The Virginia Tech football team’s planned fun weekend has devolved into a terrifying spectacle. As if losing in overtime to Vanderbilt, a team predicted to finish in the SEC basement this season, on a Saturday afternoon in Nashville wasn’t awful enough, head coach Brent Pry received worse news on Monday about the recruiting class of 2025.
Four-star athlete Matthew Outten, a member of the Class of 2025, switched his pledge from Virginia Tech to Penn State 48 hours after the Hokies fell to the Commodores 34-27. Now, I’m not claiming that his flipping of his promise had anything to do with Saturday’s loss, but it certainly makes this Labor Day Weekend more painful.
Outten committed to the Hokies on July 1, becoming one of the most prized in-state recruits that head coach Brent Pry and Fontel Mines secured this summer. Ranked as the 139th player in his class by 247Sports and the No. 6 player in Virginia, Outten was a key addition for Virginia Tech. However, he has now flipped his commitment to Penn State, where Pry previously served as defensive coordinator under James Franklin.
This is a significant recruiting loss for the Hokies, who were assembling a strong class. Despite losing Outten, they still have commitments from Micah Matthews, Jayden Anderson, and Shamaruis Peterkin, with Matthews and Peterkin being four-star recruits and Anderson a three-star.
With Outten’s departure, Virginia Tech now has 16 commits in their class, raising concerns about the possibility of more decommitments in the future. This flip also deals a blow to Virginia Tech’s in-state recruiting efforts, as they lose a top local prospect to a Big Ten program.
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