When your head coach is fired, there will be fallout. In college football, that fallout comes in the way of recruiting.
On Sunday, the Virginia Tech Hokies fired head coach Brent Pry after beginning the season 0-3. After taking South Carolina to the limit in Week 1, the Hokies held a 20-10 lead over now No. 20 Vanderbilt, and were outscored 34-0 in the second. The following week, Virginia Tech trailed Old Dominion 31-0, meaning Tech’s defense had allowed 65 consecutive points without scoring.
With Pry gone, offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery takes over on an interim basis. A former head coach at Tulsa, Montgomery brings head coaching experience to the position.
However, in some expected, but still disappointing news, top 2026 recruit, offensive tackle Thomas Wilder, announced he was decommitting from Virginia Tech. The Virginia Beach native, who plays at Green Run High School, is the No. 10 player in Virginia for 2026 and a four-star prospect. Wilder is already hearing from some of the schools he initially spurned when he committed to the Hokies in July.
While this is disappointing news, it’s not unexpected. These things happen when there is a coaching change. You would like recruits to stay committed until a new coach is in place, but that likely doesn’t happen until December. Players prefer to have a decision in place long before then so that they can sign during December’s early signing period.
Don’t expect Wilder to be the last. In some good news, the Hokies had the 85th-ranked class before losing Wilder, according to 247Sports, so it’s not like Virginia Tech is losing a star-studded class.
The 6-foot-6, 295-pound Wilder was a nice building block for the Hokies, and he’ll likely make his next pick between the Big Ten and SEC.
