“Just when I visited with my mom, everything seemed to fit,” Clark Crum said in regards to his commitment to Virginia Tech. “The coaches were great and treated me and my mom well. They were very down to earth and acted as if my mom and I weren’t there so that was really good. They didn’t put on a front.
“The campus was real nice too,” Crum continued. “It was secluded from everything but there’s a city there if you need something. They had great academics as well.”
The visit did Crum in as the Hokies immediately jumped to the top of his list. “After I visited Tech, it went way up on my list,” Crum noted. “Those things I talked about were very good things I hadn’t seen as much other places and then I went to camp at Notre Dame who was in my top two and they didn’t offer, so by process of elimination with those two, I went ahead and chose Virginia Tech. Even if Notre Dame did offer, Virginia Tech would still have been my favorite.”
Though the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame did not offer, plenty of schools did according to Crum’s high school coach Karl Johnson. “In the Big Ten Indiana and Illinois, then Duke, Boston College, Iowa State, Miami (OH), Akron, [and] Ohio University. He had a lot of guys that were close to offering but he committed before they did. I think if he waited he would have many more offers.”
Tech swooped in and landed Crum and, according to Coach Johnson, the Hokies have landed an impressive prospect with tons of potential. “The one thing that stands out about Clark is he has great feet and runs well for a kid 6’7+ and over 280. He runs well.
“He moves his feet real well,” Johnson continued. “That’s his strength. He pulls in our offense and is doing a good job with that. He’s got a good power base coming off the ball. He’s good at pass protection and he’s been a solid player for us.”
Though Crum is an impressive high school prospect, he plans to add strength as he moves toward playing college football at Virginia Tech. “He’s been working on his strength,” said Coach Johnson. “Being in basketball all the time he hasn’t had as much time in the weight room. He’s cut back on his basketball summer schedule and that has allowed him in the spring and this summer to be in the weight room more. That’ll pay big dividends for him.”
With his decision out of the way, the Ohio native plans to make a visit to Tech, but can now relax and enjoy his senior campaign as well. “I still keep in touch with Coach Wiles,” Crum said. “We’ll be making another visit up there the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd. My dad and my sister are going up there. Hopefully we’ll meet some more coaches. We’re hoping to make it up and I’ve been following and seeing how things are with the players. It’s not as stressful for me now, I just see what’s going on with the program.
“It’s nice not to worry about mail and reading everything and what camps people are going to,” Crum continued. “You know how you stand and you feel a little more a part of the team. It’s relieving you don’t have to do more camps or visits. It’s a very happy time as well.”
Not only is it a happy time for Crum and his family, it’s also a happy time for the Hokie nation who will add not only a top notch recruit, but also a top notch student and person.
“You’re getting a great person,” Crum’s head coach at Dublin Scioto, Karl Johnson, noted. “He’s a great football player but an even better person. He’s a 4.2 GPA person. He knows how to get it done in the classroom. He’s good citizen. He does thing the right way socially.”