Cornell Brown Targets Teammates OLB Chase Pine and TE Trey Neville in Rare Williamsburg Focus

Williamsburg sits in an awkward spot in Virginia for football recruiting purposes, perched between the hubs of Richmond and Virginia Beach, but the Hokies have started paying quite a bit of attention to one high school in the city.

Lafayette HS is home to a pair of rising seniors that attracted the interest of Tech OLB coach Cornell Brown in OLB Chase Pine and TE Trey Neville, and the Hokies have begun the process of selling them on the school.

Brown visited the school in mid-April to invite both to the team's spring game, and they obliged. Neville's family drove them down to Blacksburg and braved the bad weather for a chance to get more acquainted with the program.

"It was great, the coaches knew who I was before I knew them," Pine said. "Coach (Bud) Foster said he'd watched my film a lot and said he liked how I came off the ball. The staff was just really open, and having a coach come up to you like that and already know you is a good feeling."

Neville had a similar experience in meeting with Brown, offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler and offensive line coach Stacy Searels. Yet it seems they're not the only ones with designs on landing Neville.

"Coach Brown told me that Frank Beamer saw my film and was the one that originally showed it to everyone else," Neville said. "He's a legend, so to hear that was so cool."

It seems the atmosphere at the game, even in its diminished capacity, also proved to be a fine recruiting tool for Tech.

"Coach Brown said they normally get 45,000 people for the game, but even seeing all the people that still came out was impressive," Neville said. "And the facilities were just top notch."

For a pair of in-state kids that had only seen Lane Stadium on ESPN before, they also add that the visceral thrill of stepping inside was a special treat.

"It was crazy seeing the stadium for the first time after only ever seeing it on TV, I see why it's great now," Pine said. "It's just crazy how big it was. It was a bummer that it was raining and that forced us inside because I wanted to stay out more and see it."

In their brief time on the field ahead of the game, Pine and Neville did get the chance to run into a few familiar faces.

"I got to see (redshirt sophomore OL) Parker Osterloh down there, since he's from our area and knows some of my family," Neville said. "He said he really liked it there."

Pine also ran into RB Marshawn Williams again after previously meeting him at a prospect camp.

"I first talked to him at a camp my sophomore year," Pine said. "I was disappointed that he didn't get to play, I would've loved to have seen him out there."

But even without Williams on the field, the pair enjoyed watching the scrimmage itself to cap off the visit.

"The game was great, there was lots of fast, physical play," Neville said. "Plus I really like their offense."

While the rising seniors came away from the trip feeling sold on the Hokies, the feeling isn't quite mutual just yet. The team has yet to offer either player, telling each that they'd like to see them work out in person before making the call.

Pine, rated a 3-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite ranking, says the staff assured him that an offer could be on the way "if I come down for another visit or they come up to my school again." Neville, an unranked prospect, says he was told "they just want to see me workout for themselves before offering."

Lafayette head coach Andrew Linn says that's pretty much the modus operandi of Tech's staff, who he's been working with for years at this point.

"That's usually the process, before the offer they want to see them move around a little bit," Linn said.

That process will be key as the team evaluates where exactly each player might fit on the field. Both players offer some positional flexibility and could play at multiple spots on the field, which likely has a lot to do with Tech's uncertainty about them at this point.

Pine says the team seems confident that he'd stick close to Brown if he ever became a Hokie.

"They say if they offered, I'd probably be on my feet rushing the quarterback," Pine said. "They want me to stay in-state and cause havoc as an LB."

But with a 6'4", 220-pound frame, Pine does acknowledge that other positions could be in his future, especially at schools that prefer smaller DEs like the Hokies.

"Most schools agree that I could be an OLB, but others say I could play safety, defensive end, or even a slot or nickel type safety because of my length," Pine said. "No matter what, they'll want me to come up and be a run stopper."

Pine says that's a role he's well-suited for, even as the team started to expand his duties in coverage last year.

"Last year, I started off playing stud linebacker as a run stopper and was never in coverage," Pine said. "But once they found out I could cover tight ends and the slot, they started moving me out on the boundary. That opened up new blitzes and moving from coverage into the blitz."

Linn acknowledges that the team would freely shift Pine between DE and LB "depending on the package" to best leverage his pass rushing abilities, and that still has college coaches undecided on his future position.

"He could play with his hand in the dirt, but he more often stayed on his feet and came off the edge," Linn said. "But coaches are all over the place with him right now, there's no consensus with them."

Coaches are similarly undecided about where Neville might play. Even though he earned all-state honors at TE last year, his 6'4", 250-pound frame and proclivity for blocking means Neville might be better suited bulking up and moving to the OL.

"He was a full time tight end for us, and he can catch, but blocking is his best attribute," Linn said. "He'll more than likely move down to tackle or guard at the next level."

Neville says the Hokies are currently recruiting him as both a tight end and a tackle, but regardless of where he ends up playing, "they like my physicality and size and how I block."

As of now, only Army and Princeton have come away significantly impressed with those attributes and offered Neville. Pine's list of suitors is a bit longer, with schools like N.C. State, Virginia and Wake Forest among the programs that have already offered.

Pine notes that a few other, bigger programs have also expressed interest, even if an offer has yet to come.

"Notre Dame hasn't offered, but it was unbelievable when I heard they were interested," Pine said.

The Fighting Irish aren't the only big program to check in on Pine. Georgia OLB coach Kevin Sherrer joined the Bulldogs' staff on a swing through Virginia to get a look at Pine last week.

"It was their first time here," Linn said. "They're kind of all the same at some point though, they all kind of blend together."

Neville isn't nearly as nonplussed as his coach about the extra attention.

"Chase got a lot offers early, then these coaches come down to see him, and a lot of times, that's how they notice me," Neville said.

To keep building the interest of coaches around the country, the pair plans to camp at several schools this summer, and it seems Tech is on the list. In particular, Pine says the pair is targeting Tech's camp the weekend of June 13.

They'll likely make the trip together once more, leaning on each other for help evaluating the school as the coaches do some evaluations of their own.

"Having a teammate to go with is a big help," Pine said. "I've been to schools without Trey there, and with him there, it's nice to have someone I can relate to at each place."