Devin Wilson's Potential Impact on Virginia Tech Football and Basketball TSL Pass

Sources have told Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Devin Wilson will be a member of the football team for the 2016 season.

I'm told #Hokies point guard Devin Wilson has been given roster spot with football, will play both sports as senior https://t.co/GeN5KLb2oj

— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) May 11, 2016

In 49 career high school football games at Montour High School in McKees Rocks, PA, Wilson caught 230 passes for 3,200 yards and 41 touchdowns. He also added 489 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground as a senior. That's one heck of a high school career. The number of receptions and touchdowns are extremely impressive.

Wilson went through spring practice with the Hokies, and though he didn't catch any passes in the Spring Game, he apparently did enough in scrimmages and other practices to earn a spot on the roster. Tech's receiver depth is troubling, and though Wilson is an inexperienced college football player, he has plenty of experience competing against elite athletes while playing ACC basketball.

For those wondering, Wilson's scholarship will count towards football because of NCAA rules. Those rules exist to prevent schools from putting football players on scholarships for other sports, such as track (the Hokies themselves were guilty of "miscounting" scholarships in the 1980s under Bill Dooley).

I believe he'll be counted as a r-junior for football this year (right now he's listed as a junior on Tech's football roster). Jimmy Graham played four years of college basketball at Miami from 2005 to 2009 before returning for a fifth year to play football in 2009. However, I'll wait for Virginia Tech to confirm that before I start calling him a r-junior. As of now, the athletic department has not officially confirmed that Wilson will be on the football team.

Assuming that Barber's source is correct (I'm sure that it is), Wilson's presence on the football team potentially means big things for both programs.

Football Impact

As we noted above, Wilson was an excellent high school football player. His older brother Christian Wilson was a defensive end at UNC in the not-so-distant past (Christian had a VT offer out of high school). It's not like football is a foreign field. He's got to learn the playbook, adjust to the speed and strength of college football and kick the rust off, but the game isn't new to him.

I liked what I saw from Wilson in the 45 minutes of open practice we got to see the week before the Spring Game, though I didn't watch him closely during the game itself. That said, don't expect him to be an "impact player" for the Hokies. I think he'll contribute, I think he'll catch some passes, but he's an average athlete with average speed, and his body is built for the basketball court rather than the gridiron.

The one thing Wilson is going to have to do over the summer is live in the weight room. He's 6-4, 190, and it's a really skinny 190. When we interviewed him in the basketball lounge after games the last few years, he didn't look all that skinny. However, when you see him in a football uniform and compare him to the other guys on the team, he's got a ways to go. I don't know that he'd be an effective blocker at his current size and strength, and strong cornerbacks could also be able to jam him at the line of scrimmage. I'd like to see him put on a good 10 pounds of muscle over the summer.

On the other hand, Wilson is a tough, scrappy player on the basketball court. He puts his body on the line and draws a lot of charges against bigger players. He isn't afraid of contact. He knows what it means to compete at the highest levels because of his experience playing ACC basketball. On many occasions, coaches have to teach new players how to play hard. That won't be the case with Wilson. Buzz Williams already taught him.

Here is a list of Tech's scholarship receivers (plus CJ Carroll, who I believe should have some sort of a role in the slot)…

Obviously we know that Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips will play. Justin Fuente indicated that Divine Deablo is ahead of Eric Kumah and Samuel Denmark, and the Spring Game seemed to indicate that was true. But as a true freshman, even Deablo is no guarantee, though I'd be shocked if he doesn't play. Clearly there is room for Devin Wilson to contribute on this football team. Even if he doesn't play very much, perhaps his mere presence could allow one or two of the true freshmen to redshirt who otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity.

Let's go ahead and ink in Ford and Phillips as the starters. After that, it's not clear what the depth chart looks like. Based on the fact that Wilson was kept on the roster, I have to assume that he'll have a role. I think Carroll deserves some sort of role in the slot. Jaylen Bradshaw looked good in the Spring Game, though it's unknown if he was that consistent for the entire spring. Divine Deablo should also play. That gives the Hokies six wide receivers, and that’s not even counting Bucky Hodges.

Of course, that's no guarantee that those receivers will be good. That's simply my best guess as to the six best receivers on the roster at this point in time. If that's the case, it's possible that the Hokies could attempt to redshirt Kumah, Denmark and Patterson, though I figure at least one of those guys will have to play. Still, if one of those guys does end up redshirting because of Wilson, it makes it worth it in the long run.

Dual-sport athletes at Virginia Tech are generally pretty popular. Think Bryan Randall and Jeff King (football and basketball), and even Dell Curry. Many of you might not know that Curry played baseball for Tech, was drafted by the Orioles, and actually pitched in a minor league game in the Texas organization in 1991 when he was 27 years old. Wilson isn't as good in his originally chosen sport as Bryan Randall, Jeff King or Dell Curry, but his dedication and commitment will make him a popular guy among Tech fans.

Basketball Impact

Since Wilson's scholarship now counts towards football, the Hokies technically only have 10 scholarship basketball players scheduled to be on the roster this season.

Seth Allen (r-Sr.)
Zach LeDay (r-Sr.)
Johnny Hamilton (Sr.)
Ty Outlaw (r-Jr.)
Justin Bibbs (Jr.)
Ahmed Hill (r-So.)
Kerry Blackshear (So.)
Chris Clarke (So.)
Justin Robinson (So.)
Khadim Sy (Fr.)

What was one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the country last year will feature a veteran lineup and experienced bench in 2016-17. Remember, Wilson is still expected to be on the team, but his scholarship won't count towards basketball. He won't have a huge impact, but Buzz trusts him and likes his toughness.

Virginia Tech is waiting to see whether Top 100 guard Markell Johnson will reclassify from the 2017 class to 2016. If he does, he could end up in Blacksburg, though Louisville has backcourt playing time to sell. Here are Markell Johnson's national rankings…

Rivals: #40
247: #88
ESPN: #53
Scout: #66

He's viewed by scouts as a very good prospect, obviously. He would certainly be a take for Tech if he does reclassify to 2016 (and I'm sure he'd be a take if he stays in the 2017 class as well).

Liberty transfer Evan Maxwell (6-10, 240) visited recently, but I'm not sure if he has a VT offer right now. If he did, I think he would have already accepted it. Delaware transfer Kory Holden visited, and Buzz Williams used that visit to determine that Holden wasn't a fit, so he "advised" him to commit somewhere else. Holden committed to South Carolina immediately after visiting Tech.

UNC-Asheville transfer wing Dylan Smith visited this past weekend, but it's not clear how much Buzz likes him at this point. He averaged 13.5 points per game as a freshman last season.

I've heard two different things recently:

1: Buzz doesn't like very many of the 2016 players available.
2: He didn't spend much time scouting 2016 JUCOs, if any.

#2 is obviously a change from the past.

It's tough to tell how recruiting will play out over the spring and summer. Remember, the Hokies didn't add Ty Outlaw to last year's class until July. He reportedly committed on May 13, 2015, but that wasn't confirmed until a month later. Buzz Williams likes to keep things under wraps, so he could definitely have something up his sleeve that we don't know about.