Our position-by-position Virginia Tech football recruiting breakdowns continue as we move to tight end. You can check out the rest of our recruiting breakdowns at the links below.
As is well-documented, the offensive staff shakeup saw plenty of shifts including Stu Holt moving from coaching RBs to TEs.
A Wide Open 2024 Board
The 2024 tight end recruiting board really feels wide open at this moment as many of the tight ends that were at the top of the board have either committed elsewhere or potentially have faded down the board. Meanwhile, we've seen plenty of new offers go out recently during the spring evaluation window as Tech clearly seem to be heavily evaluating where things stand at TE this cycle.
Let's start with a not so recent offer in three-star Willie Rodriguez out of Covington, KY who has emerged as one of Tech's top tight end targets over the past couple months. Rodriguez was on campus this past spring with his visit going quite well as he discussed with us here.
Three-star ATH Cameron Clark out of Medina, TN is an intriguing two-way prospect who some see as a LB first and others view as a better TE prospect. The Hokies have tended towards tight end for Clark who was on campus for an elite Junior Day in January having a great visit as he discussed with us here.
One of the first offers after the offensive staff shakeup back in March to an offensive recruit went to three-star TE Aiden Black out of Millford, PA. Black is an intriguing h-back style prospect who may not have a great size, but has been a steady HS player to date.
There have also been a few intriguing offers of late that have been sent out to the Sunshine State and the Midwest.
In Florida, Tech recently offered three-star Benjamin Blackburn out of Miami and Timothy Lawson out of Fort Myers. Things are fairly straightforward with Blackburn while Lawson is also a very talented baseball prospect who is currently to UCF on the diamond and has an "8" grade from Perfect Game which is in many ways equivalent to a four-star rating.
Meanwhile in the Midwest, Tech extended an offer to three-star Karsen Konkel out of Pinckneyville, Illinois. Konkel's recruitment has exploded in April as the spring evaluation period has fully got going landing offers from Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Boston College, Illinois, and Indiana among the Power 5 ranks.
The tight end board feels the most wide open of any position at the moment for Virginia Tech as the Hokies look to bring in likely 1-2 tight ends this cycle.
Still Early for the 2025 Cycle
With the 2024 TE recruiting board still in flux and tight end not always having a lot of early clear standouts, the 2025 tight end board is still one that is coming together. However, there are a couple offers that are out and names to keep an eye on.
The most notable name to watch is four-star Ryan Ghea out of Alpharetta, GA. Ghea took a visit to Blacksburg back in early April with that being a "really good" visit as he told us. There's no doubt that Ghea is going to be a tough battle for all schools involved as his offer list includes Virginia Tech, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan State, NC State, Auburn, Duke, North Carolina, Colorado, and more.
Four-star Eli Owens out of Alcoa, TN has an impressive offer list like Ghea and was on campus this past spring. His visit "went well" as he told us and given how the Hokies have had some early success in east Tennessee on the recruiting trail, Owens definitely is someone to keep an eye on.
Four-star ATH Gus Ritchey is an intriguing tight end and defensive end prospect who was on campus earlier this spring as well. He also isn't from too far away in Pittsboro, NC west of Raleigh which can absolutely help the Hokies' chances compared to non-North Carolina ACC schools.
There are some clear top targets on the early tight end board for the 2025 class, but there will likely be more names to come as the TE board gets built out further.
