Two of Virginia Tech’s top commitments in the 2024 recruiting class could be nearing a return.
Virginia Tech interim coach Philip Montgomery met with the media after Wednesday’s practice. He provided some injury updates, including those on a pair of redshirt freshmen wide receivers who have yet to appear this season.
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First, on Keylen “Brodie” Adams, a four-star wideout from Virginia Beach, Montgomery said he was nearing a return.
“Brodie’s getting closer; he did some good things this week. We’ll see where that trend continues to go,” Montgomery said.
Adams played in three games last season, catching one pass for 14 yards, before taking a redshirt. Adams had offseason surgery and began fall camp in a non-contact jersey. He’d be a big-time addition to VT’s offense.
Chanz Wiggins, the 6-foot-3, 201-pound native of King George, Virginia, appeared in four games as a freshman last season. He’s dealing with an undisclosed injury.
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“Wiggins is probably a little bit further off.”
It sounds like there’s a chance Adams could play against Wake Forest. With Donavon Greene, Ayden Greene and Cameron Seldon entrenched as the top three receivers, the Hokies are in good shape there. However, Adams and Wiggins are both big-time playmakers. Adams has a different gear, while Wiggins plays to his size, which always isn’t the case for bigger wideouts.
Montgomery’s impact
By now, you’ve probably seen Montgomery’s speech to the Hokies ahead of last week’s game against NC State. I wanted to run through a wall for him, so it’s easy to see why his players are buying in. This situation is truly “us against the world” right now with players opting out, or thinking about opting out to take redshirt. Two of the Hokies’ leaders, defensive tackle Kelvin Gilliams and tight end Benji Gosnell, spoke about finishing strong, with Gilliam openly telling any player with one foot out the door, to go ahead and leave.
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Junior offensive tackle Johnny Garrett summed up Virginia Tech’s rollercoaster season on Tuesday, sharing Montgomery’s impact on the team.
“Just really prides himself on his faith,” Garrett said of Montgomery. “I feel like his biggest thing with us was just playing with that joy again. Obviously, Coach Pry, I have the utmost respect and love for him. His departure really set us at rock bottom, and I think for him, and pretty much all the coaches, all the players. When you’re at rock bottom, you can either keel over and die, or you can claw your way back up and he’s really reinforced that and we’ve all bought into that. I think every guy you see wearing that Virginia Tech uniform is a guy that wants to fight.”
That should make every Virginia Tech fan happy. Montgomery accomplished in two weeks what Brent Pry couldn’t do in four years. That doesn’t mean Montgomery should be the next head coach, but he looks to be the right guy at the right time. A lost season feels fun again, at least for now. The previous few weeks, most fans were ready for December.
