When Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry fired offensive line coach Ron Crook in December, the search was on for his replacement. After the last couple of seasons, Pry needed to hit it big and it appears he has done with former West Virginia offensive line coach Matt Moore.
Again, it’s no secret that he has a long job in front of him. Gone is nearly the entire offensive line from last season and is that a bad thing? In the previous two seasons, the OL play was bad at times. Now Moore is left rebuilding the line after players used up their eligibility or entered the transfer portal.
The Matt Moore effect in Blacksburg has already made an impact with three of his former linemen at West Virginia, Tomas Rimac, Kyle Altuner, and Lucas Austin transferring to Virginia Tech through the portal. That’s a good start within itself.
Now along with spring practices and the game over the next couple of months, Moore has plenty on his plate putting together a line that is going to protect quarterback Kyron Drones and Pop Watson. Moore also is facing a huge couple of months in terms of recruiting with a handful of Class of 2026 recruits locking in visits to Virginia Tech.
Matt Moore facing a crucial recruiting period at Virginia Tech
Looking toward the future, Moore has a big couple of months coming up with several recruits locking in visits along the offensive line. Darius Gray, from Richmond, is the biggest named player to lock in a visit in April from 11-13. The 6-foot-3, 285-pounder Gray is the second-ranked player in Virginia in his class according to 247Sports rankings and per their composite ranking, he’s the 25th-ranked player in the country in his class.
Pry and his staff have excelled in recruiting within the Commonwealth the last couple of classes and Gray should be a priority in the Class of 2026. The problem is, that the Hokies are going up against some major programs that include Ohio State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Penn State, LSU, Oregon, Georgia, and Michigan. That’s a daunting list to defeat for Virginia Tech and Moore.
The weekend of the Spring Game, there are other offensive linemen in the Class of 2026 expected to visit, but Gray is the headliner, and someone Moore and Pry need to impress for the future.