Virginia Tech received an early surprise on the recruiting trail Friday afternoon. Linebacker Aaron Willis committed to the Hokies. The 6-0, 200 pound St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, MD) product is a 2021 cycle prospect. In addition to Virginia Tech, Willis reportedly held scholarship offers from Virginia, Florida, Michigan, and Georgia Tech among other Power Five programs. At this point, Willis is unranked by the major recruiting services, but it speaks volumes the Hokies offered in April and accepted his verbal this early in the process.
Blessed to say I am verbally committed to Virginia Tech University #GoHokies 🦃‼️#stayinghome @BiffPoggi @CoachFuente @coachfostervt pic.twitter.com/tDEy7BgM3g— Aaron Willis🦍 (@44crzy) September 21, 2018
LPD just got better!!! #Hokies pic.twitter.com/hzJfkN3kfx— Bud Foster (@coachfostervt) September 21, 2018
Comments
If our RBs can't make people miss let's just get all the LBs...
I recommend watching the film if you like truck sticks.
Just watch the damn tape. This kid routinely throws some incredibly heavy hits despite having a size disadvantage on most plays. I have only gotten through 6 minutes, but I don't think there is one play when he hasn't at the very least dropped the guy at the point of contact, most times he's either moving him backwards or knocking him off his feet. Holy hell.
Not to mention he was 14 in the tape. Kid will be a monster
He's a bad mother. If he continues to grow / fill out until his senior year he may kill someone in HS.
Sidenote - no dropping into coverege in the film but I guess why would you when you can just run through the QB all the time.
Wow, that's cool.
He's a dynamic player, and he wants to play on a dynamic defense. That's a great sign.
He's fast, he hits hard, he's tenacious. Bud's kind of player.
Great get.
Question is, can we keep him?
Exactly, I guess the kid is only a sophomore at this point. A lot can happen between now and the completion of his senior season, including injuries and/or another team swooping in (see our buddy James Franklin for details) to steal him. Hate to be a Downer Debbie, but commitments this early are practically meaningless.
This is a private school in Baltimore, coached and funded for free by a Hedge Fund Manager, and they beat schools so badly most area schools are refusing to play them. They send a lot of players to Alabama. This kid is probably going to be really, really good.
Just the fact that he was getting PT as a freshmen on a team loaded like that is encouraging... Watching his tape makes it all the more impressive. Glad to have him on early and hope to keep him 800% committed.
link
Interesting, do they not play Dematha, Good Counsel? Realistically I guess they could also play Gonzaga and St. John's in DC to improve their completion.
Yeah, hate to date myself, but I grew up and played ball in the B'more area, and I never heard of them until recently. So they don't play the other Baltimore/DC-area private schools, like Gilman and DeMatha?
Wondering how many of his hits are actually gonna be legal hits in college. A bunch of those hits look like he was leading with his helmet or making big time contact with the offensive players head. They may not call em as well in HS but he def got that Kam in him.
Kid is a sophomore now and he was absolutely destroying people as a freshman. Even if he doesn't grow he's already big enough to play Rover - provided he can cover a little bit.
Why is his hastag #stayinghome if he's from Maryland?
EDIT: I can't spell or do the Google.
Originally from Midlothian
Thanks.
Ever heard the term DMV? Just roll with it... this could be a thing.
Oh yes, of course. My favorite is this conversation:
Ernest: *small talk ensues as I meet Baxter for the first time* "So where do you live Baxter?"
Baxter Willmont IV: "DC"
Ernest: "Oh ya, where in DC?"
Baxter Willmont IV: "Stafford."
Ernest: *Walks away*
Yeah but to be fair people do that from all suburbs, I've met so many people who have moved to nyc and say they're from Chicago, LA, Atlanta, etc and actuallly after a couple questions they end up being just a bunch of suburban kids.
my xGF related a story where she met another girl from NoVA. She found out she was from Alexandria. When she told her she was from NoVa, too (Stafford), she was told she wasn't because she wasn't inside the beltway!
Yeah.... This drives me crazy. A lot of people from NoVA aren't from a place.... When I was in college, I remember talking to people and asking where they were from.
New person1: Hi, I am name.
NP2: I am name...
Me: Hi. I am LancerHokie
NP1: Where are you from?
Me: Danville, what about you
NP1: Richmond
NP2: NoVA (like it is the name of a place)
Sometimes people from Richmond were actually from Chesterfield, Moseley, etc... But at least Richmond is the name of a place not an area. I understand the suburbs going with the name of the biggest nearby city... But people from NoVA always said it like it was the city/town...
Living in NoVA now, I say what part of NoVA I live in and then say it is in NoVA.
Do we just lump South Virginia in with the "V" these days? Charlotte and Greensboro should be included.
In my experience DMV is typically Virginia north of Richmond and east of I-81. But I've seen even include the 757 when repping the dmv. But my default is the dc metro area as the dmv.
What's funny is some peoples' perceived radii of that area. To some, the DC Metro area covers the entire state of VA, MD, Southeastern PA, and Eastern WV.
Along those lines, when I was in college and people used to ask me where I was from, I'd say "Southwest Virginia," which usually elicited a comment from NOVA folks like, "so you didn't really have to go very far for college", or "why didn't you just commute?". They were usually stunned when I told them that home was 3 1/2 hours away, and that we considered B'burg/Roanoke to be on the border with Central VA.
You forgot the part where they ask you About being from West Virginia, and then having to say Southwestern Virginia instead.
Didn't encounter a lot of that, but it did happen.
Same boat. I had to explain to people that there actually was a shit ton of Virginia west of Blacksburg. I got tired of pointing out the little tip of the state that had Lee Wise and Scott counties and how it actually wasn't part of West Virginia. When I would tell them home was actually closer to Kentucky and Tennessee than WV, their heads would explode. I still consider the notion that Blacksburg is SWVA kinda suspect.
I'm originally from Central Virginia, close to the border of North Carolina, and I had to drive 3 hours to get to Blacksburg.
Yes, Blacksburg is in SWVA. It's just a funny shape for a state, but I like it because it's unique. Not like one of those rectangle states.
Danville?
Close. South Boston.
Ahh. :-)
I have a funny South Boston story.... When I was at Longwood, I had a really good friend from NoVA. He had heard people talking about South Boston (I guess the races) and wanted to see it. I told him that I drove through there on my way home and would be happy to take him one day. So one day I was taking another friend who lived in Martinsville home, but I had to go back to Farmville the same night. I asked my friend who wanted to see South Boston to ride with me so I wouldn't be driving back late at night by myself. We drive down 15/360/58. I point out South Boston. Then I pointed out Turbeville and mentioned the Cantaloupe Festival (this was before they moved it). So we get to my parents' house and my mom asked what my friend thought of South Boston. He said it was okay, but he was very intrigued by Turbeville and the fact that they had a big festival there.
I'm from South Boston. Do I know you?
Having grown up in Blacksburg, I always thought central VA started east of Roanoke, and where you are from was far-southwestern VA
i don't know any 757 Hokies who claim the "DMV" moniker. we're too proud of our 7-cities area to include those way up north. i've lived in NoVA for seven years and went back to the home town and feel there's a separation between major metropolitan areas to include both.
We had a bunch of really good friends in college that we hung out with from 757. They were really proud of their hometown (as anyone should be), but they were THE most down-to-earth guys I've ever met. Never made it annoying like some people do. One of my fiancees' good friends is from TX and she'll let you know it every single day. I hate that state now because of her lol.
As someone living in Texas I can confirm that Texans love Texas like Kanye loves Kanye.
Soooo many Texas shirts/hats everywhere.
Almost as much as people from New York love to tell you they're from New York.
--Where are you from?
--Virginia Beach
--oh cool me too, whereabouts?
--Chesapeake
If I had a nickel for every time I had that conversation, I'd probably be at the game today.
I'll be honest, I had no clue he was from Midlothian and was trying to make sense of it myself. Heuplek got his response a few seconds before mine.
His interview says he lives in Richmond. So I'm assuming he commutes to that school everyday or his mom still lives in Richmond and he just live on the campus. That drive would be brutal but I've seen a lot kids and adults make that commute to DC/NOVA from Richmond.
He's from Richmond, but goes to a private HS in Maryland. At least that's what I've read.
#ThisIsHome
TRUCK STICK.
If Bud still used the whip role like he used to, this kid looks like he would be a nightmare for offenses.
You can tell the fans are clapping while praying for the kids who just got hit.
Was scrolling down the new comments and got to this one, and was very confused when the discussion changed (back) to about some linebacker who hits like a truck.
Huge get. 247 tends to keep rankings down on our early commits, but he will probably be a high 4*. He'll have offers from most big name programs in the country. Could be the most talented recruit we've gotten since Kendall.
We now just need to keep him true to his commitment and not let Alabama try to sway him with glitz and glamour they promise. Bud needs to keep this gem!
What are they feeding kids these days??? I was 6'2" or 6'3" when I was his age, but nowhere near his weight. He is an absolute unit for 14/15 years old.
Does he stay at LB or perhaps develop into a DE? Looks like his pass rush is legit in the few minutes I watched.
Mike all the way.
Probably supplements that either didn't exist or were too expensive for most to buy back in the day. But for a LB in hs, 200 lbs. is probably close to average for his position.
This kid plays like I try to on NCAA Football on XBOX. Blitz from the edge and make hard hits. Good god
He doesn't even shave yet!
Edit: All he seems to do is ball hawk. Will that work?
This guy just HITS people. Going to be a monster. Much love to him.
If Tech can keep winning games on the field, the recruiting will follow.
Give Fuente and Foster NFL talent, and they'll take this program to the next level. Gotta handle business on the field first though.
After researching St. Frances Academy a little bit this morning, I came across this article about their head coach. I read it, and instantly became a fan of this program.
www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/24263583/the-football-team-won-league-l...
Is it too early to predict the 2022 LPD?
DEs: r-Sr Eli Adams, r-Jr Kuony Deng
DTs: Sr Mario Kendricks, r-Sr Jaevon Bevton, Sr Brandon Dorlus, r-So Tyler Baron, r-So r-Fr Katron Evans
LBs: Sr Dax Hollifield, r-So Gabe Fuster, r-Fr Aaron Willis, r-Fr Jack Hollifield
DBU: r-Jr Jordan Payoute, r-So Nekhi Meredith, r-Fr Tony Grimes, r-So Cameron Roseman-Sinclair, r-So Keontae Jenkins
Great get. I just wish they would teach these kids that it's Virginia Tech or Virginia Polytechnic Institue and State Unveristy.
I cringe when I see the Virginian Tech University stuff.
If the university isn't consistent in its branding, and it hasn't been since I enrolled in 1973 (as you pointed out, either this name or that name) then we should not expect anyone else to call it whatever we think is right.
Right now we are leaving it to others to fill the void...hence names like "Vah Tech".
Maybe their defensive scheme is phenomenal but he looks unblocked almost every play! Looks like a monster athlete
Some solid quotes from Willis in an interview after his commitment.
Hopefully, the future success of Rivers and Hollifield help solidify his decision.
I hope this ages well haha
He's probably getting as far away from us as possible now.