Lopsided Miami Loss Fails to Dampen Recruits' Enthusiasm

Of the Hokies many, many issues this year, it would seem that one of their biggest problems is timing.

The Hokies had quite a few talented recruits in the house to witness the team's 30-6 drubbing at the hands of the Hurricanes last week, a result that didn't exactly inspire any sudden commitments from the group in attendance.

Between Jalen Dalton, Tim Settle and Garrett Taylor, the Hokies looked limp just in time for some of their biggest remaining targets to stop by Blacksburg.

But while the result might not have been what the coaching staff was looking for, it would seem that the atmosphere in Lane Stadium did plenty to counteract the team's poor play on the field.

"I'd never been for a Thursday night game before, and it was awesome," said 2015 cornerback commit DuWayne Johnson. "People were screaming at the top of their lungs the whole time. It's one of the best entrances in college football, no doubt."

Leading up to the game, everyone from Shane Beamer to Whit Babcock begged Hokie fans to show up in force for the game, and it would seem they did not disappoint.

"We got to walk down and be with the students, and the crowd was so hyped," said 2015 CB commit Mook Reynolds. "Things did get out of hand with the game, but people stayed loud."

As much as "Enter Sandman" surely impressed the high schoolers, recruits say the crowd's commitment to the game in the face of a blowout was equally influential.

"No matter the score, everyone was still cheering," said 2016 running back offer C.J. Freeman.

While a win would've likely buoyed spirits after the game, recruits add that watching a team struggle makes it easy to envision joining the program and lending a hand.

"Every recruit thinks that way, I was definitely picturing myself out there," Freeman said. "I just thought when I saw Marshawn (Williams) fumble right on the goal line, if that had been me, I would've run that straight in."

For Johnson, getting a look at Miami's vaunted receivers only confirmed his belief that he's ready to help the Hokies.

"I always felt like, in college, the receivers were going to be way faster, but they really didn't look that fast when I was watching them," Johnson said. "I feel like I could come in and make plays right away."

As the other players envision their futures as Hokies, the recruits say that Reynolds is already busy acting the part.

"He's the head man over there, he acts like he's a player there already," Freeman said. "He's made it his home already. He goes wherever he wants, no one questions him."

Freeman and Reynolds are classmates at Greensboro, N.C.'s Northern Guilford HS, so Reynolds used his status as an early insider to help persuade the uncommitted RB.

"He took me on a mini-tour of the stadium," Freeman said. "We got to go in the locker room, I got to talk to Kendall (Fuller) and Marshawn."

Johnson joined the pair in the locker room after the game, and he says that spending time with the big group of recruits is part of what made the visit so special.

"It was fun to be down there with all them," Johnson said. "Just to hang out with Mook and the rest. We have a big group message that we all talk in, and we'd been talking about going to this Miami game for a while."

But being down with the team and the coaches after the game was diminished a bit by the fact that the staff wasn't exactly pleased with the effort they saw on the field.

"They said after that they had to play with more heart," Freeman said. "They said they saw little blips of effort, but it wasn't consistent."

Yet Freeman still saw plenty he liked from the team.

"Shane was telling me about the running backs, saying they ran zone a lot and that's their bread and butter, running the ball," Freeman said. "They're still a young team, there are lots of freshmen and sophomores, I saw lots of potential."

Surprisingly enough, he wasn't the only recruit to find some optimism about the program left from even such a lopsided loss.

"It's not demoralizing, Duke Johnson is a great back," Reynolds said. "Next time they'll be ready to be play against a guy like him."

Reynolds and Johnson are already planning future visits to Blacksburg in the hope of seeing the Hokies realize some of that potential this season.

Reynolds is heading right back to Tech for the Boston College game this weekend, while Johnson hopes to get back for the Virginia game before another potential visit in December.

As commits, it's not surprising that the pair is ready for another trip to Lane. But it's a testament to the atmosphere in Blacksburg before things turned ugly for the Hokies that Freeman is already mulling his next trip as well.

"I've got two planned visits left, the Tennessee-Kentucky game (on November 15) and the South Carolina game on November 22 (against South Alabama), but other than that I'm not sure yet," Freeman said. "But there's a very good chance I'll get back to Tech."