Virginia Tech and North Carolina A&T, in a round-about way, have made a running back trade.
Former Virginia Tech running back Kenji Christian has committed to North Carolina A&T. He made his announcement via Twitter on Wednesday night.
This move comes a few months after former A&T running back Bhayshul Tuten ended up at Virginia Tech after initially committing to Boston College. Tuten was a lightly recruited running back out of New Jersey that turned himself into an FCS All-American.
Christian played running back for head coach Sam Shade at Pinson Valley High School in Pinson, Alabama. Shade is currently the head coach at Miles College. He was a three-star back, rated as the 42nd-best running back and the 26th-best player in Alabama for the 2021 cycle according to the 247Sports ratings. He was pursued by Arkansas, Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Virginia before committing to Virginia Tech.
He never carried the ball in Blacksburg, and he hit the transfer portal this spring. However, there should be plenty of opportunity in Greensboro as new head coach Vincent Brown looks to re-tool the offense as it has to replace Tuten.
Tuten rushed for 1,363 yards and 13 touchdowns on 208 carries as a runner – the fifth-best single-season rushing performance in school history. Tuten broke the school and conference records for consecutive 100-yard games in a season. In addition, he tied the conference record for consecutive 100-yard games regardless of the season and broke the school record for 100-yard games in a season. Tuten caught 31 passes for 572 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver.