Photo Credit: Harley Taylor
With August 1st comes schools sending out official offers to rising seniors with Virginia Tech having the coolest-looking ones in our view. Additionally, the Hokies also enter August with lots of momentum after landing three-star DE Cole Nelson yesterday, their sixth and final commit for July.
However, that's not the only major recruiting news so here are some of the other latest Virginia Tech football recruiting notes.
3* WR Skyler Bell
Virginia Tech may have three wide receivers already committed, but they continue to be quite high on the talent of three-star WR Skyler Bell from Connecticut and remain a top contender in his recruitment.
Bell told us that the Hokies are among five programs currently standing out in his recruitment along with Wisconsin, Iowa, West Virginia, and Rutgers. Additionally, Bell told us that the Hokies are among the two recruiting him the hardest currently along with Wisconsin, another sign that Tech is very high on Bell.
Head coach Justin Fuente and WRs coach Jafar Williams are continuing to lead the charge for Bell as Tech seems to see Bell as a potential extra WR addition that would almost certainly wrap up their full WR class. Bell would bring plenty of talent and versatility similar to Jaylen Jones, fitting well in a WR class headlined by Jones, jumbo WR Tray Curry, and slot WR prospect Da'Wain Lofton.
We'll have more on Skyler Bell and his recruitment soon as Tech continues to prioritize the talented Northeast prospect.
3* OT Rayvon Crum
Virginia Tech is continuing to evaluate offensive linemen with Pinson, AL offensive tackle Rayvon Crum being among those players.
Crum told us that he has been hearing some from Virginia Tech recently. The 6'5'', 340-pound offensive lineman told us that his conversations with the Hokies have been "good" so far with Crum being intrigued to see if Tech's interest increases especially after receiving a follow on Twitter from VT OL coach Vance Vice.
Crum has built up a solid offer list that includes the likes of West Virginia, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Kansas, East Carolina, USF, and others. Additionally, Crum told us that the Hokies are among a few Power 5 programs who have shown interest but not offered him just yet along with Auburn, South Carolina, and Kentucky.
Crum definitely has the size that you want in an offensive lineman though without being able to do in-person evaluations, it may be a challenge for teams to see how much of that is good weight or not.
There is an interesting recruiting connection that likely will intrigue Tech fans as Crum is teammates with one of VT's top remaining offensive targets, three-star RB Kenji Christian. It's unknown if landing Crum or Christian would impact landing the other, but it's definitely something that could be worth monitoring should the Hokies choose to offer Crum.
DB Zi'Kef Johnson
With his core GPA now "well above the minimum", South Carolina DB Zi'Kef Johnson is starting to see his recruitment really take off.
Johnson told us that CBs coach Ryan Smith has recently reached out to him as the Hokies begin to seriously evaluate the Blythewood, SC cornerback. Tech isn't alone either in their interest as Charlotte has already offered him while he is also receiving interest from Maryland, Kansas State, N.C. State, Syracuse, Houston, Temple, Appalachian State, Western Kentucky, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and Miami (OH) in addition to VT.
This shouldn't come as a surprise as Johnson had a strong junior season as he told us he had 42 tackles including 4 for loss, 6 interceptions, 12 pass breakups, and 1 blocked field goal that won a game for his team. Additionally, his strong season earned him first team honors at the conference and regional levels in his area.
We will have more on Johnson soon, but it's clear that Tech is looking at adding one more DB this cycle with the Blythewood, SC cornerback under heavy consideration.
