2017 LB Rayshard Ashby Follows His Gut and Pulls the Trigger Early in Pledge to Tech

Once 2017 LB Rayshard Ashby of Chesterfield's L.C. Bird HS started talking to Bud Foster this weekend, he knew what he had to do.

Ashby has long been considering the Hokies — they were the first program to extend him an offer last summer — but he says he wasn't planning on committing when he decided to head to Blacksburg to take in a spring practice. But the more he spoke with the Hokies' longtime defensive coordinator, the more he felt he needed to pull the trigger.

"I was planning to commit probably sometime in the summer but after talking to Coach Foster, it just hit me in my stomach like 'You need to commit, this is home, this is where you need to be,'" Ashby told The Key Play. "So I told my parents and they said 'If you feel it's right, you can do it.'"

As practice wrapped up Saturday, Foster led Ashby into the team's offices, where they eventually met up with Justin Fuente. Once the head Hokie was in attendance, Ashby gave the pair the good news that he wanted to become Tech's fifth commit of the 2017 class and second LB pledge in just three days.

"My gut just told me to go ahead and do it," Ashby said. "They were happy and excited, so I was happy and excited myself, so it was just a great feeling and a great moment."

But Ashby's decision wasn't simply an impulsive move. He's visited Blacksburg several times before, most recently stopping by for the team's junior day in February, and he credits his comfort level with the area as a major factor in his decision to commit to Tech over other suitors like West Virginia and Maryland.

"It felt like home there, it always felt like home there, it's a great school," Ashby said. "And the coaching staff is awesome, the fans are absolutely awesome, and I could just see myself playing there, and my gut told me this was home, so I made the decision."

Though his old recruiter, Shane Beamer, is now in SEC country, Ashby noted that the staff transition didn't have any effect on his perceptions of the program. If anything, he feels his pair of meetings with Fuente convinced him that Tech is on the upswing.

"He's a great coach, they've got a lot of energy with him and their program is going in a great direction," Ashby said. "It's always been a good direction, but it's gonna go even higher with the things they've got in place."

Ashby is equally excited to play for Foster as well, and the DC informed Ashby that he envisions the rising senior as a "Mike" linebacker at the next level. Foster and the Hokies made it clear the 5'11", 3-star prospect (247Sports Composite) has the chance to fight to get on the field quickly, and he relishes that opportunity.

"I'm looking forward to playing, and competing, trying to get up there and get me a spot," Ashby said. "I want to play early. I'm looking forward to getting in there and getting rolling, trying to help the team in any way I can, trying to compete."

Ashby suggests that he'll try to enroll early, but he feels he'll likely have to wait until August to join the team. However, he does plan to visit campus several more times in the interim, tentatively planning on taking in the spring game to "talk with the coaches and hang with them and be around Blacksburg."

He expects that some of those conversations with the staff will entail what other players he can help recruit to Blacksburg. Over the next few months, Ashby says he won't be shy in trying to help other prospects from his neck of the woods feel the same sort of visceral connection to Tech that spurred him to make his surprise decision.

"I'll talk to the coaches and see who they like, see who they want, so whatever they tell me, I'll try and talk to them and get this thing rolling even more," Ashby said.