One of the reasons for the sustained success of the Virginia Tech football program is the relationship it has enjoyed with such talent-rich high schools as Western Branch, Deep Creek, Highland Springs and Robinson.

You can add Phoebus High School of Hampton to that list. When defensive end Steven Friday committed to Tech on Monday, he became the fourth player off Phoebus' 2001 and 2002 state championship teams to pick the Hokies.

Friday will join his current Phoebus teammate, running back Elan Lewis, as well as ex-Phantoms linebacker Xavier Adibi and defensive back D.J. Parker. Adibi's older brother, Nathaniel, also played for the Hokies.

"Xavier and D.J. were two of the most popular - you could almost say beloved - kids in our program," Phoebus coach Bill Dee said earlier this week. "Those two kids were the heart and soul of this program through that championship run. Other kids really admired and respected them, and I think that had a lot to do with it."

Ex-Phoebus stars Antwoine Womack and Philip Brown ended up at Virginia, Womack after decommitting to Penn State, and the last thing Dee wants is to be a middleman in the recruiting business.

"Don't get me wrong," he said. "I have a good relationship with other coaches. I like [UVa recruiting coordinator] Mike London and Coach [Al] Groh and I get along fine, but I'm not going to apologize for kids wanting to go to Tech.

"They've got a good program. Kids enjoy it there and I have a good relationship with those guys, but I'm not pushing kids to one school. It's not my style, number one, and I don't ever want a kid to come back to me and say, 'Well, this is where you wanted me to go.' It's not going to happen."

Dee's players normally commit after the season, but Lewis and Friday took advantage of a Phoebus open date to visit Blacksburg over the weekend of Sept.10-12.

"This year, it seems like more kids are committing early," Dee said. "To be honest with you, it's the last thing on my mind during the season. If he had not come to me, we wouldn't have even talked about it. When he said he wanted to commit, the only reason I knew it was Tech was because he hadn't taken any other visits."

More recruiting

The Virginia Tech basketball team is considered the favorite for Hyman Taylor, a 6-feet-9 1/2 post player from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who will be in Blacksburg this weekend on an unofficial visit. Last weekend, the Hokies entertained 6-9 Ronnie Thomas from South Bend, Ind., and 6-8 Luc Moute from Bradenton, Fla.

The Hokies were one of the finalists for 6-10 Calvin Hampton from Oxon Hill, Md., who committed to Oregon State, and 6-7 Sam Young from Clinton, Md., who committed to Pittsburgh. Hampton, from New Hampton (N.H.) Prep visited over the weekend of Sept.16-18, and Young, from Hargrave Military Academy, tentatively was scheduled for a visit.

In the ACC

William and Mary quarterback Lang Campbell, a junior from Winchester, "could play for most teams in this conference," North Carolina coach John Bunting said Wednesday on the ACC football coaches' teleconference. Lang accounted for 357 yards and four touchdowns Sept.4 in a 49-38 loss at UNC.

Pillow talk

When the subject turned to coaching demands during the ACC teleconference, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden regaled the media with a tale from a 1963 scouting trip. The trip started with a flight to Roanoke, where he and fellow FSU assistant Vince Gibson rented a car for a scouting trip that included an afternoon game at Virginia Tech and a night game between North Carolina and Wake Forest.

"By the time we got through that game, we were both dying to go to sleep," Bowden said. "We go check in a motel and they didn't have but one bed. We piled into that bed and I woke up about 3 o'clock in the middle of the night and Vince had his arm around my neck, kissing me on the cheek.

"If you talk to Vince, tell him, 'Sweet Thing said hello.' "

Williams remembered

Saint Paul's College will meet Walter Reed Military College at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Martinsville in the first Clyde Williams Scholarship Classic. For close to 30 years, Williams was a teacher, coach and administrator at Albert Harris High School and in the Martinsville City School system.