Virginia Tech has received its fifth football commitment for the Class of 2011, and its first from a local player. Chris Hall of Dinwiddie High picked the Hokies over Marshall and Virginia.

Hall, who is 6-4 and 231 pounds, plays quarterback for Dinwiddie, but was recruited by Tech as a tight end. He is Tech’s second tight end in this class, joining Christian Reeves, of McDonough, Ga. Recruits can’t sign national letters of intent with a school until Feb. 2.

Because the Hokies’ Class of 2011 figures to be smaller than usual, Hall will defer his enrollment to January 2012. NCAA rules allow schools to sign up to 25 players per class, but the Hokies likely will end up signing about 15.

Tech’s coaches offered Hall a scholarship after they auditioned him as tight end at their June 5 camp. Since Hall grew up rooting for the Hokies, “I was shocked he didn’t commit earlier,” said Dinwiddie coach Billy Mills.

Last season was Hall’s first as Dinwiddie’s quarterback. As a sophomore, he started at wide receiver and running back in the Generals’ spread offense, which often requires running backs to catch passes out of the backfield, as a tight end would. Even as a quarterback now, he is used to catching the ball, he said, because the Generals use shotgun formations.

Marshall recruited Hall as a quarterback, but, Mills said, “It wasn’t like he had played quarterback his whole life. So [his decision] didn’t come down to that.”

Mills said Virginia “told him that they didn’t really know where he would fit, but that they wanted him and they’d give him a shot at quarterback and they’d go from there. It wasn’t really clear.”

Meanwhile, Tech’s Richmond-area recruiter, Jim Cavanaugh, told Hall that the Hokies’ coaches wanted him to play tight end. “They told him from the very start what their plans were,” Mills said.

That’s what Hall wanted to hear. “Basically, I just wanted to go somewhere where I would be able to be definitely know where I would be [playing],” he said.

Mills needs Hall to play quarterback this fall and isn’t worried about him transitioning to a new position in college, especially since enrolling in January 2012 will let him participate in spring practices before his first season.

“He’ll get plenty of time to play tight end with them,” Mills said. “I think he showed them enough [on June 5] that he’ll be fine.”

Hall said he must work on his blocking for the move to tight end and also must gain about 20 pounds. He said the latter shouldn’t be a problem because he went from 170 to 225 pounds from his freshman to sophomore year.

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This is a busy week for Mills. One of his other rising seniors, defensive end Corey Marshall, will announce his college choice Tuesday on “Washington Post Live,” which airs on Comcast SportsNet from 5-6 p.m.

Marshall, who is 6-2 and 239 pounds, is regarded as one of the state’s top prospects. Recruiting website Rivals.com ranks him as the 21st-best strong-side end in his class. His finalists are Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

“I don’t even know where he’s leaning,” Mills said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go to any of the top five on his list, except for Tennessee. Tennessee would be a shocker. Tech’s been his [favorite] team, but I don’t think he’s gonna make a decision based on that.”

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