UVA grad-transfer running back J’Mari Taylor was a target of the school down in Blacksburg, which apparently sent an assistant to a North Carolina Central game in November to recruit him in person.
“Virginia Tech was actually on my sideline recruiting our running back,” NCCU coach Trei Oliver told reporters at The Bill Dooley Pigskin Preview in Raleigh on Friday.
That’s … ballsy.
The game in question: Nov. 15, a Friday night, in Durham.
Tech, from a look at its 2024 schedule, was off that weekend.
Taylor, a senior, ran for 206 yards and three TDs in a 26-3 win.
“That was pretty bold,” Oliver said. “I couldn’t believe it. A couple coaches tried to calm me down and say, ‘Yeah, Coach, he’s just down here visiting.’ But I knew what it was.”
Oliver didn’t name Taylor, or the alleged Tech staffer, directly, though he did say the player in question ended up at Virginia, which links up to Taylor, and the coach said the player received $400,000 to transfer.
“We won the football game. Two weeks later, my kid got in the portal. Then they (Virginia Tech) were the first people trying to get in his ear,” Oliver told reporters.
Tech Athletics, for its part in this, is in damage-control mode.
“We were made aware Friday afternoon of a public comment suggesting a potential NCAA rules concern involving a member of our coaching staff. This is the first time the issue has been brought to our attention, and no concern has previously been shared with us through any formal channel,” the school said in a statement.
“Virginia Tech takes all NCAA rules seriously and is committed to conducting our program with integrity. We are reviewing the matter internally and will address any findings appropriately.”
The embarrassing part to this: Tech didn’t get the kid.
(Because they have no money. We’re talking $400K here. Not a king’s ransom.)
What’s funny here: Oliver, the coach who lost his player to an ACC school, isn’t mad at the school that he eventually lost his kid to.
“Thank God he went to UVA, and UVA is going to beat the smoke out of them other folks,” Oliver said.
That, of course, remains to be seen.
(Tech always wins, in the end.)
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Chris Graham
