Virginia Tech sent out a few new offers to cornerbacks yesterday including one to Wake Forest transfer JJ Roberts.
Blessed to receive an offer from Virginia Tech! pic.twitter.com/5MNsioDGVH
— JJ Roberts (@JJrobe12) December 16, 2022
Roberts had this to say about his reaction to receiving an offer from the Hokies.
"Just feel really blessed to have the opportunity to play there, super stoked," Roberts said.
The offer came via Virginia Tech grad assistant AJ Hampton who has been working primarily with defensive backs and has been an initial point of contact in some of these DB transfer recruitments.
Virginia Tech becomes one of three notable Power 5s to be heavily involved in his recruitment with Virginia recently offering him as well and Roberts recently visiting West Virginia. Memphis and Appalachian State are among several other notable programs to have offered Roberts so far.
Roberts generating Power 5 interest shouldn't come as a surprise after being a rotational cornerback for Wake Forest the past two years playing over 500 snaps while having 41 tackles, 1 interception, and 10 pass breakups during 2021 and 2022. He had a career high 7 pass breakups this past season despite only playing in 9 games for Wake Forest.
While some of his numbers were up, he did not grade out as well this past season in Pro Football Focus as he did in 2021 though he definitely has shown plenty of upside at the ACC level grading above 70 in coverage and overall during 2021. Part of that may have been adjusting to a defense that may not have suited his skill set as well after Wake Forest made a defensive coordinator change last offseason hiring Brad Lambert.
Roberts is a good tackler and would fit very well in the nickel spot with the talent to develop into a starting cornerback in 2024 as a player who has two years of eligibility remaining. Given the fact that Tech's nickel usually played 25-40 snaps this past season, there would be plenty of opportunity to play significant snaps in Blacksburg in that role.
So how does this offer impact Roberts' recruitment and where the Hokies stand in it?
"It’s up there at the top of my list along with a couple other schools and I’ve got a lot to think about now which is definitely a good thing," Roberts said.
Keep an eye on JJ Roberts as the Hokies look to add another DB who can at least fill the nickel role with Jalen Stroman poised to slide into a starting safety spot in 2023.
