After Brent Pry was hired at Virginia Tech to replace Justin Fuente, he knew there were a lot of areas that needed to be addressed. One of them was with recruiting high school players and making strides in that in the state of Virginia.
Recruiting fell off under Fuente compared to what it was under Frank Beamer. I know, we're not breaking any news there. However, Pry and his staff were able to pluck some four-star recruits in his recruiting classes. Some of them ended up making an impact, while others, not so much. With that said, here are three recruiting disappointments under Pry's tenure as head coach, which ended last September.
3. Gunnar Givens, 4-star (OT)
Offensive tackle Gunnar Givens was a four-star recruit out of Daleville, Virginia, in the Class of 2022. However, he spent three years at Virginia Tech, and despite the offensive line being a major headache for Hokies fans, he never carved out a role as a full-time starter during his three years in Blacksburg. He ended up entering the Transfer Portal and landing at Vanderbilt in the SEC, where he played in every game in 2025 and totaled 183 snaps. If you can play every snap at Vandy, you should have been able to crack the Hokies' lineup at some point.
2. Dae'Quan Wright, 4-star (TE)
This might be more of an indictment on the coaching staff at Virginia Tech, but tight end Da'Quan Wright spent his first two college seasons in Blacksburg, where he played in 19 games and had 47 catches for 574 yards and zero touchdowns. A four-star in the Class of 2022 with Givens, he ended up hitting the Transfer Portal and landed with Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.
Talk about two different places with two different results. Wright ended up playing in 28 games for the Rebels with 66 catches for 1,029 yards and nine touchdowns. Imagine having a tight end as a focal point of the offense and being allowed to make some plays.
1. Chance Fitzgerald, 4-star (WR)
A four-star wide receiver out of Tennessee in the Class of 2023, Chance Fitzgerald totaled one catch at Virginia Tech before hitting the Transfer Portal and landing at Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-2 receiver was compared to Buffalo Bills receiver Gabe Davis coming out of high school, but never got his footing on the ground with his size and speed. Projected as a good all-around Power 5 receiver at the time, he never lived up to his projection, according to 247Sports.
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