Hokies Make It Two in a Row: Another Huge Recruiting Win Over ACC Foes
BLACKSBURG, VA — July 15, 2025
The Virginia Tech Hokies have done it again. For the second time in just two weeks, head coach Brent Pry and his recruiting staff have outmaneuvered their ACC rivals and secured another top-tier commitment—sending shockwaves across the college football landscape and setting the stage for what could be a defining class in Hokies history.
This time, the prize is four-star linebacker Jaylen “Jet” Rowe, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound athletic marvel out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Rowe, ranked as the No. 3 linebacker in the East and the No. 89 overall prospect in the 2026 class, chose Virginia Tech over offers from Clemson, Florida State, and North Carolina after a surprise weekend visit to Blacksburg.
“I felt the love. The energy here is different,” Rowe told ESPN. “Coach Pry’s vision, the atmosphere at Lane, and the way this defense is being built—I knew this was home.”
Rowe’s commitment follows the recent addition of five-star offensive tackle Tyrone Briggs, who stunned the recruiting world last week when he spurned Miami and Louisville to join the Hokies. Together, these two high-impact recruits have catapulted Virginia Tech’s 2026 class into the top 10 nationally—an almost unthinkable turnaround for a program that was struggling to crack the top 30 just two seasons ago.
“We’re building something real here,” Coach Pry said at a press conference Monday. “These aren’t just wins on paper. These are culture guys, competitors, and future leaders who believe in what we’re doing in Blacksburg.”
Insiders credit a revamped recruiting strategy led by associate head coach Derek Jones and the reemergence of Virginia Tech’s dominant defensive tradition. With former Hokie greats like DeAngelo Hall and Cam Chancellor returning to campus this summer for elite prospect camps, the message is clear: This is family. This is legacy.
Rowe fits that mold perfectly. A sideline-to-sideline enforcer with a 4.52 40-yard dash and a 3.9 GPA, he’s as committed in the film room as he is on the field. Virginia Tech is expected to use him as a hybrid WILL linebacker, a role similar to former Hokie star Tremaine Edmunds.
“This kid is special,” said recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill. “Virginia Tech just landed the centerpiece of its future defense.”
The ACC is on notice. The Hokies are no longer a sleeping giant—they’re fully awake, fully loaded, and coming fast. And with momentum like this, it’s hard not to imagine Blacksburg becoming the next national hotbed of elite college football talent.
One thing is certain: the Hokies have made it two in a row—and they’re just getting started.
