Brent Pry Sends a Message With Keylen Adams' Commitment to Virginia Tech

College football recruiting is too fickle to follow on a daily basis. But some recruits' commitments are signs of something bigger.

Class of 2024 recruit Keylen Adams made his official visit to Virginia Tech on June 23. (Photo via @brodie3x on Twitter)

I stopped following the day-to-day recruiting news in college football a few years ago. Young boys and men in high school change their minds far too often to get wrapped up in the constant commitments and subsequent decommitments that we see on a yearly basis.

There are sometimes, however, when a recruit will catch my attention. Keylen Adams did just that on Thursday, when he committed to Virginia Tech.

Adams is a low four-star prospect from my neck of the woods in Virginia Beach, VA. I live about 15 minutes from his high school. My hometown has had plenty of four-star prospects in the past that haven’t panned out, but when Alabama gets involved, you’d be smart to pay attention.

That’s right — Virginia Tech secured a verbal from a player considering two SEC schools in his top three, one of which is the best college football program of the last 15 years. Beating out Shane Beamer and South Carolina is a delicious cherry on top.

I’m no scout, but 247Sports’ Brian Dohn compares Adams to KeAndre Lambert-Smith, another 757 recruit that got away to Penn State that has 75 career receptions and seven touchdowns over his three-year career. That’s not a bad comp.

Maintaining cautious optimism with recruits is key, as commits often leave for other programs before National Signing Day and even if they do sign, they often don’t have what it takes to contribute. But when programs like Alabama, Florida State, Michigan and Ohio State are involved, that recruit’s chance of being fit for Saturdays is much higher.

Perhaps more importantly, Adams’ commitment sends the message that Brent Pry and his staff are not just fighting with the blue bloods on the recruiting trail, but that they’re capable of winning. That’s an ability fans didn’t see in the Class of 2023, nor from the previous staff in its later stages. Going toe-to-toe with the best and coming out on top is as encouraging as it gets in July.

Nothing is set in stone, and this post could become moot by December. But for now, there’s reason to believe Pry and the Hokies are trending upward on the recruiting trail.

The next step? Turning recruits into wins.