From the looks of things, Tyrone Nix may have been a nifty pickup. He spent last season doing senior defensive analyst work for Texas A&M. Prior to that Nix did for Middle Tennessee State what Bud Foster is doing for us, Defensive Coordinator and Linebacker coach. (See the official announcement from Hokie Sports.)
It’s going to be interesting to see how he fits in to the scheme of things. Being an analyst, senior or not, doesn’t strike me as a “happy fulfilling” job for an active, experienced field coach.
Coach Nix has solid Sec level experience under Houston Nutt at Ole Miss, and those sorts of contacts and that particular recruiting territory is going to be a really good prize to put in our side pockets. A good coach who knows the new territory is a program stretcher, and that’s what the Hokies need.
We need to get players from outside the narrow corridor that we have been living in for so long, now. Fuente, himself, stretched the territory into the mid-west and deep south. Nix is going to open more of those doors in the Gulf coast states. That’s wonderful. Top programs recruit from all over the country. Getting coaches from all over will definitely make that happen more.
Mark Diethorn is a 2007 graduate of Virginia Tech. He was rescued from our increasingly bitter rival Pitt, and joins the business side of the organization to be the Director of Player Personnel. (See the Roanoke Times for some detail) He seems to have a touch of NFL magic in his fingertips; 14 of the players that he helped to recruit for Pitt, ended up at the next level.
Recruiting = Ranking, it’s just that simple.
Welcome to Blacksburg Coach Nix! You’re going to love it here. Remember... it’s Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange; the colors of Fall in the mountains of Southwest Virginia.
Welcome back to Blacksburg Mark! You already know how to jump, and I bet you have some old maroon and orange effect tee-shirts to prove it.