I just don't see VT ever becoming a 'destination' school for top flight recruits, no matter who the next HC is, or the next 10 HCs are. From a budget and tradition standpoint, it just isn't going to happen. Even during our most glorious period of FB history, while we did land *some* elite recruits, we were still not able to compete with the top SEC and BiG schools for 5* talent, year in and out. So IMHO, a "recruit the best players and see what sticks" approach is never going to work here- at least if the goal is to get back to national relevance, as opposed to 'competing for the Coastal' relevance.

Not to say a coach doesn't need to recruit- we are indeed facing a talent cliff for the next few seasons, because our current coach is simply not a good recruiter. But I think that at VT, 'good recruiter' really means 'good at identifying players who will fit our system' and 'good at identifying players who are better than their ratings'. Or in other words, what Beamer did during his heyday. It starts with having a clear vision of the schemes, strategy, and culture you want for your program, and being able to sell that in a compelling way.