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Another in-state recruit shuns Virginia Tech football with commitment to Big Ten school

The Hokies pick up another in-state recruiting loss.
ByScott Roche|
Aug 31, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry looks on against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Aug 31, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry looks on against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Brent Pry has made recruiting in the state of Virginia a priority since being hired at Virginia Tech, and he has, for the most part, had some success. Recently, however, he has come up on the short end of commitments from players from the Commonwealth, and that continued on Wednesday afternoon.

After wide receiver Travis Johnson from Chesapeake picked Michigan over Virginia Tech and other schools on July 4 and Darius Gray left the Hokies off his Final 5 list last week, three-star wide receiver Jayden Kitchens had Virginia Tech in his Final 3, but chose to leave the state of Virginia rather than remain home.

Three-star wide receiver Jayden Kitchens commits to Maryland over Virginia Tech

It's no secret that recruiting in the Class of 2026 is not going as planned, with just nine commitments currently for Pry, which has also seen a pair of huge de-commitments in four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone and four-star wide receiver Carnell Warren. Falzone has since landed at Auburn, and Warren is heading to North Carolina. Two key offensive players are gone from a class that has the Hokies scrambling for playmakers on that side of the ball. Kitchens was hopefully going to be one of those players, but instead, he's heading to the Big Ten.

Kitchens committed to Maryland and is a miss for Virginia Tech. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder had 40 catches for 747 yards and five touchdowns for The St. James High School. He averaged 18.7 yards a catch. The Springfield native is the 212th-ranked wide receiver and 32nd in Virginia according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. Those are not mind-blowing numbers, but he would have been a nice addition to the class.

Pry is building a class that has linemen committed on the offensive side of the ball, but the class is severly lackign skilled position players and the sign that isn't good is that players are deciding to go oout of state or head to Charlottesville, a huge nightmare. Recruting needs to take a turn for the better quickly in the Class of 2026.

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