The Hokies will always be a running team, which makes finding a high quality running back crucial for the future success of this football program. Ryan Williams is likely gone after this year if he stays healthy and runs for another 1000 plus yards. Darren Evans is a junior and will likely return for his senior year but he too could flirt with the NFL if he has a good 2010 campaign.
With just Josh Oglesby, David Wilson, and Tony Gregory left on roster after Williams and Evans, Tech may want to find their RB of the future fairly soon. With Michael Holmes as the only offered tailback this year, Tech will likely wait until the 2012 class before taking a running back.
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If Williams leaves, the Hokies will be able to use the early playing time sell that works so well in College Football these days. Tech should be able to attract some of the best RB’s in the state of Virginia in 2012 and possibly a few more high quality tailbacks in the south. We will examine this later on in the article.
Just like in my QB recruiting article a few weeks ago, this article is designed to view the state of the running back position now but it’s also meant to take a look into the future and see which running backs could potentially fill some holes in both 2011 and 2012.
Right now, let’s take a look at the current depth chart and how it will look this season.
Depth Chart
Williams and Evans will be the primary carriers of the rock this fall, leaving Wilson, Lewis, and Gregory to pick up the scraps. Oglesby moved to fullback in the spring but could move to RB again if the injury bugs strikes the backfield again this year. With so much talent loosely assembled behind Tyrod Taylor this year, you should enjoy this season because who knows if VT will ever be able to accumulate this much talent again.
Recruiting Chart
So far, not many names have come out for the 2012 class, which is normal. You have to remember that these rising juniors have only played either one or two years of high school football and still have two years remaining. At this point, only the elite prospects have been mentioned. At the top of the list for 2012 is Keith Marshall out of Raleigh, North Carolina. Marshall already holds a Virginia Tech offer but he also holds offers from Florida, UNC, Notre Dame, and many others.
This will be a difficult recruiting battle for the Hokies but if he visits Tech sometime this season, the Hokies will at least have a chance.
Outside of Marshall, the Hokies have not offered another running back in the 2012 class. JC Coleman is an in-state player to watch out of Oscar Smith High School down in the “757” area. Coleman is a little on the short side, which may delay some schools from offering but he is probably the best 2012 running back in the Hampton roads area right now.
Ronald Darby is a name to monitor as he comes from Potomac High School in Maryland, which is a high school the Hokies tend to recruit every now and then. Darby is a speed back, running his 40 in less than 4.4 seconds. However, the Hokies are one of the only schools that haven’t offered Darby yet. He holds scholarship offers from Duke, Maryland, Wake Forest, UVA, Marshall, and a couple others.
Dolphus Pearson is a new name on my board but apparently the Tech coaches already know about him. So far, Pearson doesn’t hold a verbal offer from anybody but over ten schools have sent him mail thus far in his recruitment. The Hokies appear to be interested but won’t consider offering until they see some junior film.
Final Thoughts
With the possibility of Wilson redshirting and the emergence of Tony Gregory, the Hokies are in good hands over the next three years. However, it would be nice to secure a Keith Marshall or another four star/five star running back in 2012 to help procure the Virginia Tech running attack for an extra three or four years.
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