Our breakdown of the Virginia Tech football recruiting six months into the Brent Pry era continues today as we take a look at the running back position. Check out the other pieces we've already done right below this prior to jumping into the RB board.
Plenty of Names To Watch in 2023
Virginia Tech doesn't have a 2023 running back on board just yet, but there are plenty of names that the Hokies are involved with some more prominent names that have provided some recent insights to where things stand, and others who have gone more quiet recently with their recruitment.
Four-star RB Marquese Williams is where this list has to start after Virginia Tech made the top 7 for the Bishop McDevitt (PA) standout out of Harrisburg, PA where Brent Pry had plenty of recruiting success at Penn State most prominently with Micah Parsons. Of course, recruiting a PA kid at Penn State and battling Penn State (who made his top 7) for a standout player on their turf are two different things, but Pry along with OL coach and run game coordinator Joe Rudolph have plenty of ties in PA.
Tech and Penn State were joined by Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Iowa, and Louisville so plenty of big schools are involved with Minnesota having an official scheduled per On3.
Tech does have a commitment from Williams' teammate Gabriel Arena, a three-star OL, with Arena being public at times via social media in his recruitment of Williams to Blacksburg. While that shouldn't be overestimated, that's a small that could help the Hokies though it'll also be important for Tech to get him on campus for an official visit.
Three-star RB Durell Robinson out of Baltimore powerhouse St Frances has also emerged as a top target at RB for the Hokies with Robinson visiting Tech multiple times since Brent Pry's arrival in January and May. Offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen has also been leading the charge in his recruitment with Bowen being one of Tech's primary DMV recruiters especially of the numerous powerhouse private schools.
Robinson has told us that he has plans to take officials to Boston College and Rutgers while also taking visits to Louisville and Georgia Tech. Robinson's recruitment is definitely an interesting one, and it would be of benefit to Tech to get him on campus for an official though the schools he has officials to are ones he has visited less than Tech.
There are a pair of in-state RBs who are names to keep an eye starting with three-star Ike Daniels out of Mountain View HS in Stafford, VA. Daniels visited Virginia Tech back in January with Tech looking like a contender coming off of that visit. Since then, things have been pretty quiet though he did also visit South Carolina back in January so the Gamecocks may be a school to watch.
Looking for the definition of a quiet recruitment, look no farther than three-star 757 RB Peyton Jones who did visit Virginia Tech for the Spring Game along with an April visit to Kentucky according to On3. Outside of that, things have been quiet surrounding Jones though he is definitely one of the top 757 recruits in the 2023 class.
Three-star ATH Thomas Williams out of South Carolina is an intriguing player who plays RB and safety for his high school. More notable is the fact that Williams has tweeted out plans to take an official visit to Virginia Tech this upcoming weekend so while it's unclear if Williams is seen as a RB, DB, or something else; he is a recruit to keep an eye on.
London Montgomery out of Scranton, PA is another name that has been quieter among the RBs, but Rivals previously reported that he had plans to visit Tech while he also mentioned the Hokies in a Twitter interview with Montgomery along with Penn State and Boston College.
Penn State, Virginia Tech and Boston College are among the schools in the mix for three-star RB London Montgomery @LondonMontgom11@adamgorney caught up with him to get the latest on his recruitment 👇 pic.twitter.com/4km6x6rdkQ
— Rivals (@Rivals) May 13, 2022
Beyond that, Tech did make a top 8 for three-star RB DeSean Bishop out of Tennessee though there's not much more known about Bishop and the Hokies. Three-star ATH Tralon Mitchell out of Southern Nash HS in NC has visited Virginia Tech previously for the Spring Game per On3.
The running back board does feel fairly wide open with the Hokies likely to take 1-2 RBs this cycle though Marquese Williams, Durell Robinson, and Thomas Williams are all clearly high on the board for Tech with Ike Daniels, London Montgomery, and Peyton Jones being under-the-radar guys who may be higher on the Tech board than realized.
2024 Remains Wide Open
Looking ahead to the 2024 cycle, Virginia Tech's RB board still appears to be in the developmental phase with the Hokies not having a lot of offers out at the moment.
One of the more notable offers is to three-star Hopewell HS standout Kesean Henderson who is the brother of former five-star recruit and current Ohio State star RB TreVeyon Henderson.
The Hokies also have offers out to four-star RB Dilin Jones from Olney, MD along with Durell Robinson's RB teammate at St Frances, three-star RB Dejuan Williams. Given the staff's footprint focus along with the DMV ties of coaches like Tyler Bowen, both of those running backs look like names to watch.
Four-star ATH Jonathan Paylor and Chattanooga ATH Boo Carter are a couple other VT offers who could be potential RB targets though they could also be considered for other positions in the 2024 cycle.
In some ways, the 2025 board may technically be slightly clearer with Lynchburg area standout Gideon Davidson emerging as a top future priority regardless of position for Tech who has an offer list that includes Virginia Tech, Penn State, Tennessee, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Louisville, UVA, and Liberty.
