We resume our position-by-position look at Virginia Tech football recruiting for the 2024 and 2025 classes in the trenches on the offensive line. You can check out the rest of our stories at the links below.
Virginia Tech saw a big change along the offensive line this offseason with Joe Rudolph leaving to take the OL coach job at Notre Dame and Ron Crook taking over the staff opening. Rudolph was known for an extremely high hit rate on recruits that he had offered which had more for a very small board relative to most position groups.
Crook has much more of a traditional approach in many ways in terms of the volume of offers he sends out relative to other Power 5 offensive line coaches. Tech's board has definitely evolved a decent amount since the departure of Rudolph with some new names emerging.
An Evolving 2024 Board
Any conversation regarding offensive line recruiting this cycle starts with one of the better in-state offensive line recruiting classes in recent memory.
The big name on the board was four-star OT Fletcher Westphal out of Northern Virginia, but the Hokies missed a top 5 which included Georgia, Clemson, Florida, Auburn, and Arkansas.
However, there's another big time Northern Virginia target in three-star OL Mason Wade out of Loudon Valley HS in Purcellville, VA. Virginia Tech made the top 5 for Wade along with Auburn, North Carolina, Duke, and Boston College earlier this month while he is also has locked in an official visit to VT on June 23rd-25th, two weeks after an official to Duke. The Hokies are clearly in a good spot with Wade who has been a top OL target for a while regardless of the OL coach and would be a strong in-state pickup.
Three-star OL DJ Toliver out of Lord Botetourt HS less than an hour away from Blacksburg is another priority in-state target for the Hokies. Toliver has visited Virginia Tech multiple times and comes from a school that has been a VT pipeline in some ways in the trenches with the Hokies having three LB alums on scholarship in Jesse Hanson, Gunner Givens, and Hunter McLain.
Both Wade and Toliver have similar size around 6'5'' that could seem them work at either guard or tackle at the collegiate level.
One in-state guy who clearly projects at offensive tackle first is three-star Keyonte Arrington out of Norfolk's Lake Taylor HS. Arrington was one of the first offers for new OL coach Ron Crook and has quickly become a high priority with Arrington set to take an official visit to the Hokies on June 23rd-25th. Though Arrington doesn't have plans to make a decision anytime soon, Virginia Tech has quickly put themselves in a good position.
Looking at offensive tackles high on Tech's board outside of Virginia, there are two guys who stick out the most among the numerous new offers since the arrival of Ron Crook: Aidan Lynch and Terez Davis.
Aidan Lynch out of New Jersey has set up three official visits including one to Virginia Tech on June 9th-11th along with Vanderbilt on the third weekend of June and Georgia on the fourth weekend of June. Lynch has seen his recruitment explode yet the Hokies, who hosted him on a visit this spring, seem to be a strong contender though Georgia is obviously a big issue if he is a take for the Bulldogs which is a reasonable question to ask.
Three-star OT Terez Davis out of DeMatha Catholic has set a Virginia Tech official visit for the fourth weekend of June. This currently is setting up to be a three-way battle between the Hokies, Georgia Tech, and Syracuse though I think VT is currently the favorite to land his commitment as long as Tech has room which I would expect. The relationship between him and RBs coach Elijah Brooks is probably the main reason why the Hokies are in a strong position for Davis.
One other wild card in terms of potential or true offensive tackles who has been extremely quiet is three-star OL Cam'Ron Warren out of Chesapeake, VA. Warren is considered a top 15 recruit in Virginia this cycle, but he has been extremely quiet about his recruitment so it's unclear where Tech really stands for him.
There have been a lot of new offers beyond this group for offensive linemen in general so don't be surprised to see this board continue to evolve and change. Among the most notable tackles or potential tackles we have our eyes on beyond this list include Tyler West and Trent Mitchell out of North Carolina, Mason Lindsey out of Maryland (more of an interest resurgence here), and CJ Williams out of Massachusetts.
In terms of true interior offensive line targets, three-star Moritz Schmoranzer out of Roanoke's North Cross School by way of Germany was a guy that we had our eyes on in what was a battle between Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He has since widened his recruitment with Pittsburgh among the new schools involved.
There have been some new offers recently including two to recruits in the state of Georgia in three-star Khalil House and Isaac Cannizzaro who has received eight offers since May 8th including four from Power 5 schools. Ryan Howerton out of Maryland is another recent offer who would seem more likely to project on the interior.
Of course, it shouldn't be a surprise that offensive tackle is the emphasis given Virginia Tech's current OL depth situation. It's also easier to move an offensive tackle inside compared to moving an interior OL outside so leaning more heavily on tackles makes sense in general.
Some Big Targets Emerging for 2025
Obviously, the 2025 offensive line recruiting board will evolve a lot in the coming months especially as Ron Crook continues to do more evaluation on the 2025 class.
One guy who is a clear top overall offensive target (not just OL) for the 2025 class is four-star Jaylen Gilchrist out of Virginia Beach's Salem HS. The 757 standout is one of the top interior offensive lineman in the 2025 class and has visited Virginia Tech previously though it will be important for the Hokies to get him back on campus and around new OL coach Ron Crook.
Another guy who is a big time target is four-star Jayvon McFadden out of Maryland. McFadden is also one of the most talented interior offensive lineman in the 2025 class and was on campus earlier in 2024. Joe Rudolph seemed to put Tech in the hunt in his recruitment getting him on campus earlier this calendar year though it'll be interesting to see if the Hokies can build on that with Rudolph now at Notre Dame.
To wrap up the interior OL before jumping back to offensive tackle, Grayson Reid out of Washington D.C. is a recent VT offer who looks like a guy to keep an eye on for the 2025 class.
At tackle, there have been four interesting offers that Ron Crook has sent out as 2025 evaluations have begun. We start in-state with Easton Ware out of Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg. The Hokies are the most notable offer at the moment with Baylor and Liberty also on his offer list.
Eidan Buchanan absolutely profiles as an offensive tackle at 6'8'' with the Hokies being the most notable offer with Boston College among the others to have offered.
Heading farther north, Matawan, NJ standout Jayden Elijah has received 4 Power 5 offers this month from Virginia Tech, Florida State, Michigan State, and Nebraska with Boston College also on his offer list.
Up in Connecticut, three-star OT Will Black has built up a strong early offer list that includes Virginia Tech, Michigan, Penn State, Texas A&M, Miami, Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Stanford, Maryland, Syracuse, and more.
Obviously, the 2025 offensive line board will certainly grow more, but these are definitely some early targets to keep an eye on as that cycle starts to kick into gear.
