Hokies Football Recruiting: Nyheim Hines Set to Decide

Highly rated 2015 running back Nyheim Hines of North Carolina's Garner High School is ready to make his college choice, but wherever he heads off to school, it would seem he's not going alone.

He's choosing between a bevy of prominent programs, with N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia among the strongest contenders for his services.

But Hines, rated a 4-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite ranking, has a pair of tight bonds that will surely be on his mind when he announces his decision at his school at 3:00 PM today.

The first, and likely strongest, relationship Hines is weighing is the one he has with his sister, Nyah.

"Him and his sister are really close," said Thurman Leach, Hines' head coach at Garner HS. "They're like twins, they think alike, act alike. She looks after him."

Like Nyheim, Nyah has a gift for running and is a track star in her own right, and the two even ran track together. Per 247Sports' Ryan Bartow, she's been offered scholarships from three prominent North Carolina schools (North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest) in addition to the Hokies.

She even accompanied Hines on his official visit to Blacksburg last week, so it's no secret that the two could end up going to school together.

Official visit at Virginia Tech #Hokies pic.twitter.com/UJt1aCI1dY— Nyheim Hines (@TheNyNy2) December 13, 2014

But Hines is also close with another North Carolina running back.

Bryce Love of Wake Forest HS formed a bond with Hines after first meeting him several years ago.

"We met a few years back because we were both running track," Love said.

Since then, the pair's mutual success on the football field have only served to bring them closer together. They've even talked some about committing to the same school as a sort of dynamic package deal.

"We've talked about it with a few schools," Love said in mid-November. "Virginia Tech is one of them, so it's definitely a possibility."

Love does indeed hold offers from both the Hokies and the Wolfpack, two of Hines' likely favorites, so the duo heading to college together is certainly conceivable. But unlike Hines, Love is also taking a hard look at Tennessee and Stanford.

Yet even if he does go elsewhere, Love doesn't doubt that Nyheim's connection with Nyah might win out over their bond as fellow football stars.

"They have such a good relationship," Love said. "They're twins."

But that surely leaves Hokie fans wondering: even if Love doesn't tag along, could the Hines family be Blacksburg bound? Leach thinks it's a strong possibility.

"He knows they're just a traditionally fine football school," Leach said. "Coach Beamer and his staff have a tremendous track record. They've had some rough times recently, but he appreciates that tradition."

Leach also notes that Hines has enjoyed spending his time with Charley Wiles, Tech's designed recruiter for the North Carolina area, and is attracted to VT's strong academics.

"He's got a 3.9 GPA, he's a polished guy," Leach said. "He just wants to be the best student-athlete he can be."

While Hines could certainly benefit from Tech's robust classroom instruction, he could also contribute plenty of versatility to the Hokies on the field in the balance.

"He makes a big impact all over the field," Leach said. "We used him at tailback, in the slot, in the kick return. He even played cornerback and safety. He was our best player, and we had to get him on the field."

Leach also raves about Hines' personality off the field, even noting that his disposition might make it hard for him to break the bad news to the programs he ends up turning down this afternoon.

"He's such a nice young man, he just has a hard timing telling anyone 'no,' but he's going to have to," Leach said.

In a just a few hours, that's exactly what he'll be doing.