Virginia Tech announced a signing class of 24 players on Wednesday for the early signing period for 2021 recruiting. The announcement of the signing of the McDonald brothers from Salem, VA will come later, and that will take the class to 26 players.
Unexpected players added to the class on the final day were safety Da’Shawn Elder and defensive tackle Desmond Mamudi. Elder (6-2, 200) is a safety from Fork Union Military Academy who is originally from Georgia. Mamudi, from Tampa, FL, flipped to the Hokies from USF on Signing Day.
Including the McDonald brothers, but excluding Elder (who is from Georgia), the Hokies signed six Virginians for the 2021 class…
LB Isi Etute: Cox High School, Virginia Beach
LB Keli Lawson: Sherando High School, Stephens City
S Jalen Stroman: Patriot High School, Nokesville
WR Jaylen Jones: Thomas Jefferson High School, Richmond
DB Jorden McDonald: Salem High School, Salem (unofficial)
DB Jaylen McDonald: Salem High School, Salem (unofficial)
Jalen is the brother of former Virginia Tech cornerback Greg Stroman. Tech also signed tight end Jack Hollifield, the younger brother of linebacker Dax Hollifield, so the 2021 class is heavy on brothers.
The Hokies reached into some uncharacteristic states to sign the following players…
CB DJ Harvey: California. Harvey picked the Hokies over a large number of major programs, including Oregon, LSU, Auburn, Notre Dame, and USC.
RB Kenji Christian: Alabama. Christian held offers from programs such as Tennessee, West Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and others.
WR Da’Wain Lofton: Texas. Justin Fuente coached Lofton’s head coach at TCU. Penn State, Mississippi State, Washington State, Indiana and Colorado were among his listed offers.
Virginia Tech also went into Tennessee to sign three players, including offensive lineman Bryce Goodner and athletes Elijah Howard and Jaden Keller. Howard flipped from Tennessee to Virginia Tech on Tuesday night, and he is expected to play either running back or cornerback. Keller will likely play linebacker, and he picked Tech over Tennessee, South Carolina, UVA and others, and Tech reportedly also withstood a late flip effort from Florida State.
The quarterback of the 2021 class is Tahj Bullock of New Jersey. Bullock led St. Peter’s Prep to a state championship as a junior in 2019. He is listed at 6-4, 223, and he picked the Hokies over UCLA, Boston College, Syracuse, Rutgers, Duke, and others.
We’ll have more in-depth coverage of the 2021 class in the coming days. Click here for a complete list of the 2021 signees.