Virginia Tech is investigating a tampering claim from North Carolina Central coach Trei Oliver, who said Friday that the Hokies last season conducted a recruiting scheme against an active player on his roster. Oliver said that Virginia Tech sent an assistant coach to one of his games last year and that the coach was on the sideline to attempt to pull running back J’Mari Taylor into the transfer portal and onto the Hokies roster.
Taylor shined with the Eagles in 2024 and had the fourth-best season by a running back in school history with 1,146 rushing yards. He was the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2005 and scored at least one touchdown in every game en route to 15 total.
“This is the first time the issue has been brought to our attention, and no concern has previously been shared with us through any formal channel,” Virginia Tech said in a statement. “Virginia Tech takes all NCAA rules seriously and is committed to conducting our program with integrity. We are reviewing the matter internally and will address any findings appropriately.”
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Oliver said he noticed a Virginia Tech staffer on his sideline before the Nov. 15 game against Howard. He was told that the Hokies assistant was on campus to see an assistant athletic director at North Carolina Central, but he saw through what he viewed as a charade.
“That was pretty bold,” Oliver said. “I couldn’t believe it. A couple coaches tried to calm me down and say, ‘Yeah, Coach, he’s just down here visiting.’ But I knew what it was.
Taylor did, in fact, enter the transfer portal at the end of the season. But instead of moving to Virginia Tech, he picked the Hokies’ biggest rival. Taylor committed to Virginia as a three-star transfer and the No. 102 running back in the cycle. He has one year of eligibility with the Cavaliers and projects to form a ballcarrier tandem with longtime Virginia running back Xavier Brown.
“Two weeks later, my kid got in the portal,” Oliver said. “Then they were the first people trying to get in his ear. But like I said, thank God he went to UVA, and UVA is going to beat the smoke out of them other folks.”
Tampering has run rampant in college football throughout the transfer portal era, and coaches’ frustrations with the epidemic boiled over this offseason. The University of Wisconsin sued the University of Miami last month in a landmark case over alleged tampering and tortious interference of an NIL agreement the Badgers had with defensive back Xavier Lucas, who moved this spring to the Hurricanes program. The result of that lawsuit could have lasting impacts on transfer portal recruiting and tampering.
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