VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- Keylen Adams had his list trimmed down to five schools. In the end, the Green Run football star decided that staying within the commonwealth borders was the best decision for him.
Adams verbally committed to Virginia Tech on Thursday afternoon during a ceremony at the high school. The four-star wide receiver picked the Hokies over Alabama, Ohio State, South Carolina and Pittsburgh.
"When I first met Coach Pry, the first thing he told me was he was trying to make Virginia Tech how it was before when all the best players in Virginia went there," Adams said. "Since then, I've been seeing the process and all the Virginia players that [have] gone."
The Stallion wideout eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yard mark in 2022 and helped lead Green Run to its second straight Class 5 state semifinal. He was recruited by former Old Dominion assistant coach Fontel Mines, who is now the Hokies' wide receivers coach. Pry and Mines were able to lure the prized 757 product to Blacksburg.
"Coach Pry has the family mindset and to me that's very important for when I get there," noted Adams. "I'm going to be in-state, but I'm still going to be away from family so having that family vibe there, I feel that's very important."
Adams is the second 757 star to give Pry and Virginia Tech a verbal commitment this month. Frank Cox defensive lineman Gerard Johnson also pledged to the Hokies on July 1 and Adams commitment now gives the current Tech staff two big pieces in winning back the Tidewater region.
"The people [who are] going there, I already really know," Adams pointed out of his fellow recruits. "There are my real-life homeboys, not just somebody I met on Instagram or something like that. We really hang out with each other."
While Lane Stadium may not be right up the road, the opportunity for family and friends to see him play also factored into his decision. Virginia Tech was the closest school of his five finalists to his home in Virginia Beach, making trips back and forth easier for both him and those close to him.
"The closer I am to them, I feel like that's better for me and them," he said. "I know how times get. Sometimes you just get in a little zone and you need to talk to family."
The rising senior says he'll study graphic design at Virginia Tech and will enroll early in January of 2024 to get a head start. With his college decision out of the way, he can now turn his focus solely on his final high school campaign.
"State championship," he said of Green Run's 2023 goals. "That's it."
