Duane Brown, the athletic TE/DE prospect from Hermitage (Richmond, VA), returned from his visit to Charlottesville this weekend. Despite a cold and rainy weekend, the trip went well.

“It was great,” said Brown. “I got to interact with the players and the game was a good one. The game [was the highlight of the trip].

“I also got to talk to the coaches a lot. I talked to the tight end coach and the defensive line coach and coach Groh.”

Brown was escorted around the campus by former Patrick Henry (Richmond, VA) QB Anthony Martinez and DB Lance Evans. Brown has known Martinez for quite a while, as the two are good friends from Martinez’s Patrick Henry days. (Patrick Henry plays in the same district as Hermitage.)

Heading into the visit, Brown was favoring both Virginia and Virginia Tech evenly. Things remain the same following the visit, and Brown will make a decision following the official visit to Virginia Tech.

“They’re dead even,” said Brown of the two state schools. “It’s probably down to those two.”

Virginia Tech is recruiting Brown as a tight end while the Cavaliers like him on both sides of the ball. After talking with the coaches this weekend, Brown still doesn’t know which position he would play if he were to attend Virginia.

“The coaches [at Virginia] said they have a predicament with me because I am so good on both sides of the ball,” said Brown with a laugh. “They asked me if I had a preference for which position I would play, and I don’t have a preference.”

Before his official visit to Charlottesville, Brown played in his final regular season game with Hermitage in a 38-8 victory over Douglas Freeman. It was the first game back for Brown since September, when he broke his right fibula. His return was a successful one, as he was able to overcome the injury both mentally and physically.

“I thought about it a little at first, but it was OK,” said Brown. “I finished the game with two receptions for 25 yards and four tackles and one pass deflection.”

Hermitage will now face Thomas Dale in the first round of the Division 6 playoffs this Friday. The game has significant implications in Brown’s recruiting, because if they win this Friday, he would not be able to make his scheduled trip to Virginia Tech on November 29 for the Virginia game. He will reschedule the trip if that happens.

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