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Virginia Tech Signs 5 Early Enrollees

Clark, Nijman, Smith, Burke and Lydon have all signed to enroll early at VT.

By DavidKistler
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Austin Clark, Joshua Nijman, Tyrell Smith, Xavier Burke and Carson Lydon have all signed the necessary paperwork to enroll in January at Virginia Tech. All three will look to contribute early in spring practice as they all have college-ready frames.

Nijman, a 4* DT from Fork Union, is the most recent commitment the Hokies have received (sort of, he gave a soft-verbal to the coaches back in November) and is the highest rated recruit in this 2015 class. We project him to start at DT with the ability to move to DE if necessary. I will say though after watching his film he might be better suited to play offensive line, but I think Bud wants to keep him on defense as a space-eater in the middle, similar to the Hopkins brothers from a few years ago.

Smith, a 3* offensive guard, is a hold-over from the 2014 class as he needed a year at prep school to develop and straighten out his academics. We believe Tyrell will start out at guard for Stacy Searles with the possibility of moving to tackle. Right now I see him as a guard because he is quick and physical off of the ball in run-protection and firm in his pass-blocking. Overall, Smith is a good pickup at an area of need and continues the trend of long, athletic and physical offensive linemen that SS wants to coach.

Clark, a 4* local product at offensive tackle, is a player that VT is very high on. Originally, he committed to the SC Gamecocks, but eventually flipped to stay closer to home and stated that his comfort level at VT was the primary reason. I personally believe he wanted to play early, so chose VT, but who can blame him because at 6-6, 297lbs he will be able to contribute early. We project him to stay at tackle due to his size and athleticism, yet I am not sure if he plays his first year at VT. Size cannot be coached, which Austin has, but he needs a lot of reps to get sound fundamentally.

Burke, a 3* tight-end from Fork Union, is another nice addition by the Hokies who spent this Fall in prep school to further develop as a player and student. We think he will stick at tight end for VT although I see him having a bigger impact on the defensive side of the ball. He played DE this fall at Fork Union along side of Joshua Nijman another Hokies commit.

Lydon, a 3* florida product, is a very interesting and under the radar pickup for Bud Foster and Co. He is a very cerebral player that VT has made into superstars over the years and we think he can have a huge impact playing inside linebacker for the Hokies. I would describe him as having Chase Williams' instincts with Cody Grimm's athleticism, but he is bigger and quicker than both. He will play immediately on Special Teams, which he has a knack for and could make the 2-deep as early as his Sophomore season. A good player than many over looked, but we see him being an old fashion, hardworking VT defensive player.

VT will be looking to sign several more players to enroll in January and GC will report them as it happens.

Go Hokies!

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