Virginia Tech Hokies News: Recruiting loss, Crystal Ball prediction, commitment day

There is a lot of recruiting news with the Hokies football and men's basketball team.
Cardinal Mooney defensive lineman Elijah Golden in individual drills during the Under Armour Next camp on Sunday, Feb. 23 at Bishop Moore High School in Orlando.
Cardinal Mooney defensive lineman Elijah Golden in individual drills during the Under Armour Next camp on Sunday, Feb. 23 at Bishop Moore High School in Orlando. | Jon Santucci/USA Today Florida Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Things have been trending upward for Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry recently. He has gone on a bit of heater and quietly has built his Class of 2026 recruiting class up to nine commitments after interior offensive lineman Adrian Hamilton committed to the Hokies on Saturday afternoon. Getting a commitment from the Washington D.C. native was huge for Pry and first-year offensive line coach Matt Moore.

On Monday, Pry will be waiting for word on another Class of 2026 recruit and this going down to the wire between Virginia, Maryland, and the Hokies. Three-star athlete DaMari Carter from Varnia High School and Richmond native will make a choice and things are trending toward the Cavaliers after a Crystal Ball prediction was logged for him. Pry rarely loses a recruiting battle to Virginia and Tony Elliott, but this one could end up going the wrong way.

Crystal Ball prediction has Virginia Tech losing out on four-star recruit

One of the highly sought-after Class of 2026 defensive linemen is four-star Elijah Golden. He has a Final 4 of Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and Alabama. It's safe to say that the Hokies are up against it in this recruiting battle, but stranger things have happened. Rivals released a Crystal Ball prediction for Golden and it isn't a good sign for Pry.

John Garcia, Jr., a national college football recruiting analyst for Rivals, logged a Crystal Ball prediction for Golden to pick Notre Dame. The Cardinal Mooney High School 6-foot-4, 275-pounder is the 107th-ranked player according to 247Sports and the 12th-ranked player in the state of Florida.

Trey Thompson commits to Iowa

Class of 2026 men's basketball 6-foot-8 power forward Trey Thompson, a four-star, had several offers when all was said and done with his recruitment, including from Mike Young and Virginia Tech. Were the Hokies a serious threat to land Thompson? Who knows, but he made his decision and headed to the Big Ten and Iowa.

He had a very long list of offers, including Purdue, Connecticut, Indiana, Providence, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Stanford. It's not surprising that he picked the Hawkeyes, but Young, Chester Frazier, and the staff have work to do with the rising senior class.