Virginia Tech received some disappointing news this evening as three-star LB Tyreem Powell, the Hokies' longest standing commit, flipped his commitment from Tech to Rutgers.
3* LB Tyreem Powell flips from Virginia Tech to Rutgers. Departure of Brian Mitchell and arrival of Greg Schiano at Rutgers opened the door for this #Hokies https://t.co/x5auFEvbRc
— The Tech Lunch Pail (@techlunchpaild) December 12, 2019
Powell's decommitment leaves the Hokies with only 9 commitments in their 2020 class and not a single linebacker commit. There's no doubt that Powell is a big loss as one of Tech's highest rated commits with great size that projected well at backer.
Powell's commitment status started to appear up in the air when Greg Schiano made his hard push to Rutgers. Additionally, Brian Mitchell's departure, Powell's primary recruiter, opened the door wider for Rutgers to finish the job and flip Powell less than a week before Early Signing Day.
The Hokies may have a lot of linebacker depth, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Tech still try to sign a linebacker in this class. One name to watch is three-star athlete Khatavian Franks who was offered earlier this week. According to 247 Sports, Franks is planning on taking an official to Georgia Tech this weekend with the Hokies likely to try to convince Franks to wait till February to sign and take an official to Tech in January.
Stay up with The Tech Lunch Pail for the latest recruiting news and notes as Early Signing Day approaches.
