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Zachariah Hoyt, a 6-5, 275-pound offensive lineman out of Salem High School in Salem, Virginia, is officially a Virginia Tech Hokie. Hoyt signed his National Letter of Intent with VT instead of BYU on signing day.
Hoyt was a relatively unknown prospect until recently. That could be due to the major improvements he made on his own between his junior and senior year of high school. Hoyt's high school coach, Stephen Magenbauer, told The Roanoke Times that Hoyt came into his senior year a completely different player:
"It's night and day...He just sort of bought in to football. We've got to take him out of the weight room. After we have workouts, he'll still go in there and do extra."
The hard work paid off for the center, helping him play a key role in Salem's run to the Virginia 4A state championship game and earning him late scholarship offers from BYU, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. He also received interest from Maryland and Old Dominion. Hoyt is rated a three-star prospect and as the 20th best center in the country, according to the 247Sports composite, which gives him a rating of .8156.
From his highlights, you can see that Hoyt isn't just content to protect his quarterback or opening a running lane. He wants to put the defender on the ground or at the very least drive them backwards until the whistle. This aggressive nature seems to be a common thread between all the offensive lineman Garett Tujague, BYU's offensive line assistant, is interested in recruiting to come to Provo.
Here's Hoyt's highlights: