4-Star Defensive End Jalen Dalton Makes His Decision Today

Aug 30, 2014; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster before the game against the William & Mary Tribe at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The recruitment of 4-star defensive end Jalen Dalton has been an intense battle between the Virginia Tech Hokies and North Carolina Tar Heels with the Hokies making a big surge from being a longshot to arguably being the favorite over North Carolina.

For North Carolina, this would be a big victory on the recruiting trail given the fact that Dalton is from the state of North Carolina. For Virginia Tech, poaching Dalton from North Carolina would be huge while getting Dalton would give them a whole lot of momentum as they make the push for other big names including 5-star DE Josh Sweat, 4-star DT Tim Settle, and multiple others.

Whoever gets Dalton will be getting one of the top 100 recruits in the nation with ESPN, 247 Sports, and Rivals all having Dalton ranked as one of the top 90 recruits in the country. Dalton is also ranked as one of the top 3 prospects in North Carolina by those 3 sites which has made it even more important for the Tar Heels to make a big push for Dalton especailly after missing out on 5-star DT Shy Tuttle.

The factor of staying in your home state is something that has benefited North Carolina a lot along with the fact that Dalton has the potential to be a starter as a true freshman in Chapel Hill. However, North Carolina does not have tons of prestige while the academic scandel probably hurts their chances a lot, especially since that usually hurts the opinion of a recruit’s family.

Virginia Tech might not be able to give Dalton starting time immediately but he has the skillst o potentially be the third or fourth defensive end next fall and play a lot. The Hokies also have a great defensive reputation with Bud Foster and a lot more prestige built up under Frank Beamer despite the last three seasons.