Report: Kevin Bronson Granted Release from VT, Will Enroll at USF

According to a report by ESPN 106.3 Reporter Wells Dusenbury, Village Academy defensive end Kevin Bronson was granted his release from Virginia Tech, and will enroll at South Florida.

Let's rewind to signing day, a few days after Bronson announced his commitment to Virginia Tech. The following are excerpts from a story the Palm Beach Post's Anthony Chiang wrote.

Bronson chose Virginia Tech over USF and Florida Atlantic. The Hokies offered the Post's Small School Defensive Player of the Year late in the process on Jan. 23, and he took a visit to the campus on Jan. 24.

"It threw red flags up for me," said Hanna of the Hokies' late offer. "We made sure that we cleared that up. The coaching staff was worried about his academics, but once they saw where Kevin was academically and they knew it would work out, they pulled the trigger."

Now back to present day, where according to Dusenbury's report things didn't go as planned. Again Village Academy head coach Don Hanna is quoted.

Village Academy head coach Don Hanna said Bronson was informed this past Friday that he was one point shy on his ACT of qualifying.

Hanna said Bronson was aware his test scores were on the border, but was given assurances it wouldn't be an issue.

"After Signing Day, Virginia Tech said he'd need a 17 on all categories," said Hanna. "He ended up being a point shy on English and Math. We were told if he didn't get it, they'd go before the [academic] committee and they'd be able to get him in."

"The closer we got to him coming up, they started saying, 'There's a 50/50 chance we'll be able to get you up.' They were giving him the run-around."

"They didn't treat Kevin right from the beginning. He was like a second-tier guy for them. They missed out on some other defensive linemen and took a chance on Kevin. I don't think he would have had a great career there because he wasn't one of the guys they wanted."

After informing Bronson he was short of qualifying, Virginia Tech said they wouldn't be able to get him in asked if he would enroll in prep school during the fall. Following that discussion, Bronson requested for his scholarship release.

According to Hanna, the school made a sudden reversal as Hokies' head coach Frank Beamer then told Bronson he would go to the head of the academic committee and get him in.

By that point, Bronson and his family decided they were ready to move on.

Keep in mind, this is only one side of the story, but getting aired out by a high school coach is not a good look. As of right now, Virginia Tech hasn't released a statement. I will link to it in this post if they do.

Although, I do find it hard to swallow that Bronson, "Wasn't one of the guys they [Virginia Tech] wanted," as Hanna said. Tech offered him a scholarship and accepted his signature on signing day. Indeed it came late in the process, but that doesn't make it any less genuine. Additionally, in my opinion asking him to prep only reenforces Beamer Co.'s interest. There's only so much wiggle room with regard to academics and qualifying.

I don't believe Bronson would have been a player to contribute immediately in Blacksburg. However, he was an important signee as far as future depth along the d-line is concerned, regardless if he ended up at tackle or end.

Finally, if Bronson was indeed granted his release, I'm happy Beamer Co. did its part to reach an amicable solution. Far too often college coaches and programs use a letter of intent to hold a player hostage and dictate unreasonable terms. Things didn't work out with Bronson and Tech, but he ended up at one of his finalists during the recruiting process.