The transition from legendary head coach Frank Beamer has gone about as smoothly as Virginia Tech could have hoped. From a recruiting standpoint, the transition was pretty smooth as well.

New Virginia Tech football coach Justin Fuente sold his vision, keeping most of the class intact and adding a few new players of his own. There were some players Virginia Tech would have liked to keep but couldn't, including Troy Pride Jr. (Notre Dame) and Myles Wolfolk (UNC). Pride was rumored to be a Notre Dame lean since the fall and Wolfolk flipped from Tech to UNC the day Fuente was announced as Tech head coach. Punter Marshall Long pledged to Fuente but de-committed soon after in favor of Georgia. Victor Greene (Coastal Carolina) de-committed because he felt his scholarship would be pulled.

So there were some losses, but Coach Fuente was able to bring one prospect back into the fold. Virginia Beach native Phillip Patterson de-committed following Beamer's retirement but was swayed back. And, as mentioned, Coach Fuente brought in some new players of his own - junior college quarterback Jerod Evans and junior college offensive lineman Demetri Moore, who enrolled mid-year, as well as offensive lineman T.J. Jackson, offensive lineman Silas Dzansi, defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt, linebacker Eron Carter and defensive back Tyree Rodgers (a former ODU commit).

The Hokies were in position to close out the class with a home run, almost "flipping" UNC recruits Tomon Fox and Dominique Ross and Minnesota cornerback commit Coney Durr, and almost landing Florida defensive end JaQuan Bailey and Alabama athlete Tyrrell Pigrome. Fox, Ross and Durr stayed with their original commitments, while Bailey surprised many by picking Iowa State and Pigrome chose Maryland.

When you take into account a month-long Dead Period from mid-December through mid-January, Virginia Tech's new staff had only a month to work with...and don't forget the massive snow storm that wiped out a weekend. In the end, Fuente did what he needed to do. He kept most of the class together, addressed needs, and began work on what will be his first full class at Tech head coach, the class of 2017.

“I’m awfully excited about this class,” Fuente said, referring to the 2016 Class on National Signing Day. “We’ve built upon the work of Coach Beamer and his staff. We divided it up into two separate classes. When we got here, it didn’t take me long to figure out that we had some immediate needs in terms of mid-term kids, kids graduated from high school a semester early and we needed to reach out to them early. We addressed those needs, and then over the Christmas break, we took a little stock in the kids we were going to sign today. We did a great job of holding on to the kids who were committed and adding a few other pieces of the puzzle.”

Virginia Tech's coaches "turned our eye towards next year to make sure we do a great job 365 days from now," Fuente said.

Next year's class will give a better indication of Coach Fuente's recruiting chops in terms of bringing top talent to Virginia Tech. As far as this year's haul, replacing a legend isn't easy, but Virginia Tech and Fuente made the transition smooth, kept the class together and added some quality new pieces as well. It could have been a home run with some of the players Tech had a chance with on National Signing Day, but it was steady and solid and we're ready to see what the Fuente era will bring to the Hokies.

BY THE NUMBERS

Rankings

247Sports and ESPN rank Virginia Tech’s 2016 Class as the no. 39 overall class in the nation. 247Sports ranks the group no. 7 in the ACC, while ESPN ranks Virginia Tech no. 8 in the ACC.

Rivals ranks the class no. 49 overall and no. 9 in the ACC. Scout ranks the class no. 56 overall and no. 9 in the ACC.

Player rankings-wise, junior college quarterback Jerod Evans is Tech’s most highly rated recruit, earning 4-star status from 247Sports, Rivals and Scout. Cornerback Khalil Ladler, a Georgia native who attended IMG Academy in Florida his senior year, earned 4-star status from Rivals and ESPN. Quarterback Joshua Jackson, wide receiver Divine Deablo, wide receiver Sam Denmark and wide receiver Eric Kumah are all rated 4-star prospects by ESPN. Every one of these 4-star recruits enrolled at Virginia Tech last month.

Position and Location Breakdown

Per Hokiesports.com, the positional breakdown of the class is as follows...

Quarterback – 2
Wide Receiver – 4
Offensive Linemen – 6 (Note: This list includes Zach Hoyt, who signed in the 2015 Class but delayed enrollment until January of 2016.)
Defensive Line (Tackle) – 1
Defensive End – 1
Linebacker - 3
Defensive Back - 3
Cornerback – 1

Location-wise, here is the breakdown of Virginia Tech’s class...

Virginia – 9
Georgia – 3 (Note: As mentioned above, Ladler transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior year.)
Florida – 2
North Carolina – 2
Michigan – 1
New Jersey - 1
Ohio – 1 (Note: Demetri Moore’s home is in Ohio but he attended Mississippi Delta College the past two years. He also attended high school in Alabama his senior year.)
South Carolina - 1
Texas - 1

HEADLINES

Teamwork Needed to Keep The Class Together

Frank Beamer announced his retirement in October. From Director of Player Personnel Chuck Cantor to assistant coaches to Athletic Director Whit Babcock, it was a team effort to keep the class intact.

- Andy Bitter of the Roanoke Times reported that wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins "credited director of player personnel Chuck Cantor with maintaining a relationship with (Sam) Denmark in the recruiting process before the new staff came in."

- Eric Kumah told TSL that Whit Babcock and Bud Foster contacted him following Beamer's announcement. Their message? “They just said they still want me to be a Hokie. They are still excited to have me," Kumah said.

- Once Fuente was announced, he quickly got to work on the commits.

“I have spoken to Coach Fuente. I was very impressed how quickly he personally reached out to the recruits,” Sam Denmark in a TSL article.

- On Signing Day, Fuente credited Bud Foster as being a huge help in keeping the class intact.

“When you walk into a high school in the state of Virginia and Bud Foster is walking with you, you have instant credibility,” Fuente said. “I think that played a huge role in us keeping the class together and maybe accelerating those relationships.”

The organization displayed throughout the transition was top notch and a good sign for the future.

Fuente Signs First Two QB Prospects As VT Head Coach

Paxton Lynch’s development, along with the work Justin Fuente did with quarterbacks at TCU, gives Hokie fans good reason to be excited about what lies in store at the quarterback position.

Lynch committed to Memphis the week before National Signing Day 2012, which occurred less than two months after the Tigers named Justin Fuente as its head football coach. After red-shirting in 2012, the 6’7” Lynch started each of the next three seasons and is now considered a likely first round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Lynch made considerable progress under the tutelage of Fuente and Brad Cornelsen, developing into one of the nation’s top college signal callers. As a red-shirt freshman in 2013, he completed 58.2-percent of his passes while throwing for 2,056 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His QB rating that year was 110.4. As a sophomore, Lynch earned a QB rating of 137.6 by completing 62.7-percent of his passes for 3,031 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine picks. This past season as a junior, he completed 66.8-percent of his passes for 3,778 yards with 28 touchdowns and four picks. Lynch’s QB rating in the 2015 season was 157.5.

Virginia Tech signed two quarterbacks in this 2016 Class. Saline (MI) standout Joshua Jackson was committed before Justin Fuente arrived. Despite a strong connection with Scot Loeffler, Jackson decided to stick by his original decision. Fuente then added junior college star Jerod Evans, who will be a junior this coming season. Evans’ big-time play along with the experience he has gained in junior college could give Virginia Tech a comfortable quarterback scenario that allows younger talents such as Jackson and rising sophomore Dwayne Lawson time to develop. Rising senior Brenden Motley remains in the program as well along with rising sophomore Chris Durkin.

Certainly, I think Tech strengthened the position in this year’s class. I'm anxious to see how Fuente does in the short term, of course, but also several years down the road with young talents like Lawson and Jackson.

Hokies Ink Impressive Wide Receiver Class

The quarterback has to have quality receivers to throw the ball to. In that sense, mission accomplished for the Hokies in this class.

Justin Fuente acknowledged there still is room on the roster for more receivers; however, he also admitted he was “hesitant to get too many of those guys in one class.”

Offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen was more specific, saying the ideal number of receivers on the roster is 10-12. By my count, and I’m figuring Joel Caleb and Charley Meyer do not return and Greg Stroman stays at wide receiver, the Hokies will have nine scholarship wideouts on the roster next season.

Virginia Tech may be short on its roster goal, but Fuente and company should be very pleased with the four receiver recruits who signed in this class. Three of those players – Divine Deablo, Sam Denmark and Eric Kumah – are enrolled and will get to go through spring practice, which ideally means they will be ready to play next season if needed. The fourth – Virginia Beach native Phillip Patterson – won’t enroll until the summer but was cited as a key recruit by Coach Fuente.

“Phillip Patterson is a huge piece to [what] we’ve wanted to get accomplished,” Fuente said.

The group brings good size to the position with Deablo measuring in at 6’3” and Kumah and Patterson listed as being 6’2”. The 6’0” Denmark, a 100-meter state champion last spring, is the fastest of the bunch.

Besides the impressive physical attributes, all four prospects displayed big-time playmaking potential for their respective high school teams in 2015. Divine Deablo averaged 21 yards per catch and scored 10 touchdowns. Denmark’s senior season included a game in which he returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown and had touchdown receptions of 80 and 72 yards. Eric Kumah totaled 50 receptions for 1,387 yards and 14 touchdown receptions his senior year, and Patterson hauled in 40 catches for 801 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2015.

The fact that all of these prospects played wide receiver in high school is a plus, too. They won’t have to learn a new position.

Overall, this is a talented group capable of stepping on the field early and making an immediate impact.

Cornerbacks and a DB Coach Are Needs

In a not-so-good Signing Day surprise, defensive backs coach Torrian Gray left Virginia Tech for the same position at the University of Florida. Filling that position is obviously important in finding the right fit to continue the success defensive backs had under Lorenzo Ward and Gray. From a recruiting standpoint, I see cornerback as a real need in the class of 2016. I like Ladler's potential, assuming of course he can come back from a torn ACL, but Tech had three de-commitments at the position (Wolfolk, who was a safety/corner, Pride and Kareem Felder) and missed on a few prospects around National Signing Day. We'll see if JoVonn Quillen Jr. or Tyree Rodgers could end up at the position for the Hokies.

How well Fuente fills the void remains to be seen; however, a plus is that Bud Foster is still around to run the defense and certainly he knows what he wants out of the defensive backs.

State of Virginia Put On Notice

If there was one clear message from before, during National Signing Day, and after, it’s this: Virginia Tech wants to own its home state.

“We still will have a high priority on the state of Virginia, you’ll continue to see that through my tenure here. I’m proud of the kids that decided to stay close to home and play for Virginia Tech,” Fuente said at his National Signing Day press conference.

Also on Signing Day, discussing the distribution of staff recruiting responsibilities, Fuente said: “We’re going to emphasize this state and I think everyone needs to have a hold or stake in it.”

STARS & SLEEPERS

Offense

Jerod Evans was fantastic for Trinity Valley College in eight games as a starter this past season, averaging almost 400 yards passing per game and throwing 38 touchdowns. He tossed only three interceptions.

Evans has size (6’4”, 230 pounds) and can make plays with his feet. Last season, he rushed for over 50 yards in six games, including a season high of 81 yards against Navarro College.

Two years removed from high school, Evans has experience. He’ll also have the opportunity to capture Virginia Tech’s starting quarterback position. Brenden Motley started six games for the Hokies this past season, but with a new head coach and a new system in place, the quarterback competition is very much up in the air. Evans has every opportunity to become an immediate impact performer from this class, so he is my offensive “star.”

My offensive “sleeper” is Silas Dzansi. Dzansi, an offensive line prospect, is expected to go to Fork Union this fall before arriving at Tech in January of 2017. He has little experience as an offensive lineman, but he has a good frame, is very athletic, and he’ll get to learn from a good line coach in John Shuman before he arrives at Virginia Tech. It may take some time, but Dzansi has a lot of physical potential.

Defense

Tavante Beckett is a typical Tech linebacker with plus instincts and aggressiveness. I really like the Indian River (Chesapeake) star. My “star” for this class, however, is defensive end Jimmie Taylor IV. Taylor, who blends good size and top athleticism and quickness off the edge, will have the benefit of going through spring practice and has an opportunity to make the defensive end rotation this coming season. I think he certainly has the capability.

“I’m excited to see where he goes,” Foster said of Taylor.

My sleeper for this class is Emmanuel Belmar, a versatile linebacker out of Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia. Virginia Tech offered before anyone else, and while numerous FBS schools ultimately came through, I still see him as an underrated prospect.

Belmar has the size, athleticism and versatility to play several different roles in Bud Foster’s system. Speaking of Foster, the long-time Hokies defensive coordinator likened Belmar to former Hokie Nekos Brown, adding that Belmar is “very explosive” and “very dynamic.”

Defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt impresses me as well. Tough, strong, determined, quick, productive... all of these adjectives describe the Venice (FL) product, who was a nice get in the days leading up to National Signing Day.

TSL Managing Editor Chris Coleman’s “Stars” include quarterbacks Jerod Evans and Joshua Jackson, as well as wide receiver Divine Deablo. Chris’ “Sleepers” are defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt, offensive lineman Patrick Kearns, and linebacker Eron Carter. Hewitt committed to the Hokies the Sunday before National Signing Day, while Carter announced for Tech on National Signing Day.