An Incredible Weekend in the Swamp... and Some Honest Reflection as a Hokie

Saturday , my two youngest daughters had the privilege of playing flag football in the Swamp at the University of Florida. I coach my youngest daughter's 2nd-3rd grade team, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience ;playing all day and then under the lights in a massive SEC stadium, surrounded by hundreds of other girls doing the same. It was truly special.

One of the girls on our team has a dad who works as an NFL scouting executive and has connections within UF Athletics. Because of him, our team and parents got a behind-the-scenes tour of the football facility, practice complex, athletics lounges, nutrition and recovery areas, staff offices, and the recruiting "war rooms." It was unreal. Every inch of the place was purpose-built for recruiting, development, and performance. You could tell the Gators have poured a ridiculous amount of money into building a first-class operation—and it shows. They even just moved all their football players out of the athletes dorm and into an apartment complex in town where each players gets their own space.

Now here's where it hits home.

As amazing as the experience was, it also left me feeling small. I love Virginia Tech, and I'm proud to be a Hokie. But standing in those Florida facilities, it was painfully clear just how far behind we've fallen. The Merryman Center, once elite, now feels outdated. Lane Stadium still rocks on Saturdays, but the infrastructure around it doesn't match the standard being set elsewhere. Recruits are touring places like UF and being shown top-tier lounges, pools, barbershops, recovery spaces, and world-class nutrition setups. They are even building a VR suite not just for relaxing but to go over plays and schemes. Meanwhile, we're crossing our fingers for upgrades and hoping tradition alone can carry the weight.

I hate to say it—but this is what the arms race looks like. Florida has made a clear, deliberate investment in being elite. We need to do the same.