Virginia Tech football recruiting is all about connections these days, the latest involving Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, Fla.

The Hokies received a commitment Thursday night from Atlantic High junior quarterback Mark Leal, who will be joining 2008 teammate Jayron Holsey in Blacksburg.

Holsey, who signed with the Hokies in February, is a cousin of former Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers. Flowers also went to Atlantic High School.

"I think that had a little bit to do with [Leal's] decision," Atlantic coach Andre Thaddies said, "not only that we've had somebody up there for a while, but that there will be somebody he knows when he gets there."

Leal (pronounced lee-AL) moved to Florida from Arizona before his ninth-grade year and became a starter by the eighth game of his sophomore season, when he supplanted a senior.

As a junior, Leal passed for 2,355 yards and 21 touchdown passes under the tutelage of quarterbacks coach Omar Jacobs, the 2004 Mid-American Conference player of the year at Bowling Green.

Leal, listed at 6 foot 1 and 190 pounds, was one of two quarterbacks who committed to the Hokies on Thursday. The other was 6-1, 170-pound Ricardo Young from H.D. Woodson in Washington, D.C.

Both had West Virginia on their list of finalists. Thaddies said Leal wanted to go "somewhere where he fit the mold" and was attracted by Tech's tradition of athletic quarterback play.

He became the seventh player to commit to Tech for 2010.