The past 48 hours have been challenging for the Virginia Tech football team and head coach Brent Pry. On Saturday, the Hokies endured a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores, a disappointing outcome given the preseason hype and excitement surrounding the team.
The situation worsened when four-star wide receiver who had previously committed to Virginia Tech earlier this summer, announced he was flipping his commitment to Penn State. Outten, from Norcom High School in Portsmouth, Va., was one of three four-star wide receivers committed to Tech for the 2025 recruiting class.
While it might seem that the Hokies’ loss to Vanderbilt and Penn State’s dominant performance against West Virginia played a role in Outten’s decision, it’s important to note that Penn State had been actively recruiting him. James Franklin, Pry’s former boss, had been pursuing Outten since June and ultimately succeeded in securing his commitment.
It seems Outten wasn’t quite as “1000% committed” as he claimed on X after his initial commitment to the Hokies.
Given the current standings of both programs, it’s understandable that Outten might prefer Penn State over Virginia Tech. The results from last weekend likely had little impact on his decision.
For the Hokies, it’s disheartening to see another top Virginia recruit choose to leave the state. Outten is a standout prospect, and his departure is a tough blow. However, Virginia Tech still has two four-star commitments in Micah Matthews and Snoop Peterkin, and they have promising freshmen receivers like Brodie Adams and Chanz Wiggins on the roster. Despite the sting of losing Outten, the Hokies have talent to build on.
Virginia Tech will look to rebound when they host Marshall this weekend.
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