BLACKSBURG, Va. — Down 21-0 last year to rival Westminster School, Atlanta Woodward Academy coach John Hunt knew he had to get the ball to his most dynamic athlete again and again, in any way possible. Running back Tahj Gary, who committed to Virginia Tech on Friday, obliged, reaching the 100-yard plateau both receiving and rushing and scoring three touchdowns to lead the War Eagles to a 31-21 comeback victory.
Advertisement
“I think Tahj is one of the most well-rounded backs that I’ve ever coached as far as his ability to run the ball inside and run the ball outside,” Hunt said. “And by all means, he’s probably the running back that has the best ball skills, catching the ball, that I’ve ever coached. So he’s a very versatile back. He can do it all.”
For Virginia Tech to take a second running back in what’s not expected to be the biggest signing class, you’d figure Gary would have to offer something unique. Apparently, he does. Gary (5 feet 9, 212 pounds) leads Woodward Academy in rushing (65 carries, 652 yards) and receiving (18 catches, 411 yards), with 12 touchdowns to his credit. He was a first-team Class AAAA all-state player as a junior in 2017; the quarterback on that all-state team was current Clemson starter Trevor Lawrence.
C O M M I T T E D ‼️ pic.twitter.com/CwaIHeQjdG
— Young Bull ⁸ (@Tahjgary) October 19, 2018
Although the Hokies have a number of tailbacks on the roster, they’re not overflowing with pass catchers at the position.
Travon McMillian led the running backs with 12 catches for 173 yards and three touchdowns in 2017, then transferred to Colorado in the offseason. This season, Steven Peoples leads the backs with 10 catches for 103 yards, including a big one near the sideline on a wheel route last week against North Carolina on the game-winning drive. But he’s a senior.
Gary, a three-star prospect who picked Virginia Tech over South Carolina and others, fits the bill in that regard. (And if you’re looking for a size comparison, Peoples, who was 5-9 and 205 pounds coming out of Galax High, had a similar body.)
“The best thing his coaches will like, too, is you don’t have to ever substitute him off the field because he’s a phenomenal receiver,” Hunt said.
Advertisement
That’s not to discount his other attributes as a runner. Hunt, who was a guard at Florida from 1980-83 and has coached in the college and pro ranks, has a good read on college prospects. Woodward put out 15 a few years ago and has a number of big names around the country, the most notable being Georgia running back Elijah Holyfield, who leads the Bulldogs with 488 rushing yards.
Hunt has told Gary that he reminds him of a successful NFL player he crossed paths with who ended up holding a bunch of records. He declined to share who it was, not wanting to put any undue pressure on his star back publicly, but noted that Gary has an all-around game that can take him far.
“I’ll watch games and tape later where we literally don’t block anybody,” Hunt said. “I mean, nobody. And he’s busting out 8-, 7-, 9-yard runs on plays we don’t block anybody.”
Hunt remembered a game last year against region rival Covington Eastside in which Gary was fighting for yards after contact and lost a fumble.
“He came to the sideline and says, ‘Coach, give me the ball and I’ll make up for it,’ ” Hunt said. “And we gave him the ball after that and he was hard to bring down in what was a nail-biter. And at the very end, he got about a 20-yard run and he probably ran over four guys on the way to the end zone, and two of them were left on the ground after he scored. I don’t know how he did it to this day.”
Gary joins three-star back Keshawn King of Orange Park (Fla.) Oakleaf, in the Jacksonville suburbs, in the Hokies’ 2019 class, which now has 18 members. That’s stretching the limits for how many players Tech can take. Though attrition has the Hokies a little bit under the 85-man scholarship limit, they only have six scholarship seniors on the roster, meaning there will need to be plenty of attrition among underclassmen this offseason for the entire freshman class to fit.
Advertisement
Gary seems worth the take for Virginia Tech, even in a tight class.
“He’s got all the ability in the world,” Hunt said. “I think he actually has a lot of upside as well. He’ll need to get in there and really learn to work hard and to get that last little percentage out of his ability, and if Virginia Tech does that, they’ll get an even better player.”