Virginia Tech Football Recruiting Notes 8/13/20

Photo Credit: Harley Taylor

Check out the latest Virginia Tech football recruiting notes including an update on a previous transfer target plus a look at a pair of 2022 recruits.

Northern Iowa CB Xavior Williams

Northern Iowa CB Xavior Williams has confirmed to us that he has removed his name from the transfer portal. This was first reported by 247 Sports.

Williams told us that he plans to focus on completing his degree this fall and then deciding whether to transfer for a final season in 2021, or move on and pursue his NFL career. That combined with the Big 10 and Pac-12 postponing their seasons led to his decisions.

The Hokies showed a good amount of interest in Williams along with multiple other Power 5 programs, but the high likelihood that he would not be immediately eligible led to Power 5 interest stalling out in most cases.

If Williams does decide to transfer after he completes his degree at Northern Iowa, it wouldn't be surprising to see many previous suitors pursue him once again including Virginia Tech given his talent.

It could also be a favorable situation for Big 10 and Pac-12 schools who showed interest in him like Iowa and Utah who could give him an opportunity to play in the spring, if they are able to pull that off, and then go straight to the 2021 NFL Draft rather than have to wait to the fall of 2021 to return to the field, putting himself in the 2022 NFL Draft cycle.

2022 3* CB Akim Sledge

2022 three-star CB Akim Sledge told us that two teams are currently standing out in his recruitment, Virginia Tech and Penn State.

Sledge's credit the major push that CBs coach Ryan Smith has made in his recruitment as a main reason for why the Hokies are standing out in his recruitment. Sledge's recruitment is the latest example of how Ryan Smith appears to be one of VT's better recruiters with a bright future ahead of him.

Penn State is also pushing hard for Sledge currently as they continue to prioritize Virginia as one of their top recruiting territories. Sledge has also received several other Power 5 offers but for the time being, PSU and VT have appeared to separate themselves a little from that group.

2022 4* QB Gavin Wimsatt

Four-star QB Gavin Wimsatt out of Owensboro, KY has emerged as one of Virginia Tech's top QB targets in the 2022 class with the Hokies gaining some traction early on.

Wimsatt told us that he is contact with Virginia Tech on a weekly basis via offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen. He added that he has built a "good" relationship with Cornelsen and that's he's "hoping to keep building it" going forward.

There's no doubt that Tech will face plenty of challenges in their pursuit of Wimsatt especially with in-state schools like Kentucky and Louisville involved in his recruitment. However, Wimsatt did tell us that he doesn't have any schools currently standing out in his recruitment with Tech clearly having an opportunity with him.

Tech hasn't recruited the state of Kentucky much, but they have made a big splash there before for a top recruit landing four-star OL Bryan Hudson during the 2019 recruiting cycle.

Wimsatt hasn't been the most-talked about QB with Tech in the 2022 class, but it's becoming clearer that he is a top QB target.