Collegiate Times

Head coach Frank Beamer speaks to his players at spring practice.

Hall won’t be playing quarterback as a Hokie, though. Instead, at 6 feet 4 inches, 220 pounds, he’ll attempt to make the transition to tight end, a la former Hokie Greg Boone.

Considering his transition, Hall will certainly be labeled a project by many Hokies fans. After his commitment, some may of questioned whether or not it’s worth using a roster-space on a project like such.  

However, 24 hours later, most Hokies fans were probably happy to have him, as highly touted four-star defensive tackle Corey Marshall, Hall’s teammate at Dinwiddie, announced his commitment to the Hokies.

As the nation’s 17th ranked tackle, Marshall’s strengths are very much like those of Harley, who committed from the class in April. Both Marshall and Harley are undersized, with Marshall standing in at 6 feet 1 inch, 250-pounds, but both have the explosiveness to make up for it.

Marshall runs a 4.9 40-yard dash and according to Kennedy at Scout.com, “gets a great push off the line of scrimmage and can bull rush or speed rush an offensive lineman.” His skills allow for him to play inside or outside on the line, at defensive end.

Rounding out its recruiting class thus far, Tech added one more player to its list a day later, receiving its fifth commitment in just over a week.

On June 23, two-star defensive end Matt Roth committed to the Hokies, becoming the third highly-recruited defensive lineman to commit to Tech. His commitment solidifies the Hokies’ youth-movement along the defensive line and adds a proven pass-rusher to the mix.

Roth, from St. Augustine, Fla., is 6 feet 4 inches, 225 pounds and totaled 88 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks in his junior year at Nease High School. He chose the Hokies over scholarship offers from Air Force, Cincinnati, Illinois, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Utah.

If there was any doubt halfway through June, Hokies fans need to worry no longer.

In just eight days, Tech’s recruitment status went from red alert to cool and collected. Better yet, the Hokies addressed serious needs in the process, solidifying the future of its defensive line with athletes, and adding versatile players elsewhere.

Now, with seven players committed to donning the maroon and orange from the class of 2011, Beamer and Hokies fans can enter summer practices breathing a little easier.

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A version of this article appeared in the Jul 8 issue of the Collegiate Times.