Virginia Tech received good news on the recruiting front Tuesday when four-star defensive end Corey Marshall committed to play football for the Hokies. Marshall, who is entering his senior year at Dinwiddie High School near Richmond, was the fourth player to give a verbal commitment to Virginia Tech in the last week.
Making his announcement on the Washington Post Live TV show, Marshall joins teammate Chris Hall, Adeboye Aromire and Christian Reeves as the latest members of the Hokies' 2011 recruiting class. Tech now has six commitments, including defensive tackle Kris Harley and safety Ronny Vandyke.
DE Corey Marshall
Marshall is the No. 21 strongside defensive end according to Rivals despite playing defensive tackle at Dinwiddie. Harley, who committed to the Hokies in April, is the No. 19 defensive tackle according to Rivals, giving Tech an impressive pair of defensive linemen.
Here's what Joe from The Key Play has to say about Marshall after watching his announcement:
The 6'2" 239 pound defensive end is one of the top players in Virginia. He's listed on the Rivals.com Top 250 and was named 1st Team All Combine at the U.S. Army National Junior Combine. There isn't any free film out there (that I could find), but in April he talked with Washington Post Live's Ivan Carter. He seems like a levelheaded, articulate kid, which in my opinion is as important as any "star ranking".
Marshall picked Tech over Virginia, West Virginia and Michigan.
TE Chris Hall
Marshall's teammate, Hall, committed to Tech on Monday. He told the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Darryl Slater he picked the Hokies because they were upfront about where they wanted him to play:
That's what Hall wanted to hear. "Basically, I just wanted to go somewhere where I would be able to be definitely know where I would be [playing]," he said.
Hall is Dinwiddie's quarterback and picked the Hokies over UVa and Marshall, which recruited him as a QB.
CB Adeboye Aromire
Aromire picked Virginia Tech over North Carolina and Maryland on June 18. He's the No. 31 cornerback according to Rivals, which gives him a three-star ranking. Justin from VT Fan is impressed with him and expects him to compete for time early in his career:
Cris Hill and Rashad Carmichael are both upper-classmen meaning that after his true freshman season, the top two boundary corners will have graduated and left. If Aromire does well during spring practice, I wouldn't be shocked if Coach Torrian Gray decided to place him in the two deep and award him some snaps next fall. That would allow him to battle with Kyle Fuller, Detrick Bonner, and potentially Jerrodd Williams for the starting job the following spring.
Aromire is entering his senior season with H.D. Woodson High School in Washington, DC.
TE Christian Reeves
Reeves, a wide receiver recruited as a tight end from Eagles Landing Christian Academy outside of Atlanta, picked the Hokies over Central Florida, Air Force, Buffalo and Tulane on June 16. He's a three-star recruit according to Rivals and ESPN and told the Roanoke Times he expects to have a dynamic role with Tech:
"The way they're going to use me is in an H-back role, where they can use me in a lot of different places on the field," said Reeves.
With six commitments, the Hokies are probably halfway to filling their 2011 signing class. Tech doesn't have a lot of scholarships to give out this year, so you'll probably see between 10-15 kids sign with the Hokies in February.