Doug Doughty

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Lou Sorrentino told coveted offensive lineman William Alvarez earlier this spring that Alvarez would need to turn three C’s into B’s in order to qualify to play for Virginia Tech next fall.

Mission accomplished.

“He did what we told him he needed to do,” said Sorrentino, the football coach at Hylton High School. “So, I’m optimistic, but it still has to go to the [NCAA] clearinghouse.

“There’s one class that he took at night and we’re still checking on that. And, there’s a pending SAT score. We’ve gone through some highs and lows and I told him, ‘Nothing’s official till it goes through the clearinghouse.’

“If you’d asked me this a month ago, I would have said he wasn’t going to make it. We follow it pretty closely here, but you’re talking about less than a tenth of a point. We’re still waiting on one test, but the second-to-last one he took moved him just under 900.’ “

The key, according to Sorrentino, was an Algebra II course that Alvarez took in night school. He made the grade he needed, but his math test scores made a big jump because of an exposure to advanced material.

Alvarerz (6 foot 5, 305 pounds) made first-team All-Group AAA and first-team All-Washington Metro after thew 2006 season.

SORRENTINO WAS in Blacksburg last weekend with a contingent of Hylton players that included Eric Martin, a 6-2, 230-pound tight end whose performance at a one-day camp gained him an offer from Virginia Tech.

What we’ve seen with Martin, who committed to the Hokies, and with Virginia’s latest recruit, 6-4, 225-pound Bloomfield, N.J., prospect Billy Schautz, is an increased fascination from college coaches in the H-back position that is more regularly associated with the NFL.

An H-back, sometime described as a stand-up tight end, is a cross between a fullback and a tight end. When he lined up at fullback early in his career, Virginia tight end Tom Santi essentially was an H-back.

“That’s exactly [the position] that he falls into,” Sorrentino said of Martin. “Some people will take different types of tight ends. One is a bigger guy. One’s a guy who can move a little bit. A fullback’s got to be able to block and people throw to that guy now.”

Martin won’t be another Duane Brown, a tight end in high school who has become Tech’s best interior lineman as a tackle. Martin probably is too short to do that.

“That’s the question mark,” Sorrentino said. “That’s why some people were holding back. I think [the Hokies] liked him athletically all the way around. He’s always been real good blocker. But, when people saw him at some combines, they didn’t realize how athletic he was.

“The people who shied away, size was the factor. He’s 6-3 and almost 240. He’s not small. I know Maryland was looking at him and [the Terps’] tight end is 6-8, but he’s a good mix between blocker and pass receiver.”

SORRENTINO’S INTENTION was to take 6-4, 205-pound Morgan Carter to Blacksburg but Carter felt it would be counterproductive given a lack of interest from the Hokies.

Carter has played wide receiver but probably will be the quarterback for Hylton next fall. Some schools are recruiting him as a safety; others like him as a linebacker. Syracuse pictures him as an H-back.

Rutgers and Michigan State already have made offers to Carter, who can run 40 yards in a shade under 4.6 seconds.

“If you like a big guy who can run and who likes contact and who’s a 3.8 student, there’s a lot to like about him,” Sorrentino said. “Plus, he’s so versatile. Eric’s real, real solid, but he’s [Carter] got the most of the attention.”

Carter went to a combine for elite players in New Jersey and was named MVP.

He doesn’t have overwhelming statistics “and that’s one of the things that’s hurt him,” Sorrentino said. “He mostly played defense. He’s unpolished because we’ve moved him around so much. Some people come in with an open mind and say, ‘We know he’s an athlete. He may grow to 225 or 230.’

“With some of the in-state schools, I don’t know. They don’t seem as excited. He just left for Tennessee and a one-day camp. He’s been to Notre Dame. Stanford’s calling. Somebody’s missing the boat on him.

“Everybody wants him to go to their one-day camp, but there are just so many of those now. That’s the Catch-22.”

Hylton has a third prospect in Danzel White, a 6-1, 205-pound linebacker who compares to Martin and Carter because he’s “rangy,” Sorrentino said.

“Their best years could be ahead of them.”

UNTIL I RECEIVED an e-mail earlier this week from Todd Bradley, editor of dcsportsfan.com, I was unaware of any rumors concerning Virginia Tech point guard Nigel Munson.

Munson, a sophomore from DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., has been slated as the Hokies’ starting point guard next year but people are beginning to question whether he will be in Blacksburg next year.

Efforts to reach Hokies’ coach Seth Greenberg were in vain Friday, but the word from Mark Berman, who covers Tech men’s basketball for The Roanoke Times, is that Tech has neither given – nor been asked to give – Munson a release from his scholarship.

That’s supposed to be the first step in the transfer process, although “unofficial” talks have been known to take place.

THE WORD OUT of Charlottesville on Friday was that it might be Monday before point guard Sean Singletary announces whether he will turn pro or stay in college.

On Thursday, I was reminded by talk-show radio host Greg Roberts that I had said June 7 that the chances of Singletary going pro were “75 percent.”

Gee, I don’t remember that.

But, if that’s what I said, that’s a pretty good figure for the way I feel now. It’s not always easy to say which way the wind is blowing, but I don’t know a single UVa fan who feels optimistic at this point.