Tech Targets Trio of Lake Taylor HS Prospects, Convinces Two to Stop by Spring Game

After winning two state titles in the last three years, it was inevitable that Norfolk's Lake Taylor High School would attract the attention of Virginia Tech's coaching staff.

With Virginia Beach native and prolific recruiter Zohn Burden joining the team, the Hokies quickly made the school a priority and began targeting a trio of the Titans' talented prospects.

Now that attention is starting to pay off, with two highly rated 2016 DBs from the school planning visits to the Hokies' spring game this weekend and a rising junior DT turning his attention toward Tech.

Cornerbacks Wayne Davis and Keyvone Bruton, rated 4-star and 3-star recruits respectively by the 247Sports Composite ranking, will head to Blacksburg this weekend for an incredibly important visit with the coaching staff.

The team tried to lure Davis to campus this February for a Junior Day, but bad weather ruined his plans.

"I was supposed to go down there during the snow days, and the snow really backed my schedule up, but I am getting up for the spring game," Davis said Sunday at "The Opening" DC regional combine.

While Davis has never gotten to see campus, this weekend marks Bruton's second trip to Tech after camping there this past summer. He says he's just been waiting to return until Davis can join him for the trip.

"Whenever he's going up, he's gonna give me a call and I'll go on up there with him," Bruton said.

While Davis was only offered by the Hokies this February, Bruton has a longer history with the staff. The staff offered him all the way back in March 2014, back when he was still playing at Oscar Smith HS before transferring to Lake Taylor this winter.

Since then, he says he's constantly heard from longtime area recruiter Bryan Stinespring.

"He's a great guy, we just talk, him telling me to go out there and have a great season," Bruton said. "Just focus and everything should be fine."

Davis has heard from Stinespring, but he notes that much of his recruitment has come courtesy of Burden, after they formed a bond when the coach still wearing his ODU colors.

"Coach Burden was my recruiter for ODU, so it just carried on when he went there," Davis said. "So we still keep the communication open the same way."

Now he's anxious to see the campus, and with offers on the table from big schools like Ohio State, Tennessee and Clemson, the Hokies will have to impress him quickly.

"I just want to see the facilities, the campus, the players," Davis said. "See how they like their classes and how they like the coaching staff."

Bruton hasn't attracted the same type of national attention, with three other offers courtesy of ODU, Duke and Wake Forest, but he's still become a priority for Tech's staff.

While Bruton previously played safety at Oscar Smith, he's planning a move to corner this season, which would make his 6'0", 200-pound frame a major asset.

"I made a position change this year from safety to corner, so my film doesn't really show that I play corner," Bruton said. "So this year, I'm really trying to prove that I can play cornerback and play safety, I can play anything."

His size might indicate that he's destined to stay at cornerback if he were to join the Hokies, but Bruton says the staff hasn't been willing to tip their hands when it comes to his potential future position.

"The way Virginia Tech's defense is, you're going to play wherever you fit, so they don't know just yet," Bruton said.

There's less uncertainty about where 2017 DT Darnell Ewell might play if he should become a Hokie one day.

The 6'3", roughly 300-pound rising junior already has offers from Ohio State, Clemson, Miami and Michigan, and is rated a 4-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite ranking.

Last Wednesday, Stinespring swung by Lake Taylor to visit with Davis and Bruton, but he also got to spend some quality time with Ewell as well.

"It was a really good experience, I feel like I have a good connection with all the coaches there," Ewell said. "I'm really interested in going up there, I want to see the environment."

Unlike Davis and Bruton, Ewell says his commitments at home and with the football team will keep him in Norfolk this weekend, but he is targeting a one-day prospect camp in June as possible date for a visit.

But Ewell also emphasizes that he's "still just a sophomore" so his interactions with the staff are limited. He says he hardly even talks with Davis and Bruton about the rigors of recruiting.

"I see where they're going and what they're interested in, but we don't talk much about it," Ewell said. "We're just trying to get better, win another state championship."

Ewell won't be able to stay out of the spotlight much longer, especially if Lake Taylor can capture another title. He admits that his combination of technique and strength have already piqued the interest of schools like Alabama and Florida State as his recruiting process progresses.

"I bench 405 (pounds) right now," Ewell said. "I think I'm strong all around, but it's my technique to go with my strength that stands out. I'm 298, 300 pounds, so I don't move like other guys, but I am strong."

Ewell says he fully expects to receive a "couple more offers soon," so it's clear that the Hokies have some work to do whenever he gets on campus.

"I'm just trying to get a broad vision of how they run things there," Ewell said.