Football standout Logan Thomas from Brookville High School in Lynchburg met with Virginia Tech coaches upon their arrival at Lane Stadium on Thursday night and made an oral commitment to the Hokies.

Thomas, rated the No. 4 prospect in Virginia on roanoke.com, plays quarterback for Brookville but is expected to be a tight end for the Hokies.

He had 60 receptions for 950 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore, when he played wide receiver. He moved to quarterback as a junior and had nearly 2,000 yards in total offense (1,121 passing; 859 rushing).

Thomas (6-foot-6, 233 pounds) is the first Tech recruit for 2009 to receive five-star status from rivals.com. The Hokies have 18 commitments, including two from 2008 signees who are at Fork Union Military Academy.

Thomas only recently had cut his list of schools to Tech, Virginia, Wake Forest, Florida State and North Carolina. He earlier had received offers from Tennessee, Oklahoma, Clemson and West Virginia.

Thomas is one of two Tech recruits ranked among the state's top five prospects by roanoke.com. The other is running back David Wilson from George Washington High School in Danville, who was No. 5 on the list.

Hokies' offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring was the lead recruiter for both Thomas and Wilson.

Thomas will not be in action again until Brookville begins regional play next week. The Bees were 10-0 in the regular season.

Tough business

When asked about Phil Fulmer's resignation at Tennessee, Tech coach Frank Beamer said he called and left a message for his coaching friend.

Beamer didn't seem overly stunned at the developments. Clemson's Tommy Bowden went the same way Oct. 13.

"That's the nature of the business ... it's kinda I think the way it's going," Beamer said. "The Internet, talk shows, all those things, there's a lot of stuff going on anymore."

By the numbers

Sean Glennon's 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Greg Boone was only the Hokies' fourth of the season. Glennon has tossed two of them and Boone has caught two. ... Freshman Dyrell Roberts' 55-yard kickoff return early in the second quarter was Tech's longest of the season. Roberts returned a kickoff 54 yards in Tech's last game at Florida State.

Quick slants

Eighteen scouts representing 14 NFL teams requested passes for Thursday's game. ... The Hokies wore their all-maroon uniform combo for the first time since they whipped Florida State 40-21 at Lane Stadium last season. ... Matt Waldron, a sophomore walk-on kicker, dressed for the first time for Tech.

Whitaker convicted of drunk in public charge

Suspended wide receiver Ike Whitaker had a hearing on a drunk in public charge scheduled for Thursday morning in the Blacksburg division of Montgomery County General District Court.

Whitaker was not in court, though, so General District Court Judge Gino Williams convicted him of the charge and fined him $25, the standard fine for a drunk in public charge. There was no discussion in court about his case.

Whitaker was arrested in early October, when, according to Blacksburg police, an officer saw Whitaker involved in a verbal altercation with another person in front of Oge-Chi's Restaurant and Lounge on Draper Road.

Police said Whitaker registered a blood alcohol content level of 0.33 percent.

On deck

Tech plays it final regular-season road game when it faces Miami at Dolphin Stadium next Thursday. It will mark the third time in program history that Tech will play back-to-back ESPN Thursday Night games.

The Hurricanes (6-3, 3-2), who are riding a four-game winning streak, are idle this week. Tech drilled Miami 44-14 last season in Blacksburg and has taken four of the past five games in the series. The Hokies have won on their last two trips to Miami.

Roanoke Times reporters Doug Doughty and Shawna Morrison contributed to this report.