Ohio State. The lack of pedigree for the Hoosiers does hurt them still, along with the proximity to home of Big 10 games not being near the state of Florida. The reputation of Narduzzi is very good along with the fact that the Panthers produced DT Aaron Donald. However, the Panthers have a lot of catch-up to do, and this is still likely a two-team race between the Hokies and Rutgers. Rutgers is a mess right now with multiple players getting kicked off the team and head coach Kyle Flood getting suspended for three games. Flood may not survive this scandal and a coaching change would only hurt the chances of Rutgers more while the pedigree of the Scarlett Knights may become an issue with a coaching change. There are also rumbling about the Frank Beamer era potentially ending after this season, but the Hokies have a much better football pedigree than Rutgers. One thing that Rutgers will try to use to their advantage against the Hokies is the fact that early playing time will be hard to come by with Virginia Tech's tremendous defensive tackle depth. Virginia Tech's reputation on defense with Bud Foster along with Foster's contract extension should help in recruiting Hewitt given that there is a good chance Foster stays after Beamer retires whether it is as the defensive coordinator or as the head coach. For the Hokies, the big thing should be to get Hewitt on campus soon, and try to close the deal for gaining his commitment. Hewitt does not have any tape available to the public, but his size at 6'2'' and 290 pounds along with his impressive junior season of 13 sacks and over 100 tackles is a sign that Hewitt could be a steal. The Hokies have been pushing for three-star DT Jarrod Hewitt for a while, and now are the favorites. Now, it's time for Virginia Tech to get him on campus, and seal the deal for a player they have been pursuing for a while.
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