Blacksburg Bash Helps Four Prominent 2017ers Make Up Their Minds, Join the Hokies

To outside observers, the Hokies' rapid-fire set of commitments at their "Blacksburg Bash" in late July might've seemed like a sudden recruiting windfall. But for the 2017ers who pulled the trigger on the day, their decisions were actually quite a long time coming.

Whether it was a period of weeks or months, each one of the four rising seniors to pledge to Virginia Tech at the team's big recruiting weekend say they knew long before arriving for the cookout that they were Hokies at heart.

"It just felt like home from my first visit," WR Sean Savoy of Washington, D.C.'s Woodrow Wilson HS told The Key Play. "My family also liked it, so we just went with it."

OG Aiden Brown of Potomac, Md.'s Bullis School felt similarly confident that he wanted to end up in Blacksburg for his college career. Though he felt ready to end his recruitment when he visited Tech in late June, he decided to hold off just a bit for one very important familial reason.

"I knew I wanted to commit there, I just had to get my mom to go down there and go see it, since it was just me and my dad the last two times," Brown said. "So my mom just wanted to check it out and make sure it was OK, so we went through all the academic facilities, asked about a hundred questions, we met with Coach Fuente and she got a great vibe from the school, so I decided to commit that day."

LB Jaylen Griffin on Rome (Ga.) HS made a trip down to Tech the same weekend in June as Brown, but he didn't wait to make his decision. He says he committed to the coaches the week after that very visit (just after he formally decommitted from Cal) but made things public once the "Blacksburg Bash" rolled around.

"I just wasn't gonna let the press know until signing day because I wanted it to be a surprise, but eventually I figured there's no point in making it a surprise so might as well make it public," Griffin said. "So when I went down there, I told them I'd make it public."

Proud to announce, I have committed to VT #Hokies and will be playing #D1 football in the #ACC All glory to God pic.twitter.com/5G1LL2sTPP— Jaylen (@JaylenGriffin_) July 23, 2016

WR Tahj Capehart of Virginia Beach's Bishop Sullivan Catholic HS was similarly stealthy about his decision. He'd been hearing from the Hokies for years, but he decided to jump aboard and join Tech at the big bash, though he waited until Aug. 6 to formally unveil his choice.

This Is HOME #HokieNation pic.twitter.com/MksbKBZ2Ss— TCSZN (@Tahj__) August 6, 2016

"It was home, I have a lot of players that I've played with there already, and the coaching staff is great and Coach Zohn (Burden) has been recruiting me for a long time," Capehart said. "When I went to the cookout, I told Coach Fuente in his office that I was committing and everyone got excited."

But before the prospects could give the coaches their good news, they had a full slate planned for the Saturday of the bash itself. From a Wiffle Ball home run derby to a three-point shooting contest, the recruits in attendance didn't lack for things to do.

"It was like a family get together, just fun, laid back, chill," Griffin said. "It helped me get to know the coaches a little better."

Indeed, Brown notes that the events were "very competitive, but fun." Yet once they wrapped up those competitions and ate lunch (with food Brown called "very great," no less), the coaches started holding one-on-one meetings with the prospects in attendance.

Then, the commitments started pouring in.

"They were fired up, Coach Fuente was probably the happiest, and then Bud Foster, it was just crazy," Griffin said. "I can't even tell you the number of how many high fives I got, it was crazy. Everyone was so excited, and the whole staff seemed fired up about it."

Savoy's decision evoked similar enthusiasm from the head Hokie.

"He was telling me that they didn't want nobody but me," Savoy said. "So getting that from a head coach was big, especially when a lot of people don't even get the chance to talk to the head coach."

Sean Savoy (@bando_sean) Commits to the #Hokies https://t.co/3j8hJ6MXM3— TKP Recruiting (@TKP_Recruiting) July 24, 2016

Yet even if Fuente would've been content with Savoy's commitment to round out the wide receiver group in the 2017 class, he didn't have to settle for just one WR pledge on the day. Capehart said that the more he talked with 2017 LB commit Rayshard Ashby and his other friends on the team, the more he became convinced Tech was the place for him.

"We just sat down and talked about how we were trying to change the program," Capehart said. "It was a great feeling. I didn't know about some of (the other commitments)."

Brown confesses that he too was caught a bit off guard by all the other players making their pledges on the day.

"At the end of the day, I pulled Coach (Vance) Vice and Coach (Holmon) Wiggins to the side so with my family, my mom, my dad and my brother behind me, I told them that I'd like to commit to their school and they were going crazy, jumping up and down," Brown said. "The first few people that committed, I wasn't there to see it, I didn't even know they committed. I thought I was the first one."

I am proud to announce that I am committed to Virginia Tech!!! #HookieNation pic.twitter.com/DY4mysSOtC— Aiden Brown (@acb_53) July 23, 2016

For all the commits on the offensive side of the ball, a similar theme emerged the more they talked with the coaches, and each other: Fuente's offense could be something quite unique in Blacksburg.

"We're trying to change the game of football at Virginia Tech," Capehart said. "Coach Fuente and his offense, we're gonna break some records while we're there, so we're really excited about that."

Specifically, Capehart thinks he can fit in by running "deep routes" and adding some explosiveness to the offense.

"With the triple option run pass, I really like that about the offense," Capehart said. "I run that in high school right now, so I'm kind of acquainted to the offense already, I know the ins and outs."

With Capehart manning the outside, Savoy sees himself finding his niche on the inside.

"I'm very quick in the slot, and they think they can put me in space and just make guys miss," Savoy said.

Brown's role on the offensive line might be a little less flashy, but he thinks he can play a huge role in making Fuente's new scheme click by lending some flexibility to the unit.

"(I'll play on the) interior, most likely, since that's what I was recruited for throughout the whole process, but Coach Fuente said they liked me because if needed, they could most likely move me out to tackle as well," Brown said. "But just because of my height, probably an interior lineman, probably guard."

But if the offensive recruits are interested in forging a new identity for the offense, Griffin is anxious to help the defense reach the old heights that helped make Foster famous.

"I love the defense, and it's not very often that you find yourself being able to play for a great like Bud Foster," Griffin said. "Blacksburg kind of reminds me of my hometown, Rome, it's kind of a football town. My town is kind of a football town, everybody loves the football team and is behind it, so it kind of makes me feel like it's home."

Accordingly, he's hoping to get down for his official visit "soon," and even check out the Battle at Bristol, since he feels "that's gonna be a real big game."

Savoy is planning on taking his official for the Thursday night game against Miami, and Brown is targeting a visit for a game in "mid or late November," once his own football season ends.

"I definitely want to go and experience a game with all the 66,000 people and 'Enter Sandman,' I really want to experience that for myself," Brown said.

Capehart is similarly excited "to settle down and get acquainted to Virginia Tech," and he's hoping to visit for a "few games" this year.

In the meantime, he's building out his own big board to plot out how he can help the Hokies land their next batch of commitments.

"Devon Hunter, I'm definitely trying to get him, and definitely the younger guys that already have offers from them in the 2018 and 2019 class," Capehart said. "We're just trying to start something new here."