So with less than a week left, what are the predictions?
Remaining targets:
Derrick Nnadi: VT/FSU/OSU/uva
Javon Harrison: VT/FSU
Raymon Minor: VT/Marshall
Isaiah Ford: VT/Louisville
Isaiah McKenzie: VT/Ole Miss
Kevin Bronson: VT/FlaAtl/USF/Vandy/Nebraska/Rutgers
Anthony Scott: VT/ECU
Bonus questions:
Will we have a surprise commitment we are currently not thinking about? (I'm looking at you, D'Shawn Hand!)
Will we get Jawand Blue'd? Jawand Blown? Wait, that's not right.....
Forums:
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Comments
My homer picks:
Derrick Nnadi: VT
Javon Harrison: FSU
Raymon Minor: VT
Isaiah Ford: Louisville
Isaiah McKenzie: VT
Kevin Bronson: VT
Anthony Scott: VT
I don't think you got the definition of "homer" correct.
Derrick Nnadi: VT
Javon Harrison: VT
Raymon Minor: VT
Isaiah Ford: VT
Isaiah McKenzie: VT
Kevin Bronson: VT
Anthony Scott: VT
... I actually did think about that. But then I figured that my picks were still pretty optimistic, and that more realistically we will probably end up with 3 of them.
5 more days!!
Nnadi: VT (I think he's known for a quite some time... I hope)
Harrison: FSU (It's inevitable)
Minor: Marshall (Grades)
Ford: Louisville (Although he probably has a better chance of playing b-ball with us)
McKenzie: VT
Bronson: VT
Scott: VT
Seems like Bronson and McKenzie are big VT fans but they'll probably both have to prep first.
To all of you who say Minor to Marshall b/c of grades...is this a completely foregone conclusion, or is there still a chance for him to get in?
There is a chance, but not a great one. I think he is trying his hardest to get in so we'll see. I really hope he becomes a Hokie because he has stud written all over him.
I think he was supposed to be taking the SATs again this past weekend. Hopefully he did well.
4 or 5 will be coming to VT..2 will head to Fla. State.......1.. will be grades but will pick VT till he hears about his grades. Then transfer..IMHO.
if 2 go to FSU that's a complete disaster, as the only two that could do that are Nnadi and Harrison.
Nnadi: VT (Everybody is saying FSU, my gut tells me he sticks with the good guys)
Harrison: FSU (I think there is a chance he becomes a Hokie but FSU will be just too tough for him to pass down IMO)
Minor: Marshall (Grades, nothing you can do)
Ford: VT
McKenzie: VT (We will have a speedy player again hopefully)
Bronson: VT
Scott: VT
Should we really be competing with Marshall for a player? It's kind of like us competeing with JMU or William and Mary... given Marshall is a little different, but you know?
He has academic issues and apparently he isn't eligible to prep. Minor that is. At Marshall he can get accepted right away. Unfortunate. We can really use him. Hopefully things will work out. Fingers crossed.
How is he not eligible to prep?
He has been in high school too many years.
Oh thanks. Didn't realize Benedictine was a prep school.
Its a normal 9-12 grade private, military high school. Did he fail and spend 5 years there?
Something happened. If it weren't for him not being able to prep then my guess would be he'd have already said VT is where he's going and he'd go to Hargrave for a year.
Raymon spent 3 years at Patrick Henry then "reclassified" (a popular term in hoops) as a 11th grader when he enrolled at Benedictine. So, he will have spent 5 years total in high school once this June rolls around.
Benedictine is not a prep school in terms of post high school education . Like any high school you can fail and repeat a grade. Graduated there in '02
I don't understand. Why can a player not qualify for Tech but still qualify for Marshall? We're all supposed to be playing by the same set of NCAA Clearinghouse rules.
Clearinghouse and University Admissions are two separate entities with separate standards. Clearinghouse is the minimum to qualify to play NCAA sports and Admissions is to get into a school.
Are our admissions standards really higher than Clearinghouse minimums? I mean, yes, some of these kids wouldn't get into Tech on academic merit alone, but as long as they meet our minimum requirements (which I thought were pretty much standard with the NCAA) they can get in.
I've heard rumblings that we require an extra math course than others. This isn't sports related but I had a friend in HS that was not confident in being able to complete a certain level math course at a community college (can't remember which) before hopefully transferring to VT. School is harder on some than on others. Because of this his plans were to transfer to Radford instead.
This question is never fully answered and I wish it were. For instance, our in-state friends to the north constantly proclaim that they have more rigorous admission standards than we do, but there is no actual evidence of this claim. In fact, a few players that we had academic concerns over have done well there (Morgan Moses and Jameel Sewell come to mind)
One thing I am relatively certain of is that VT requires math requirements that include completion of Algebra. This math course, I believe, is one level higher than many colleges. IIRC, this is the requirement that cost us Knowshon Moreno.
Algebra? Like... Algebra I?
Probably more like Algebra II. In Virginia, Algebra I is the first math you take that can count towards a high school diploma, unless things have changed in the last 10 years.
Well, don't you think that FSU fans and Alabama fans wonder the same thing about us?
Marshall has had some good teams in the past (and is not that bad right now).
You mean the JMU team that won in lane against a ranked VT team?
Or the Marshall team that took us to multiple overtimes?
Might be time to get off that high horse and just let it run on the treadmill.
Salt, meet wound.
Nnadi- i am on the fence. I will cry if we dont get him
Harrison- FSU. I'd love to have him, but i just dont think its in the cards. Hope I'm wrong.
Minor - Hokies
Ford- Hokies
McKenzie- He will be the Jayron Hosley of this class, coming out of no where and be awesome for us. Very excited.
Bronson - Hokies
Scott - I think hes a solid recruit but I wont be crushed if we dont land him. No real prediction here.
strange coincidence: this recruiting class might have two Isaiah's and 2 Ford's.
Two McKenzie's as well.
and of course two beamers
And no Fullers :o(
Derrick Nnadi: VT
Javon Harrison: FSU
Raymon Minor: VT
Isaiah Ford: Louisville
Isaiah McKenzie: VT
Kevin Bronson: VT
Anthony Scott: VT
Anyone else thinking about tailgating on the 5th?
What an awesome idea!!! Too bad I will be sitting at work viciously hitting F5 and repeatedly checking twitter.
We get them all.
why does everyone keep thinking Harrison is going to FSU? am I missing something he's commited to us and the only 3 of real importance are Harrison, Nnadi, and Mckenzie, and obviously if we could somehow get D'shawn Hand which is almost totally impossible
False. All 7 are important.
Sorry boys but this is how its going down.
Derrick Nnadi: FSU
Javon Harrison: FSU
Raymon Minor: Marshall
Isaiah Ford: VT
Isaiah McKenzie: Ol Miss
Kevin Bronson: FAU
Anthony Scott: VT
Don't know why someone downvoted you, but if that happened I would cry. A lot.
Up voted you to even it out. Don't think people get the point of down voting, it isn't for bad news or a difference in opinion
Wonder what makes you think Bronson will go FAU?
I'll give you your leg back if you're right.
I don't know why people have downvoted you.
Christian Bale's Upvoteception?
I would mostly be surprised with Bronson to FAU on that list. I think the others are probably the odds-on-favorites at this time, although McKenzie, Nnadi and Harrison are likely very close.
Here's what I'm thinking
Derrick Nnadi: FSU -- wants to win a MNC and that's easier there
Javon Harrison: FSU -- Jimbo is getting the last in home visit today and it's closer to home
Raymon Minor: VT --- will sign with VT but if doesn't get the grades could see him enroll at Marshall in August
Isaiah Ford: VT -- Some are saying now he's a lock to VT
Isaiah McKenzie: VT -- Good guys get the last visit on the human joystick
Kevin Bronson: VT -- Joins the Dadi and Maddy as Del Ray DL crew
Anthony Scott: ODU -- Believe he stays home and sees opportunity for more playing time
Think there's still a good chance with Harrison and if VT gets Harrison then Torrian Gray deserves MAJOR props for his connections.
I'd love to hear the inside details on Gray and his connection to Harrison. I bet it's pretty deep, like he dated Harrison's mom in HS or she's married to his cousin or something.
Keep in mind Gray has a teenage daughter himself that was born when he was in college or right after.
Thought I would come up with my own, but it would look just like yours. Hate that feeling of Nnadi and Harrison at FSU instead of VT (especially Nnadi perfect fit for out D-line), but what can you do. +1 because we agree
Still think Nnadi is coming to VT. 1) It's close to home for family to attend games. 2) He will likely play as a freshman at VT and may even crack the 2-deep. 3) He will likely have to RS at F$U and then compete against other high end talent just to get on the field, likely not a starter until year 3 at best. 4) FOSTER
Apparently the video department thinks we get Nnadi and Scott. They were rolling some of their signing day stuff on the screen in Cassell and both were up there.
Is it possible that they just have stuff prepared for all of the possible signees?
I just don't want to get my hopes up.
definitely this
Most likely, it was just funny, he was one of the first names I saw them going through. Marshawn's video was pretty long too, it's like they had the whole highlight reel going.
That was the entertainment. Was there a basketball game?....Well, not a game, anyway...
Nnadi: FSU
Harrison: VT (I seem to be the only one who thinks we close this)
Minor: Marshall
Ford: VT
McKenzie: VT
Bronson: VT
Scott: VT (maybe he's a CB?)
My sign of hope with Harrison is that he has never at any point decommitted. I have no insider news, so until I see it, I am going to assume he is going to VT. He is a five star talent.
As for Nnadi, he is such a need player that I want to make absolutely sure that every resource is exhausted to keep him, but based on much of the feedback I have heard, he is a confident kid who will choose a school based on much more than just winning football games or being close to home. I would be crushed if he picks FSU, but I'd wish him well.
Pure guesswork, but VT gets all the rest on the list as long as they can qualify. Ford to me is the biggest question mark, mainly because I have not heard much discussion about him.
Ford is an interesting case because he committed early to Louisville.....then I think he blew up a little in hoops to the point where he started hearing that he could play D1 ball and that changed his thoughts about L'ville. (I imagine Pitino thought, "Sure, he can sit the bench for me if he wants.")
He's got a 4* offer list. He's seems to be pretty devout guy from his twitter posting, I'm hoping that may sway him away from Petrino.
Our basketball team might be so bad that he doesn't want to come to Tech and play on it.
On the other hand, our basketball team might be bad enough that he can come in and make an immediate impact. After football season's over, of course.
Anthony Scott: Its always good to get good players but we are going to be crowded in the backfield especially if he comes to VT. Anyone see that as an issue?
I haven't watched any film, but yes, I'm surprised we're pursuing him especially since it seems to be true that Reid qualified.
Even more surprising is that he doesn't want to play CB. He's looking mainly at us and ECU because we're the only two schools that offered him to play RB.
Derrick Nnadi: VT (We will make him our top priority. FSU/OSU won't)
Javon Harrison: FSU (Seems like this is definitely going to happen)
Raymon Minor: VT (Pulling for him to get those grades up)
Isaiah Ford: VT (He has best chance to play bball in the best conference fot it)
Isaiah McKenzie: Ole Miss (I feel like this all happened too fast for him)
Kevin Bronson: VT (Just a guess. Hopefully he liked his visit to bburg last weekend)
Anthony Scott: ECU
Unfortunately the Nnadi part isnt really true. FSU is in love with Nnadi which is why I think we will ultimately lose him.
Also Welcome!
Thanks BWade. Hopefully good heads prevail and he makes the right decision
I also think Harrison would have decommitted by now if we were going to lose him. Nnadi is so tough to guess, but I'm scared he's gone. I would say we get the rest, except for Scott, barring grade issues.
The idea of getting Harrison, McKenzie, Ford, Phillips, Bradshaw, and Holland in one class is ridiculous. We would be stacked at WR for years.
Just like 04-07, which was phenomenal.
Here's a possible surprise:
http://247sports.com/Player/Tyler-Powell-19132?Institution=22074
Currently commited to UNC.
Nevermind I see now that he's tweeted he is in town for a track meet...
The anticipation is killin' me. One of my favorite days of the year.
Honestly, I'd prefer to lose Nnadi to FSU than Harrison. I want our WR corps to be as stacked as possible.
I guess I agree because of Fosters ability to create dominance no matter what and a lack of ability to get someone like Harrison in the past. But a Foster defense with Walker/Nnadi would be incredible.
I would rather lose Harrison and get Nnadi if it came down to it. We are getting some WRs in and we need DL depth. Nnadi just fits the mold here perfectly
Personally, the recruiting itself doesn't get me that excited. I hope we get every recruit we want, but what I really hope is that we develop the recruits that we do get, use them at their maximum potential, and win lots of games.
If we win a lot of games, then the previous recruiting classes were just what I wanted.
yo but really, if we could flip da'shawn hand though...
I still think/hope there is a sleeper recruit. One so secret, he is not even on the radar screen.
Conjecture away.
ANOTHER FULLER
Why? Did Rogers replicate himself?
The elusive 5th Fuller. Are the rumors true?
A friend of mine who has subscriptions to all the major recruiting websites has heard that Nnadi is basically a lock for FSU. He says that FSU is really only worried about UVA since he's making a visit there so late. Unfortunately, I'd have to side with him. I think as of late, we've had trouble with closing (i.e. Hand). I trust our staff, but I kind of lack the confidence that they can close the deal on these big name recruits.
Wait... is the big kid FSU, where he's picking on all the little kids... or is he VT, where he takes wild shots and maybe hits one in a million (Vick)?
Yes.
:-( The recruit I really wanted the most. This one will sting for a while, like Stephone Anthony.
What frustrates me is that players like Curtis Grant and Stephone Anthony fitted in perfectly at Tech and then they went to Ohio State and Clemson and fell way behind on the depth chart and the rest was history. I fear the same thing may happen to Nnadi if he goes to FSU, whereas if went to Tech he would play immediately and probably dominate. So please, Derrick if you are reading this don't make the same mistake, come to Tech and become the legend that everybody knows you will be if you pick the HOKIES!
Well, I want to agree with you about Anthony but he was a playmaker this past season for Clementine. Grant, however, has never lived up to his 5-star billing.
Honestly reading through this thread all I can think about is how much I want signing day to come and go. It's exciting for a while but then it just becomes exhausting. I will be excited to look at the guys that do sign, and then we just have to move on and wish everyone the best. I wish I could make myself not follow recruiting though.
Agree 100%. All of the rumors are killing me, I just want to know who commits where so I can move on. Wednesday come faster!
I completely agree. I'm very much looking forward to Wednesday night when I can sit back with a lovely grain-based adult beverage and peruse our haul and their various highlight tapes. Then just rinse and repeat and wait for spring ball to start.
Speaking of tailgating...is VT getting the ESPN3 live stream treatment on the 5th?
Edit: don't see it on the schedule, but GT has a signing day special, along with Pitt, NC State and FSU.
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index#league/NCAAF/type/upcoming/startDate/...
There is a stream on hokiesports.com like last year from like 11-1 I'm pretty sure
My .02. And admittedly I'm a bit of a homer....
Nnadi- fSU. Hardest to type. I get the feeling he's a little slighted by brown and hand and wants to go to a "bigger" program and prove folks wrong. Too hard to tell..
Minor-VT
Harrison-VT- bit gonna back out this close when he's been committed for years.
Mckenzie-VT
Ford-UL- turned off by the other big time wr we land
Bronson- somewhere closer to home
Some serious offensive talent headed our way. In 2 years our fan base will be re energized. Also wanna say is anyone else burned out on Nnadi? I don't blame the kid but as somebody following recruiting, it has been exhausting. Still hope he picks tech-he won't regret it.
Hold up...did you just call LOLUVA a bigger program? Because Bama certainly is.
Bronson to VT! Bet you are happy to be wrong :) Go Hokies, sign-em all up!
Who all is on officials in Blacksburg this weekend?
Mckenzie, & Minor for sure. i think the rest are already commits
Thanks!
Derrick Nnadi: FSU
Javon Harrison: VT
Raymon Minor: Marshall (academics)
Isaiah Ford: VT
Isaiah McKenzie:Ole Miss
Kevin Bronson: VT
Anthony Scott: (not us)
Derrick Nnadi: VT, Source who knows people close to the situation say VT.
Javon Harrison: VT, Guaranteed to start day one FSU guaranteed to see the bench until 3rd year, which by that time they would have gotten 3 more 5 stars.
Raymon Minor: VT if academically eligible, Marshall if not. Hope he gets those grades up.
Isaiah Ford: Lville, once McKenzie commits.
Isaiah McKenzie:VT, Moorehead will chopwood this weekend.
Kevin Bronson: VT, Atlantic Beach connection comes thru again.
Anthony Scott: ECU
#sources
Yep sources use your imagination of whom that maybe.
I was about to give up on Nnadi until you posted that. Now I'm all excited again haha.
So many folks being negative about he is all but assured of going to FSU, thought I would throw some hope to the HokieNation from what I have been told.
It's all well and good, but we heard many rumors prior to Loefler and Grimes and Moorehead being hired last offseason that were debunked, so don't hate us if we're a tad skeptical!
sounds like doubt
I understand being skeptical, I am in my own right. But the person I am talking with would not have mentioned it if he didn't have a decent indication of what was going to happen. Now could Derrick change his mind yes, but that goes with any of these recruits until that LOI comes thru as a fan base lets stay positive.
I will find you if you're wrong.
Jk.
Not really.
Like the way you are thinking. Bronson is domino #1 to fall. #VTmomentum
FSU brought the full court press to Harrison yesterday. Doesn't look good but I hope if he has made his decision he decommits immediately. There is no sense in waiting til signing day and breaking everyone's heart. But in the end it's his life and I know it's not an overly easy one so I wish him the best.
Agreed, if in the last 7 days he has had both schools bring everything to him he should know where he wants to play. If he feels fsu is the place then verbally committ to them today and let the world know. If he decommitts today we know how hard we have to push for the isiahs.
Yes. Although he claims that his recruitment has been open for a while so I wonder if he even considers himself verballed to Tech anymore?
If he doesn't consider himself verbally committed then decommitt.
Well yes that seems logical. But I'm just saying he hasn't claimed he is committed to VT in any way for a while now and he has said his commitment is open on twitter so maybe he does consider himself decommitted.
Very true. We will know in a few short days.
Not 100% accurate .. he did "confirm" his verbal publicly twice, but not in last 6-8 weeks. I spoke with HS coach in his district yesterday .. said he feels JH is best WR recruit on FSU's board.
IF FSU staff honestly feels that way and has told JH so, he should go there. Would break our hearts ..
Sorry BWade .. I didnt see "for a while now"in your post when i first read it.
Hold up...did you just call LOLUVA a bigger program? Because Bama certainly is.
they must be pumped about getting andrew bynum.
Any idea who?
Edit: Bronson, nice.
I think it says Kevin Bronson.
insert happy dance
One down, six to go!
#Strongsiiiiiiiiiide
In response to the #Strongside
Exactly. ^
At the time of this posting, 7 of 7 Rivals.com analysts including Mike Farrell picked Nnadi to the Hokies.
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=880&CID=1604458
Please let it be so!
You know something has to be up if Mike Farrell picks someone to the Hokies.
I wonder if this is after his UVA visit. A huge source for these guys are coaches for teams that are out of it. He may have told uva coaches this weekend his intentions or they read it on him.
seems like most people on 247 say FSU for Nnadi and most people on Rivals say us. Which leads me to believe no one really has a clue and its all guess work. We will find out Wednesday so try and put it out of your head until then, no sense worrying (I know...I know, much easier said than done)
The anticipation is really starting to get to me now. Wednesday cant get here soon enough. Also on a side note, I work at Food Lion and upper management told us we could wear Jerseys to work for Super Bowl weekend. On both Saturday and Sunday I sported my LT3 jersey while working and my coworkers and customers were asking "why are you wearing a Virginia Tech jersey during the Super Bowl?" My response every time was "National Signing day is Wednesday I gotta support my Hokies." most people had no idea what I was talking about.
I'm with you, I'm like the GEICO hump day camel around my office. I'm amped. No one else understands....thank goodness for TKP!
2 days and counting! Hokies are going to celebrate!
I think Harrison is a Seminole. I understand the argument that the kids would decommit if they weren't coming to Blacksburg, but why would you bother decommitting at this point?
Not sending in the fax = decommitting.
How about saying on twitter that your recruitment is still open? That seems like decommitment to me.
I very much hope he sticks by his word and takes advantage of the support that the hokies can give his family. We should get Darren Evans in touch with him.
Well this really doesn't bode well. To put this into perspective Bud has been about as dead on with his predictions as you can possibly be. I'm not saying this is 100% or anything. But not good.
In a lot of ways, this is tracking how most people thought it would:
1. Harrison is wavering and it will go down to the wire,
2. Isaiah Ford would be a great Harrison replacement and we look to be in good shape there,
3. We need Minor to complete a very nice LB haul of Keihn, T.Taylor and Minor. Looks like Minor has the test score he needs.....
4. Derrick Nnadi will be the difference between an A+ class by VT standards and an A or A- class
It was fun to think about guys like Isaiah McKenzie for a while, but he's now got the UGA offer he wanted. Kevin Bronson was a great addition and could help us for a very solid DL class of Mihota-Walker-Nnadi-Bronson with Sczerbek in support.
We'll see how it goes tomorrow, but this is pretty much where we thought we would be.
I thought mckenzie said that he would make up his decision by Monday and now it's Tuesday so the whole Georgia thing wouldn't matter then right?
He's going to pick UGA tomorrow, that was the offer he was waiting on. He hadn't qualified until recently, said he would commit if he got our offer, came and visited and didn't like it (and apparently we weren't high on him either) and got a UGA offer.
Sucks for Ole Miss, they've been on him for months and were by his side before he qualified. But nobody in the SEC is crying for Ole Miss after the sketchy way they closed their class last year.
How do you explain this??
Didn't he say that he had made up his mind before UGA even offered?
Don't get panicked when we do not hear from several recruits tomorrow with the pending ice tonight. I imagine there could be several power outages and no school which may make it near impossible for some of these kids to get in their LOIs. If we thought the build up was bad, just waiting to see how some of us react tomorrow if this occurs, LOL.
Ah. Tomorrow is going to be a great adventure. For better or worse we need some college football excitement.
If Nnadi's decision gets delayed I am going to lose my mind, haha.
haha, I think if that happens, French will drive to wherever Nnadi lives with a freaking generator to get that fax machine working.
I have meetings basically every other hour all day starting at 10 tomorrow. If he doesn't decide before 10, I'm going to go nuts.
Hate to say it, but I have an extremely bad feeling about this signing day. I actually felt pretty optimistic until the last couple days.
Derrick Nnadi: FSU
Javon Harrison: FSU
Raymon Minor: VT (signs with us but might end up at Marshall regardless)
Isaiah Ford: VT
Isaiah McKenzie: UGA
Kevin Bronson: VT (obviously)
Anthony Scott: ODU
In case you missed it.
I did, but I'm still standing by UGA as my hunch. It's not like we haven't been "duped" by twitter plenty of times before.
Very true.
Unfortunately I nailed it outside of Scott to ecu Instead Of Odu.
VT bringin the Legion of
to Balcksburg! GO HOKIES!
shakeitallabout: Your predictions I would be pretty happy with.
Glad to hear it. We have a great class regardless and I'm pumped about adding 5 o-lineman since that's been an area we've struggled with for years now. I believe we have future playmaking starters at QB and RB coming in as well. Can't lie that I'm going to be disappointed if we don't get one of Harrison, McKenzie, or Nnadi though. I'd rate my confidence level in getting those players as Harrison (10%), then I. McKenzie (30%), and then Nnadi (50%).
One of these days, I hope a prospect signals his commitment to VT by having a Turkey Leg brought out on a silver platter!
Or just wrapped in bacon, blue collar style!
(i agree with you. That would be awesome)