• Linebacker
• 6-3, 215 pounds
• Phoebus High School, Hampton, VA (Coach Bill Dee)
• Runs 40 yard dash in 4.5 seconds
• Senior statistics: 100-plus tackles, 13.5 sacks, 31 tackles-for-loss
• Linebacker Rankings: Rivals No. 12 (4 stars), Insiders No. 25 (3 stars)
• Committed to Virginia Tech in early February
• VT Recruiter: Jim Cavanaugh

For prospects across the country, the recruiting process can be a fun, exciting time to gain publicity and, hopefully, end up at the school of their dreams. For blue chip prospects such as Xavier Adibi, the process can be something of a different animal.

It is common for the blue chippers to receive incessant phone calls from coaches, recruiting services, and others alike until a decision is made. Some blue chip prospects enjoy the notoriety, and some grow tired of it. While Adibi did not mind the process altogether, he is glad to have his decision made and his life once again settled.

"All the stress is over now," said Adibi. "I can finally relax. The whole process was a little trying at first, but I got used to it. And then, towards the end, the phone calls were getting really crazy. Not from coaches, but from the recruiting services� they were the worst. When guys who hadn�t spoken to me all year were calling me, asking where I wanted to go, I was getting a little tired of it."

Xavier is happy to have the stress over with for good reason � it�s been a long and winding trip for the Phoebus star.

The trip began at the end of Adibi�s junior year, with an unusual situation involving the University of Virginia. Not often does one of the state�s top programs decide not to recruit a player who is not only a consensus top five player in the state, but a high school All-American.

That was exactly the case last May, when the University of Virginia and the star Phoebus linebacker each went their separate ways, with Adibi no longer considering the Cavaliers and the Cavaliers no longer recruiting Adibi.

"One day last May, Coach Groh came into the Phoebus office and spoke to me," said Adibi. "We spoke for a little while, but he didn�t offer me. Then my teammate, Philip Brown, went in there to speak with Coach Groh, and he came out earlier than I did. He said they offered him right then. When I asked Coach Dee about it, he said he didn�t know what the problem was. After that, I removed Virginia from consideration."

A few days later, it was reported in the Roanoke Times that Groh had informed Adibi that, in the words of Coach Dee, the "ball was in his court."

Adibi, who found out about the article from an NC State coach, was not affected by the comments.

"I had eliminated them from consideration," said Adibi. "The NC State coach asked if I was recruiting them, and I didn�t know what he was talking about, so he told me about the article. It didn�t affect me at all."

Following the strange beginning to his recruitment, Adibi began focusing on other schools, most notably Tennessee, NC State, Maryland, and, of course, Virginia Tech. With the Cavaliers out of contention for the star linebacker, the Hokies could focus their efforts on a possible sticking point � having Adibi�s brother, Nathaniel, as a big part of the team and thus, having other teams plant the seed of following in the brother's footsteps.

Before the start of his senior season, Adibi was already hearing people compare him to his brother. It was something that he knew would be part of this process, and he decided early on that the comparisons would not affect his decision one way or the other.

"A lot of people had said that I am following in my brother�s footsteps," said Adibi. "All along, I have said that, if I did decide to go to Virginia Tech, it wouldn�t be because of my brother. I would choose the school that�s the best place for me. I got a little tired of it, but coach talked to me about it. He told me that schools and lots of other people would try to say I was following my brother, but not to take it seriously."

Coach Dee admitted the notion of playing in Nathaniel�s shadow was a bit of an annoyance for his young linebacker prospect, and for good reason.

"He was a little concerned about it at first," said Coach Dee. "He didn�t want people to look at him that way. He�s his own person. They are very different people; they have different personalities and sense of humor. I told him not to take it seriously."

While the two brothers may have different personalities, they are very close. Instead of being one of the reasons keeping Xavier away from Virginia Tech, Nathaniel was quite possibly the most important confidant throughout Xavier�s recruiting process. As a heavily recruited defensive end and consensus top five player in the state of Virginia out of high school, Nathaniel knew what his brother would go through.

Without his brother�s advice and his parents� guidance, Xavier admittedly may have had a tougher time dealing with the process.

"My family has probably been the most help to me throughout this process," said Adibi. "My brother helped me out more than anyone else. We are best friends. We call each other every week to see how school is going and just to talk. If it wasn�t for him, I don�t think I would have been able to handle the process as well as I did. He told me to just keep doing what I�ve always done and not to let the process affect me. He told me to be honest with people, like if I was doing homework, just tell them to call back or don�t answer the phone.

"My parents were also there to help me whenever I needed them."

Adibi�s closeness with his family has been important in keeping him on the right track academically, socially, and athletically, according to Coach Dee.

"He has a really good family," said Dee. "A good family keeps you grounded. It keeps kids on a straight line. His parental support has really helped him as a player and as a person."

Several other prominent figures in Xavier�s life have helped him flourish and, more importantly, not get rattled by constant pressure of recruiting. One is his best friend and teammate DJ Parker. The two have known each other since the seventh grade and have been best friends throughout high school.

While Adibi did not choose Virginia Tech solely because his best friend is going there, he is certainly pleased about spending the next four years with Mr. Parker.

"I�ve known DJ since seventh grade, when we played basketball against each other," said Adibi. "We talked over the past year about things like what schools we were looking at and the phone calls and things like that. It�s going to be cool having my best friend with me at college over the next four years."

When Xavier was not talking with his family or his best friend about his recruitment, he could always go to his English teacher, Ms. Bennett, who has been a close friend to him throughout high school.

In an unlikely scenario, Adibi has had Ms. Bennett all four years of high school. Even he does not know quite how that took place.

"I�m not even sure how I got her all four years," said Adibi with a laugh. "The first two years were coincidence. My junior year, my principal made a deal with me� she said she would switch my teachers if I took this higher English class. Ms. Bennett happened to be teaching that class. This year, she was my teacher again.

"I�m real close to her. I can go to her and talk about anything. I would talk to her all the time about recruiting. She helped out a lot."

Heading into his official visits, Adibi would need support from his friends and family. Signing Day was coming soon, and he had official visits to Tennessee and Virginia Tech remaining. Late in the process, it was becoming quite clear his decision would come down to those two schools.

One thing that would all but ensure Virginia Tech of landing Adibi was if Adibi did not take his official visit to Tennessee. The best possible scenario for Virginia Tech was actually close to happening, as a transcripts snafu put in question whether or not Adibi would be able to take his visit to Knoxville.

"Tennessee waited really late to get my transcripts," said Adibi. "Then the guidance office filed my transcripts wrong, so they almost didn�t get my test scores. I wish they would have taken care of it earlier."

Upset about the situation, Adibi almost cancelled the visit, but decided against it.

"The thought crossed my mind [on whether or not to cancel my visit]," said Adibi. "But I really wanted to see Tennessee to be able to make my decision. So I went."

Adibi took his much anticipated visit to Tennessee and returned glowing from an excellent trip. The trip was so good that Tennessee was now the top team on his mind.

"I loved it," said Adibi of his Tennessee visit. "After the trip, Tennessee was at the top of my list. I was real close with my position coach. The players were very cool and very down to earth. I enjoyed the time I spent with them. Academically, they were fine too. They addressed the low graduation rates, but my father wasn�t concerned about that because he knows Tennessee produces a lot of NFL players. I loved everything about Tennessee."

With the Volunteers now at the top of his list, Adibi had his visit to Virginia Tech remaining. So he took his visit to Blacksburg and, following the visit, knew his decision would be down to Virginia Tech and Tennessee. He cancelled his visit to NC State for the following weekend in order to concentrate on his decision.

"After the Virginia Tech visit, I knew I had some serious thinking to do," said Adibi. "The week before signing day, I was going back and forth. One day I would think Tennessee and the next Virginia Tech. Then I would write down the good and the bad of each school.

"I announced my decision on Tuesday, the day before Signing Day, but I decided the Friday before. I was just so familiar with what Virginia Tech had to offer. Knowing how the coaches treat their players and knowing the facilities was the deciding factor. Virginia Tech�s defense is a lot like our defense [at Phoebus], and Coach [Bud] Foster is great. Tennessee wished me luck and was as supportive as they could be on my decision. It was very tough telling them no."

Adibi had finally made his decision. After the phone calls, the mail, the visits, and all of the hectic action that comes with the recruiting process, he could now relax. Virginia Tech could now rejoice, as they had signed an athletic, All-American linebacker.

Adibi has all the talent to become a very special player for the Hokies.

"He�s just gotten better for us every single year," said Coach Dee. "The thing about Xavier is that he plays big in the big games. He also has a big frame, where he can put on a good amount of muscle and keep his speed. Xavier has all the tools."

Each time Adibi makes a big hit, he crosses his arms and forms the letter X. Hokie fans can look forward to seeing the X quite a few times in the coming years, as he brings his game and his trademark X to Blacksburg.

Hokieblake - How much did you and Chris Ellis talk about playing at the same school? Was that really a factor in your coming to Tech? Did you and Chris actually decide during your official visit to Tech to come together? Also, did Vince Hall's decision to attend Tech influence your decision at all?

XA � We compared notes a lot. We also took a few visits together, and we actually cancelled the NC State visit together as well. His decision, or Vince Hall�s, did not play a major role in my decision. It�s nice to be surrounded by such a good nucleus of players though. Their decisions did not much of have an influence on me though.

Hokiegrass - What do you feel would be a good playing weight for you in college?

XA � I want to get to 225 pounds at the most.

Jaydawg - Is there anything about your recruitment process that you'd like to go back and change? Such as making a decision sooner or later than you had. Visiting more/less schools, getting more or less mail, phone calls (coaches, recruiting services, friends), etc.

XA � I wish I could have spread out my visits over the whole year. I couldn�t do that because our team made it to the state championship. I would like to have spread it out more, but I didn�t have a choice.

Hokiestud - To what extent did your conversations with Marcus Vick about what it would be like to follow a famous older brother to VT influence you?

XA � We talked about that a little. He told me some things about it. It�s not a big factor for me though. I just wanted to go somewhere where I can play. All I�m concerned about is how I play and nothing else.

Mehulhokie - When exactly did Al Groh inform you that you would have to recruit UVa and what exactly did he say to you during the initial recruitment process?

XA � I actually found out through the NC State coach, who told me about the article in the Roanoke Times.

Would you have ever considered going to UVa had they recruited you?

XA � Yes. They would have been in my top five schools.

Looking back...what are your thoughts now and how things unfolded with UVa?

XA - I don�t really have any thoughts about it. I don�t have any thoughts about UVa now.

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