Virginia Tech made a massive splash on the recruiting trail following their second official visit weekend of June as four-star LB Gabriel Williams out of Washington D.C. committed to the Hokies.
THIS IS HOME !! I’m a Hokie 🦃 @CoachPryVT @CoachShawnQuinn @Coach_Marve @CoachdjCheetah @CoachEBrooks @Coach_Adibi @HokiesFB #Hokies @SVPHSAthletics pic.twitter.com/dF9Y5M8Evf
— Gabriel_williams (@8kgabe1) June 11, 2023
Williams chose the Hokies over other offers from Pittsburgh (where he took an official visit last weekend), Nebraska (where he had an official scheduled), Penn State, Tennessee, Notre Dame, USC, Florida, Miami, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wake Forest, and more.
He is the first linebacker commit of this class along with being the first commit out of Washington D.C. so far this cycle though the Hokies have a pair of DMV commits in Northern Virginia 3* CB Joshua Clarke and Elkton, MD 3* DT Emmett Laws.
This is undoubtedly one of the biggest commits for Virginia Tech in recent memory in many ways. Williams was a big time linebacker target for many schools and the type of talented player that the Hokies need to start landing more often.
He is also the first Tech commit to be ranked as a four-star recruit by all of the major recruiting services since the 2019 class. The Hokies have had some overall four-star recruits who have been 4* by at least half of the recruiting services but Williams is the first to be a four-star by all four recruiting services.
Brent Pry was known for being a big time recruiter at Penn State with Pry and his staff pulling off one of their biggest commitments to date. DC/LBs coach Chris Marve, sam LBs/nickels coach Shawn Quinn, and RBs coach Elijah Brooks who has loads of strong ties in the DMV private school scene, all played valuable roles in the recruitment of Williams as this was a full staff effort.
It wasn't too long ago where Virginia Tech landing 5-7 four-star recruits per recruiting cycle was the norm including through the first few years of the Justin Fuente era. Slowly but steadily, the Hokies are trending back towards that territory with Brent Pry with this commitment being another big step in the right direction.
You can read more on why Gabriel Williams chose Virginia Tech here.
