Israel Hairston, leader of William Byrd football's historic season, signs with Virginia Tech (2024)

Following the conclusion of the William Byrd High School football team’s annual banquet in early February, an event celebrating the Terriers’ unprecedented 2023 season, Israel Hairston had yet to leave.

Almost everybody else had departed, but head coach Brad Lutz noticed that his senior quarterback was still there, sweeping the floor.

“It tells you the kind of teammate he is,” Lutz said. “After everybody had gone home, he decided to help out a little bit more.”

Hairston’s dedication as a football player, student and leader drew the attention of Virginia Tech, and on Sunday he announced his commitment to the Hokies as a preferred walk-on.

He signed his national letter of intent during a ceremony Wednesday at the William Byrd High School auditorium.

“It’s always been a childhood dream of mine, like a lot of kids in Virginia of course, but to have that option was great for me and my family,” Hairston told reporters. “I can’t wait to compete, can’t wait to work with everybody. I think we’re going to have a really good team that competes with each other, and it’s going to be great.”

Hairston, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound recent graduate, was a guiding force behind the Terriers’ historic season last fall in which they captured the program’s first-ever region championship and won 12 games in a season for the first time.

Hairston racked up over 2,600 yards in the air and on the ground, collecting 28 touchdowns. He broke school records in career passing yards, career passing touchdowns and single-season passing yards, earning Region 3D and Blue Ridge District Player of the Year honors. He was also an All-Timesland first-team and Class 3 all-state second-team selection.

Last week he was named the 2023-24 Class 3 VHSL Foundation Award Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for his accomplishments as a four-sport athlete and maintaining a 4.0-plus GPA. He’s believed to be the first student-athlete from William Byrd to receive the award in school history.

“It was definitely eye-opening a little bit to hear it out loud,” said Hairston, whose achievements were read aloud at his signing ceremony. “But it’s really the hard work of everybody who put their heart and soul into this program. And we did it together.”

During his recruitment, Hairston made academics his priority. He wanted to study engineering, a profession in which both his father and brother work, while also finding an opportunity to continue his football career.

Numerous college coaches traveled to Vinton to meet with him. He received offers from several ODAC schools, Division III programs like Roanoke College with its newly formed team and reigning conference champion Randolph-Macon, as well as a few Division II schools in West Virginia.

After the Hokies filled their final scholarship spot last week, a preferred walk-on offer was extended to Hairston. Virginia Tech is the 30th best engineering school in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report.

“He is a fantastic football player and loves the game, but he is so invested in his future, professionally, as far as what he’s going to do next, that that decision was a big deal,” Lutz said. “He really had Tech as a high priority school for him academically, and when the football piece fit with it, it was a no-brainer for him.”

Hairston is joining the Hokies as a defensive back. He will be adding to a Tech defensive backfield that features fellow Southwest Virginian Josh Gholston, a cornerback from Blacksburg, and a defensive unit that features fellow Roanoke County natives Jayden McDonald and Jorden McDonald, a linebacker and defensive lineman from Salem.

Spartans linebacker Jaelyn Allen also accepted a preferred walk-on offer from Virginia Tech.

“He was as good a defensive back as he was a quarterback,” Lutz said of Hairston. “I’m not surprised at all that [safeties] coach [Pierson] Prioleau and [head] coach [Brent] Pry like him as a defensive back. I actually feel like they could put him in a few different slots to help their team out.”

Lutz noted that the William Byrd community already has the colors needed to visit Lane Stadium and support Hairston on Saturday afternoons.

“The legacy he’s left here is fantastic,” Lutz said. “It’s something I know he’s proud of and his family’s proud of and we’re proud of, and I know he’s excited to see what the next chapter of not only his life is but the next chapter of William Byrd football is, because I feel like his legacy will be felt in that.”