Justin Taylor, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive end from Norwood, N.C., has become the 11th football prospect to commit to Virginia Tech for 2010.

Taylor, from South Stanly High School, picked the Hokies over North Carolina State. Coach Luke Little said Taylor also had offers from Auburn, Arkansas, East Carolina, Duke, Virginia and South Carolina.

Taylor never played organized football until he was persuaded to join the team one week before the 2008 season started. He backed up a senior who has accepted a college scholarship, “but halfway through the season, we told ourselves, 'This kid’s better,’ ” Little said. “The sky is the limit for him.”

Taylor previously had played basketball but suffered a shoulder injury late in the 2008 football season that short-circuited his basketball participation.

He had taken unofficial visits to Tech and State and was planning a return visit to Raleigh, N.C., before deciding his heart was set on Tech. Assistant Kevin Sherman was Tech’s lead recruiter for Taylor.