BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech has added a unique athlete to its 2026 recruiting class. Groveland (Florida) South Lake tight end Isaiah Pina has committed to the Hokies, giving Tech its first tight end pledge since the 2023 class.
The 6-foot-6, 225-pound dual-sport athlete officially visited Blacksburg for the Vanderbilt game earlier this fall, a trip that followed an unexpected football rise few could have imagined a year ago.
Pina didn’t start playing football until the spring of 2024, shifting from basketball to the gridiron after years of coaches urging him to try. He entered high school as a baseball player before focusing on hoops, drawing early basketball interest from Tulane. But after one 7-on-7 session, everything changed.
“Football wasn’t my thing,” Pina told 247Sports’ Brian Dohn earlier this year. “I always liked watching it, but I was focusing on basketball. They came back to me and I said no, no, no until six months ago. I went out to a 7-on-7 game and I had 10 touchdowns in a 7-on-7.”
The performance opened doors quickly. Virginia Tech, Southern Miss, UNLV, Jackson State, Sacramento State, and The Citadel all offered before Pina had even played a high school game, while Florida State, Syracuse, New Mexico, and Kent State began tracking him through the summer.
Pina, a St. Thomas native, becomes the first tight end addition under interim head coach Philip Montgomery, and the ninth player currently in the 2026 class.
By KOLBY CRAWFORD/VTScoop
