Relationships, Love For Virginia Tech Brought James Johnson Back To Blacksburg

25 Comments

1. 

   NCNJ HOKIE May 10, 2023 at 3:06 PM

   It could be thought of as akin to thinking outside the box. You'll never know unless you try and experiment a little with the concept. Not a whole lot to lose if it's unsuccessful.
2. 

   Al Czervik May 10, 2023 at 11:41 AM

   "...I want you to grow this thing in the direction you feel is right...Tailor it to your strengths. There's no handcuffs on it." He's got the personality to make this a home run. CBP has given JJ the latitude to achieve his goals, there's a lot here to believe this could be extremely beneficial to football operations.
3. 

   MAHist87 May 10, 2023 at 11:05 AM

   Exactamundo! His job is to sell Virginia Tech, not evaluate or coach. This could be a brilliant move for Pry and Young both (they should split the cost down the road). Who better to tell kids and their parents that even though he never attended Tech, he has been so impressed with the school that he can't stay away. It'll be interesting to see his approach.
4. 

   Austin Hokie May 10, 2023 at 9:13 AM

   I like the move.
5. 

   132711Hokie May 10, 2023 at 6:31 AM

   Basketball guy in the football office. Another Director of High School Relations. I don't know about this.
   1. 

      Vttke517 May 10, 2023 at 6:45 AM

      A lot of fans complain about our inability to recruit the state. I’d say this is a step in making sure we can by putting our money where our mouth is.
   2. 

      extremehokie May 10, 2023 at 9:29 AM

      I agree. Not sure what is going on, but all we can do is hope it works. Besides, how will anyone outside of the internal workings of the program ever really know how it turns out?
6. 

   HokieNLot11 May 10, 2023 at 6:20 AM

   The old adage “don’t burn your bridges “ comes to mind here. And it sounds like he has not. It’s a low risk hire.
7. 

   jims May 9, 2023 at 10:31 PM

   Off the charts interesting hire! Such a shame the basketball didn't work out, but like others said, everyone liked him, and he represented the university well, good luck in this new role! Low key enough if it doesn't work out it is not that much of a loss, but has the potential to be a little game changer if it can result in some top recruits!
8. 

   IB4TECH May 9, 2023 at 9:44 PM

   This is a solid hire when it comes to relationships. Never heard a bad thing about JJ as a person, only good things.
9. 

   HtownHokie May 9, 2023 at 9:19 PM

   how many times has he already been in to see CMY and disclose inside info on the klumsykats and puppypack hoops strategy and secrets. this may turn out to be a two-fer; good for both football and basketball! Go Hokies!
10. 

    U2Hokie May 9, 2023 at 9:06 PM

    He's perfect for the job - you all that are worrying are worried bout nothin... I really cant believe you think JJ cant sell VT to families/players and HS Coaches...jeez. Go JJ Go Hokies!
    1. 

       MAHist87 May 10, 2023 at 11:05 AM

       Exactamundo! His job is to sell Virginia Tech, not evaluate or coach. This could be a brilliant move for Pry and Young both (they should split the cost down the road). Who better to tell kids and their parents that even though he never attended Tech, he has been so impressed with the school that he can't stay away. It'll be interesting to see his approach.
11. 

    ToledoHokie May 9, 2023 at 8:56 PM

    This has got to be one of the weirdest, riskiest hires I’ve ever seen. He was horrible as a bball coach here. That being said, if he can persuade blue chippers to come here I’ll be the first in line to say Pry is a genius! No predictions on how this works out, I’ll just sit back and watch.
    1. 

       Andy Bitter May 9, 2023 at 9:02 PM

       I mean, how risky is a *second* director of high school relations hire? It’s not like he’s offensive coordinator or something. It’s an off-field role.
       1. 

          U2Hokie May 9, 2023 at 10:15 PM

          110% Agree AB!
       2. 

          ToledoHokie May 9, 2023 at 10:17 PM

          Agreed Andy, but the only way we turn this thing around is to get better recruits, and to think that would happen from a former basketball coach we fired years ago just seems so strange to me. It’s only “risky” in that we may see no improvement in our recruits from this, and Pry really needs that to happen to have any chance of winning. And welcome to TSL Andy, I’m so glad you are here with Will, Chris, David and the rest of the team!
       3. 

          lfrench May 10, 2023 at 9:42 AM

          Agree.. nothing but upside to this hire !
    2. 

       Mercury May 10, 2023 at 8:26 AM

       U missed the point. We build close relationships with high schiool coaches and aau team coaches who are close to the players daily. If the coaches who like vt does provide inside info and makes a call before a recruit is public vt gets in their early and builds relationship and able to invite the player players to come.
    3. 

       Arch72Hokie May 10, 2023 at 9:50 AM

       "Riskiest?" What's the down-side?
       1. 

          ToledoHokie May 10, 2023 at 11:32 AM

          That it doesn’t help bring in a higher level of recruits.
    4. 

       Arch72Hokie May 10, 2023 at 9:51 AM

       What's the down-side?
       1. 

          DelMarHokie May 10, 2023 at 12:54 PM

          The downside is we waste 2-4 years plugging in the wrong person (great guy I'm sure) for the job. What if we hired a charismatic football coach that knows VA HS football like the back of his hand ? I'm sure there are a lot of goals CBP wants to accomplish here but isn't the number goal to have great relationships with VA HS Football Coaches ? Sorry guys, this isn't the type of hire top teams would do. Hoping for the best
12. 

    132820Hokie May 9, 2023 at 7:38 PM

    I like it. Culture and out of the box…
13. 

    No_Limit_Hokie May 9, 2023 at 7:31 PM

    I wish him good luck, and hope it will work out.