Hokie Football: Rackin' Up Recruits

With Virginia Tech's official summer training sessions just around the corner, and the Northeastern season opener looming in the near future, it's safe to say that the Hokies' coaching staff has been extremely busy over the past month, with perhaps no bigger testament to this statement being the recent results produced by VT strong safety and outside linebacker coach, Jim Cavanaugh.

Cavanaugh, currently going on his 10th year with the program, also serves as the team's recruiting coordinator, a title he earned back in 2002. His full acquiring of the job was undoubtedly a direct result of the major role he played in bringing Michael Vick to come play for the Orange and Maroon. Cavanaugh's current list of other recruits he has brought into Blacksburg doesn't look too shabby either, as in addition to Vick, he has landed the talents of 2004 ACC Player of the Year Bryan Randall, both Nathaniel and Xavier Adibi, plus standout defensive linemen Jonathan Lewis and Chris Ellis.

Lately though, Cavanaugh has been on a roll in attracting new talent to the Burg, as the coach has been racking up a boatload of recruits -- an ACC-leading 21 to be exact, with 19 of those recruits coming throughout the month of July.

Since acquiring quarterback sensation Tyrod Taylor on July 22, eight additional recruits have declared their verbal commitments to Virginia Tech, with the following four having announced their decision during just yesterday alone:

Name	Position	Stars	Height	Weight	40	Hometown	State	Status
Ellison, Rhett	TE	* * *	6-5	230	N/A	Mountain View	CA	VT Commit
Latif, Khalil	OL	* * *	6-3	290	4.92	Midlothian	VA	VT Commit
Prince, Courtney	DE	Pending	6-2	260	5.0	Brandywine	MD	VT Commit
Tweedy, Alonzo	DB	* *	6-1	173	4.5	Richmond	VA	VT Commit

After having to endure all the controversy, speculation, and let-downs over this past year with VT, Hokie readers should be relieved to see things starting to come together for the program, especially in regards to the team's recruiting practices and success. Tech's roster future is shaping up in a promising fashion, with the potential for several more big name recruits to declare themselves future Hokies highly likely to occur.

All in all, things couldn't be going any better for Cavanaugh and his 2006 recruiting campaign, except perhaps for the factoring in of a successful regular season, conference title win and Bowl Game victory.

But all that happening is purely another story, and good enough to cause a migraine. Let's just take this time to focus on the good news rolling in for VT, and save the headaches for later.