Victor Greene of Courtland High School (Spotsylvania, VA) de-committed from Virginia Tech in part because he suspected his scholarship offer would be pulled. Greene, who starred at running back at Courtland but was recruited by Tech as a linebacker, said defensive coordinator Bud Foster told Cougars head coach JC Hall that new coach Justin Fuente was interested in recruiting more offensive players to the class.

“[Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud] Foster talked to [Courtland head coach JC] Hall on Monday,” Greene said. “My understanding is that Coach Foster said there was a chance some defensive offers would be pulled for more offensive scholarships.”

Virginia Tech has received two commitments since Coach Fuente took over. Both prospects are offensive players, including one quarterback (Jerod Evans) and one offensive lineman (Demetri Moore). This doesn't mean, though, that the Hokies are only going after offensive recruits with its remaining class of 2016 scholarships.

Before taking a look at some of Fuente's initial defense/special teams targets in the class of 2016, let's take a look at Virginia Tech's projected scholarship breakdown in the 2016 season in those areas.

VIRGINIA TECH 2016 PROJECTED SCHOLARSHIP BREAKDOWN: DEFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS

DEFENSIVE END - 7

- Ken Ekanem (SR)
- Seth Dooley (JR)
- Vinny Mihota (SOPH, DE or DT)
- Darius Fullwood (R.FR.)
- Houshun Gaines (R.FR.)
- Trevon Hill (R.FR.)
- Jimmie Taylor IV (FR)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE- 7

- Woody Baron (SR)
- Nigel Williams (SR)
- Steven Sobczak (SOPH)
- Ricky Walker (SOPH)
- Harry Lewis (R.FR.)
- Tim Settle (R.FR.)
- Clay Dean (R.FR.)

LINEBACKER - 8

- Jamieon Moss (JR)
- Andrew Motuapuaka (JR)
- Anthony Shegog (JR)
- Tremaine Edmunds (SOPH)
- Carson Lydon (SOPH)
- Raymon Minor (SOPH)
- Tavante Beckett (FR)
- Emmanuel Belmar (FR)

DEFENSIVE BACK - 12

- Chuck Clark (SR)
- Der'Woune Greene (SR)
- Brandon Facyson (JR)
- Greg Stroman (JR, DB or WR)
- Adonis Alexander (SOPH)
- Jahque Alleyne (SOPH)
- Terrell Edmunds (SOPH)
- Mook Reynolds (SOPH)
- DuWayne Johnson (R.FR.)
- Reggie Floyd (FR, S or RB)
- Khalil Ladler (FR)
- JoVonn Quillen, Jr. (FR, ATH)

SPECIAL TEAMS

- Joey Slye (JR, PK)
- Michael Santamaria (SOPH, PK)

Virginia Tech lost a pair of defensive back prospects in Troy Pride Jr. (now a Notre Dame commitment) and Myles Wolfolk (now UNC-bound) after Frank Beamer retired. Adding depth in the defensive backfield, particularly at cornerback, would be nice with the remaining scholarships. One of Fuente's first offers as Virginia Tech head coach was to Washington (Tulsa, OK) corner Kyle Mayberry, who remains a Kansas commitment at this point.

Virginia Tech has young talent in place at defensive end, but the Hokies could use some additional depth. The Hokies have a great chance with Raines (Jacksonville, FL) senior Jaquan Bailey, a former Florida commitment who is scheduled to take official visits to Tennessee (January 15-17) and Virginia Tech (January 22-24).

Edison (Tulsa, OK) senior linebacker LonTrelle Miller also received an offer from Virginia Tech. He planned on visiting Tech in January; however, several recent tweets may mean the trip won't happen.