With the school's all-time single-season rushing leader departing a year early for the National Football League and no proven depth behind him, the Hokies went looking for tailbacks in this year's recruiting class.

Operating on the philosophy of former running backs coach Billy Hite, who believed you could never have enough tailbacks, they signed five out of the 28 players they enticed to Blacksburg, setting up what could be quite a duel in preseason practice for David Wilson's successor.

Wilson rushed for 1,709 yards last year, while backup Josh Oglesby exhausted his eligibility and third-stringer Tony Gregory is a question mark after injuring his knee in the Sugar Bowl.

"It's been a while since we recruited that many," coach Frank Beamer said. ...More