MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Defensive lineman Zack McCray of Brookville High School was one of 20 recruits announced Wednesday by Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech's 2010 recruiting class definitely could be termed as a front-end haul.

Loading up the trenches on both sides of the ball, the Hokies' collection of 20 recruits announced Wednesday included nine players --five on defense and four on offense -- who are projected to play up front in their college careers.

The emphasis was paramount for a program that lost three defensive-line starters and two offensive-line starters on a team that finished 10-3 and 10th in the final Associated Press poll last season.

The jewels of the trench fighters include three of the five SuperPrep All-Americans on Tech's list -- offensive lineman Mark Shuman and defensive tackle Nick Acree, both from Fork Union Military Academy, and defensive end Zack McCray of Brookville High School -- and offensive lineman Laurence Gibson of Hargrave Military Academy.

The 6-foot-4, 296-pound Gibson, who was rated the No. 2 prep player in the country by rivals.com, was one of three players who enrolled at Tech last month and already are participating in offseason workouts, and thus didn't sign national letters-of-intent Wednesday.

Particularly on the offensive line, Tech has been playing a game of catch-up for the past several years as six signees have left the program with eligibility remaining, either because of injuries or other reasons.

"I think we're getting back on the right track," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said after the class was officially announced. "We've had some in the last few years who have played very well, but we just didn't have enough. And we missed on some guys there who just didn't work out. The guys we've added in this class I think helps us get closer to where we want to be, so we'll see how that goes."

Beamer said he and his staff have been focusing on bringing in more athletic- type linemen as opposed to merely landing big guys.

"I think sometimes you say, 'Well, we'll just get big guys,' but that just doesn't work," Beamer said.

"I think big guys, where they are big or average big, they've got to be able to redirect and move their feet and have some toughness about them.

"What happens, I think, in the offensive line is if you've got a big guy, if he can't play there, there's not a place where he can play. Rather than size being the critical thing, I think being able to redirect -- you've got a guy out there at offensive tackle and he's got to block a defensive end who can come off the corner, that offensive tackle had better be able to work his feet. ... There's just no way around it."

Tech's class included 13 players from Virginia, including seven of the top 13 and 10 of the top 25 players in the state as rated by The Roanoke Times.

The in-state contingent included two Timesland players -- Pulaski County linebacker Tahrick Peak and Rockbridge County offensive lineman Caleb Farris.

"Tahrick, he can run," Beamer said of Peak, whose brother, Nubian, is a rising redshirt sophomore at Tech.

"Right now he needs to get bigger and he understands that. So I think his future is in front of him, but he's gotta get his body a little bit better to take advantage of that, and he knows that. He's going to work at it.

"And Farris, he's a Virginia Tech guy. He wants to come here and we want him to come here, and he's athletic for a guy as big as he is and has really good feet. And that's what we're looking at -- toughness and ... redirecting, and I think Caleb fits that perfectly."

Tech's other seven signees came from six different states, plus quarterback Ricardo Young of Washington, D.C.

As usual, the Hokies didn't finish among the top 15 classes as rated by the numerous recruiting services.

One of those services, Scout.com, has Virginia Tech ranked behind Florida State, Miami, Clemson and North Carolina in the ACC.

So what, Beamer said.

"I feel good about this group," he said.

"I don't know where they're rated. ... I don't pay a lot of attention to that. I just think they're the guys Virginia Tech liked and we feel good they're going to be at Virginia Tech."