The TSL "Recruiting Report" is a notes-style feature updating you on the previous week's recruiting development while also looking ahead to what's in store in the coming days/weeks. Here is the latest...

WEEK REWIND

Hokies Gain 2016 QB

Virginia Tech lost to East Carolina but scored its second class of 2016 commitment on Saturday, when 6’3”, 230-pound quarterback Logan Byrd pledged to the Hokies.

“I think he just kind of fell in love with the place,” Veterans School head coach David Bruce said. “He had made the rounds to colleges all summer. He has been everywhere he wanted to go. He kept coming back to Virginia Tech. He told me how much he really liked it. He went there two or three times in a period of about five weeks. I still didn’t think he’d do anything right now. I thought he’d wait maybe until the spring, but then he came into my office last week and told me he was going to visit Virginia Tech and he was going to commit. Sure enough, he sent me a text message of him and Coach Loeffler and Coach Beamer. I’m real happy for him. It’s a great place. I actually coached Torrian Gray down at Kathleen, so that is my connection there. I always pull for Torrian.”

Byrd, who also had scholarship offers from Duke, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, NC State and UVa, among others, is rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals and a 3-star recruit by 247Sports. He threw for almost 1,400 yards as a sophomore last season, leading Veterans School to its first GHSA Region 2 AAAA championship title in its four-year existence.

Discussing the regional championship, Bruce said: "Logan was a big part of that. The offensive load is on his shoulder. I don't mean to slight anyone on our team, but we don't have a lot of superstar-type guys around him. Logan does a great job of doing what he's supposed to do. He does a good job of distributing the ball."

Further discussing his junior quarterback, Bruce said: “First of all, to me the most important thing is his character. He has integrity. I’ve never seen a quarterback work as hard as he does in the weight room. He has drive and a great attitude. Those intangibles stand out to me more than his physical stuff. He is 6’3”, 230 pounds. He has a live arm, can run and all that. He’s a boss. Again, more than his physical skills, what stands out to me are his intangibles. He’s just a leader.”

Leadership qualities in a quarterback are pretty important to Tech offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler, who was Byrd's primary recruiter for the Hokies from the start. Both of Tech's freshmen signal callers -- Andrew Ford and Chris Durkin -- as well as starter Michael Brewer have those plus intangibles.

From Byrd's standpoint, he "just said he really respected Coach Loeffler and enjoyed being around all of the coaches and Coach Beamer. He said it felt right. It felt like it was where he needed to be."

An excellent student, Byrd carries a 3.81 GPA and plans to major in Biomedical Science/Healthcare. He is in a pilot program that will enable him to graduate from high school in December of 2015. Byrd then plans to enroll at Virginia Tech in January of 2016.

Both of Tech’s class of 2016 commits are offensive players, as Byrd joins wide receiver Conner ODonnell.

More News From Last Week

- In what is good news for Virginia Tech, Hopewell (VA) defensive end Darrell Taylor did not make an official visit to Florida that was originally scheduled for last weekend. The 6’4”, 227-pound senior plans on announcing his college choice on Friday, September 26. All signs point to Virginia Tech as the likely pick, but we’ll find out for sure next Friday.

- 4-star linebacker Ricky DeBerry Jr. made his first official visit this past weekend, traveling to Oklahoma. The Atlee (Mechanicsville, VA) has two other officials set at this time: Tennessee on October 3 and Texas A&M on October 10. Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State, Virginia and Virginia Tech round out the 6’3”, 245-pound senior’s list of finalists.

THE WEEK AHEAD

This weekend will be a huge one for Virginia Tech, which is expecting to host 5-star defensive end Josh Sweat, 5-star cornerback Kevin Toliver II, 4-star running back Bryce Love and linebacker Victor Alexander on official visits. In addition, Arsenal Tech (Indianapolis, IN) senior corner Adonis Williamson told TSL that he “might be” in Blacksburg on Saturday while 247Sports reports that Winter Haven (FL) senior offensive lineman Mike Arnold will be in Blacksburg this weekend. We have not confirmed the latter, but that would be big if he does make the trip.

Sweat, a 6’5”, 240-pound senior out of Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA), will be making his second official visit. The first was Ohio State the first weekend in September, which of course was the weekend Virginia Tech defeated the Buckeyes in Columbus. The Hokies appear to be in good shape with Sweat, but a decision isn’t expected to come until he has made all five official trips. Georgia (October 3 official), Florida State (October 17 official) and Oregon (October 31 official) round out the Chesapeake native’s list of finalists.

Sweat’s teammate at Oscar Smith, tailback Deshawn McClease, also plans to visit Virginia Tech on Saturday. McClease committed to the Hokies this summer. Don’t be surprised if other Tiger prospects such as sophomore quarterback Shon Mitchell and junior safety Keyvone Bruton (both have VT offers) make the trek as well.

Tailback is not a position of need for Virginia Tech, but Love, a product of Wake Forest-Rolesville (Wake Forest, N.C.), has big-time speed and falls into the category of “too good to turn away.” North Carolina, Stanford and Tennessee are some of the other schools still in contention for the talented back. Click here to read a free recruiting update on Love from the Raleigh News and Observer.

Toliver remains “committed” to LSU, but he is scheduled to take at least four official visits before making a final decision. Like Sweat, Toliver was in Columbus (OH) on September 6 for an official visit. The Trinity Christian (Jacksonville, FL) star corner will be at Virginia Tech this weekend and is scheduled to visit LSU on November 7 and UCLA on November 21. Auburn is also in contention.

At this point my gut feeling says that Toliver will remain with LSU in the end, but Virginia Tech’s tradition at defensive back plus former Trinity Christian receiver Isaiah Ford being on the roster help the Hokies chances. Whether it’s enough to sway Toliver to Blacksburg remains to be seen.

Alexander, who also attends Trinity Christian, is a player Virginia Tech has been high on for quite some time. He is currently committed to UCLA but has visited Tech before and seemed to enjoy his time. We'll see about his status following this weekend.

Virginia Tech is in the top three for Adonis Williamson along with Missouri and Northern Illinois. The standout corner is in no rush to commit, but I like Tech’s position with him right now. We’ll see if he makes it down this weekend.

Salem (Virginia Beach, VA) defensive end Trevon Hill is at least one committed prospect that will be at Tech on an official this weekend. As we confirm other committed and uncommitted prospects, we’ll be sure to let you know.