Virginia Tech football recruiting: Tyas Martin decommits from Hokies

The Virginia Tech Hokies suffered their third decommitment since early May on Tuesday when three-star Tyas Martin backed off his pledge.

Martin, a 6-foot-3, 318-pound defensive tackle from Jacksonville, Ark., committed to Virginia Tech on April 10. From the moment he committed, this commitment never seemed solid.

Martin originally picked the Hokies over Tennessee. Since then, the only other reported Power Five offer he picked up was from Ole Miss, which just happened to be on Tuesday when he decommitted. He also has offers from Virginia and Kansas. It is a bit unusual he doesn’t have an offer from Arkansas, the top school in his home state.

This is not a player Hokie fans should worry too much about. Yes, it looks bad that another player has decommitted. However, you’re going to see plenty of decommitments all around college football between now and December. Much like Latrell Neville earlier this month, they were never coming to Virginia Tech. The loss of quarterback Dematrius Davis is still the one that stings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed recruiting as players cannot visit campus or go to camps. This means some players, who would normally see his rankings rise or fall based on their performance at these camps, see very little movement in their rankings.

This has led to teams taking commitments from players it will likely cut loose before National Signing Day when higher-rated players become available.

Back to Martin, it doesn’t appear as if the defensive staff will even prioritize him moving forward. I liked having him in the fold. His size was impressive and he could move. But in this instance you have to trust defensive line coaches Darryl Tapp and Bill Teerlinck. They know what they are looking for and seem to be quite popular on the recruiting trail. Eventually, though, they must get good players to commit — and stick.

According to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports, Martin said he will be focusing on Alabama, Ole Miss. Mississippi State, Texas and Baylor. Of those schools, only Ole Miss has offered at the current time.

Best of luck to Martin in his future, wherever he decides to attend college.