If you follow recruiting, you’ve probably noticed that the Hokies are in on a lot of big time players from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Tech has had some success in these areas before, landing standouts such as Andre Davis (NY), Cory Bird (NJ) and Kevin Jones (PA). But generally, VT has stayed away from these areas.

However, since all but abandoning the state of Florida, the Hokies have branched out into other states. Those areas include the northeast. And they have been able to effectively do so because of their quarterbacks coach, Kevin Rogers.

We all know Rogers from the way he developed Bryan Randall from an unpolished athlete into a good senior quarterback. We know him from his entertaining, and often very blunt, comments to the media. However, he has made a bigger impact on the recruiting trails than anyone ever could have imagined.

Rogers has signed ten players since coming to Blacksburg. None of them have been major contributors as of yet, but that will change in 2005.

Two of these players, Michael Hinton and Carl Howard, are no longer with the team. With Tech’s situation at rover and lack of depth at defensive tackle, the Hokies certainly could use these guys this year. But, it’s not Rogers fault that they left, and he did a great job bring them to Blacksburg in the first place.

A few of those players have a chance to make their mark in 2005. Brandon Flowers showed flashes of being an outstanding cornerback last season before a leg injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Corey Gordon adapted well to the whip linebacker position in the spring, and could see some time as a backup at that position this year. As it stands now, he is the whip of the future. His development will allow Aaron Rouse to stay at rover.

Justin Harper played as a true freshman in 2004, but he didn’t make much of an impact. That will change in 2005. Harper is tall, strong, fast and has great hands. Defensive tackles Barry Booker and Kory Robertson have a chance to step up and work their way into the rotation. Right now, it looks like Booker has the edge. These guys will be very important for Tech in 2005, as Charley Wiles loves to rotate defensive linemen. Also, true freshmen Cam Martin and Jahre Cheeseman have been impressive thus far in camp.

Rogers has brought in some young, promising players in the past few years. But in 2006, he has a chance to pull a recruiting coup of epic proportions. Rogers is being used in the correct recruiting territory for the first time. Born in Brooklyn, he called Sparta, NJ home before playing his college ball at William & Mary.

After graduating from William & Mary, Rogers has had coaching stints at Ohio State, Navy, Syracuse and Notre Dame…all schools that recruit heavily in the northeast. Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey…those states are Rogers’ stomping grounds. This year VT is using this to their advantage, allowing Rogers to recruit heavily in these states. And thus far, he is doing so with great success.

Tech is in on eight major prospects from these three states. In fact, one has already committed to the Hokies.

From the Garden State of New Jersey, Rogers is actively involved with:

That’s a pretty impressive list. Who would have ever thought that Virginia Tech would have a legitimate shot at four of the top ten players from the state of New Jersey?

Rogers isn’t stopping in the Garden State. He is in on a couple of top prospects from Pennsylvania as well:

And finally we have five-star wide receiver Vidal Hazelton, a New York native and recent transfer to Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, VA. Hazelton is ranked the #2 WR nationally by Rivals.com, and the #1 wideout by Scout.com. He is the #1 player in the state of New York, and he has legitimate interest in Virginia Tech. His transfer to Hargrave for his senior season will only help the Hokies.

Here is a table listing each prospect.

Okay, so the Hokies have gained the attention of some top players from the northeast. Do they actually have a chance of landing them? Yep, every last one of them. The work that Kevin Rogers has done with these recruits has been nothing short of outstanding, especially when considering Tech’s out-of-state woes of the past. As of right now, it appears that all eight players listed above will officially visit Virginia Tech.

Besides the already committed Mike Gee, reports say that Zach Luckett and Jason Adjepong also heavily favor the Hokies. Their commitments would be welcome additions to Virginia Tech. Luckett is listed as a wide receiver but could play defensive back as well. He will officially visit Tech on September 16, the weekend of the Ohio game. With regards to Adjepong, the Hokies need defensive ends this year, and Adjepong is near the top of their board.

As far as everyone else goes, I think it’s reasonable to say that VT has as good a shot as any other school. The fact that Kevin Rogers has been able to get official visits from each of them will go a long way.

Some other official visit dates include Jared Odrick and Knowshon Moreno on October 27 for the Thursday night Boston College game.

The Hokie nation was very excited when Frank Beamer added Kevin Rogers to the staff after Rickey Bustle departed following the 2001 season. Rogers was known for his development of quarterbacks such as Donovan McNabb at Syracuse and Jarious Jackson at Notre Dame. He was an experienced quarterbacks coach who had also served as offensive coordinator. In all honesty, Beamer improved his coaching staff when Bustle left and Rogers came aboard, and that's not necessarily a knock on Bustle as much as it is a tribute to Rogers. There's no question that the amount of talent at quarterback at Virginia Tech, and the development of that talent, has gone up since Rogers joined the staff.

After three seasons as quarterbacks coach, VT is finally maximizing Rogers’ recruiting efficiency by having him recruit heavily in the northeast. Rogers already has an outstanding pickup in Mike Gee. I’ll go out on a limb and say that he will land Zach Luckett and Jason Adjepong as well, since they are currently fairly heavy Hokie leans. Landing three out of these eight prospects would be an outstanding year for Rogers, and more would just be icing on the cake.