I DECIDED TO SPEND THE NEXT 4-5 YEARS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STATE #NOLENATION— D_Nnadi (@DerrickNnadi) February 5, 2014
Hug it out here.
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I DECIDED TO SPEND THE NEXT 4-5 YEARS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STATE #NOLENATION— D_Nnadi (@DerrickNnadi) February 5, 2014
Hug it out here.
Comments
wonderful
OK deep breaths
Deshawn Hand strikes again!
Well, that sucks. That's what winning a national championship will do for you. Wish him all the best though. He would have been a great addition to the Hokie Nation but we will be fine. The sky will not fall, even though these rain drops outside keep falling on my head.
There's no looking back now. This is where we are. Charge and give 'em hell, men.
FSU steals Harrison and Nnadi from us. Devastating. When it comes to getting the HIGH profile recruits, LOLUva cleaned our clocks this year (we ended up with the better overall class, but its not by nearly as much anymore)
Thats how you have a crushing defeat in recruiting on the last day of the year.
This is still going to be our best and most complete class in years. And all those stars that UVa has collected over the last few years have amounted to fewer wins than fans at their spring game.
It states just how far off our recruiting had fallen that this will be the best and most complete class in years. I love the players we got in early, but losing Nnadi and likely Harrison and potentially Isiah McKenzie (after saying we're a lock if we offer) (UPDATE... McKenzie just signed with Georgia.... the NSD collapse continues)... Not sure how you could look at it and say NSD would be anything but a failure.
At some point, we HAVE to figure out how to close these kind of guys. I know Beamer's philosophy of giving up on players that commit elsewhere, but after what happened with Harrison, its a truly STUPID and outdated philosophy. You can't put arbitrary limitations on yourselves and expect to compete with the big boys. We need to be handling recruiting on the exact same level playing field as everyone else, or we're only hurting ourselves in the end. We're never going to win a thing of importance if we don't start getting our hands dirty on the recruiting trail. And seeing as how the Athletic Department runs off the revenue that football brings in, we can't afford to not be on a level playing field.
I agree things had dropped off badly in recruiting, but much like the on-field product this year, we're just starting to see the changes we need. If we're still not closing on big-time recruits in a year or so, then I'd say we have a problem. The fact that our new coaches turned things around so quickly to give us this good of a class is a great sign, I think. Now we need to see continued improvement.
The reality is that while we are losing these guys, we can't sign everyone. If you want all those guys, someone has to grayshirt which many players don't like to do. Or you have to drop other players which is very classless. Calm down and move on. These are 17 and 18 year old kids. They will change their mind daily and it's not for those of us that are adults to stress over.
Come on now... Take a moment and get back to me in 3 years on this class.
Dude, chill out, turn off your computer and let it go. One way or another, NONE of this is going to make or break our season or have any effect on our personal lives. You're getting WAY too emotional about the decisions of 17 and 18 year olds.
Also, Beamer is totally fine stealing recruits from other schools. Ask Durking and MSU. He just likes to know if a kid is completely done with recruiting so he's not wasting his time that could be spent getting someone he has a chance with.
Someone is going to spend all day posting the same "sky is falling" thoughts at every turn on this board. I'm guessing its this guy.
Tempting, but happily I have class at 11 to keep me busy.
Right, but our recruiting staff DID pick up a guy named Billy Ray... so there's a huge victory.
Re: Isiah McKenzie, "after saying we're a lock if we offer". Consider the source.
How much our recruiting has fallen off en recent years? Do you even realize how good this class is overall? We're talking #2 or #3 all-time at VT. The only thing keeping it from #1 is a 5-star type player, although Fisher is very close to that status, as is Harrison if he selects us.
So far we've got LOI's / enrollment dates from 13 4-star prospects according the the various recruiting sites, and counting..
Agreed.
Expect to be Elite: Fisher, Reavis, McKenzie, Williams
Expect to be good with a ton of upward potential: Ford, Durkin, Mitchell, Pettit, Pffaf, Phillips, Ford, Minor
There is a bunch of potential that is harder to evaluate based on guys playing different positions than they will play in college.
I feel safe to say that there are 8-10 players who are more talented than the players that are ahead of them on the depth chart right now in Blacksburg. Not everyone will be Myles Jack/Sammy Watkins, especially on day 1. They will need to grow, mature physically, and learn the Hokie systems. But, if you can't see that the class is really good (WORLDS better than a couple of years ago when Trey Edmunds was the only recruit that really wowed me at that time.)
I get the perception issue. And I HATE losing a guy like Da'Shawn Hand, who said he loved Coach Foster and could have been the Bruce Smith/Michael Vick type player that garners huge attention for the program and elevates good to great. Or a guy like Derrick Nnadi, who was a perfect fit with the added element of massive strength to tie up double teams and allow the linebackers to be even more dynamic. It frustrates me to death. But man, it isn't worth this level of anxiety and vitriol.
Steals? Quite frankly, I don't know why anyone is surprised. If a recruit wants to win, wants to be the best, why wouldn't they go with the most recent national championship team?
And who could blame them for doing that?
This just in, FSU will heretofore be known as UFS.
Thanks,
Mgmt.
When you are recruiting against Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban for Defensive players you are going to have a bad time no matter what. We need a little perspective here. We did not get significantly better on defense. But we also didnt get significantly worse, and we had a top 5 defense this year. Fact of the matter is that having Nnadi would have been amazing but its not like teams are going to all of a sudden run all over us now. Bud Foster does what he does. Have faith.
While the D-line needs restocking, the O-line needs rebuilding. That's where the emphasis has been, that's where we've been most successful, and that's what I'm excited about.
I recommend watching Sobzcak's film to make you feel better. At 6-1 290 or so he can move and is relentless- and his hair is glorious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhUqQTj6Hzg
Next man up! Best of luck to him. The National championship is fresh in his memory. He did what's best for him. The program will move on. We'll have to win the whole thing to keep some of these recruits home.
FSU: Top talent in the nation (top 5 recruiting classes the past how many years??), warm weather, hot girls.... Its hard to top that. I love Blacksburg with all my heart, but it just doesn't compare. Cant hate on the kid for wanting that. That being said, we do need to try and land some of these in-state studs that have been out there. If we want to contend for a National Championship, we NEED to start bringing in these top in-state guys... At the end of the day, they are just kids, its just a game, best of luck to all recruits.
FSU: Lower graduation rate, lower academic standing, easier classes, etc.
Although that's true, you do realize Hoo we sound like when we say that, right?
naw, his tone wasn't haughty enough to be a convincing hoo.
We might not be tops in the ACC but we are not the bottom either. I came to Tech for an education and while I love Tech sports, our academic successes are as important.
Next man up. The cupboard is not bare. Let's move on, celebrate the class we have, and go get some DTs and LBs for the 2015 and 2016 National Championship runs.
2014 DT Depth: Luther Maddy, Nigel Williams, Woody Baron, Ricky Walker, Steve Sobczack
2015 DT Depth: Nigel Williams, Woody Baron, Ricky Walker, Steve Sobczak, Freshman #1, Freshman #2
Tim Settle, Darvin Taylor
I would put our chances at getting Settle at 0.1%. We have ZERO pull in-state anymore with these top players.
As long as Greg Stroman is a Hokie, there is a chance. Stroman is his best friend and you can bet that he will work his hardest to make Settle a Hokie.
RMFW came from Stonewall, too. I'm not discounting the Settle possibility.
Let's take a moment and breathe. You're overreacting quite a bit here. Take a step back, have a drink, do something my friend to relax a little.
Don't forgot Kevin Bronson. Kid could turn out better than nnandi.
The way this gif is cut makes this look so ... wrong
like I am seeing this every time it cycles
Let's see how he handles the fab four running over him.
If we would've stolen him from UFS I was going to be like
But instead I believe this accurately describes my feelings
This just in....I have to get up and go to work tomorrow and every day afterwards regardless of who we sign....just saying
well maybe this opens the door for tim settle to commit next year?
I can imagine it now. Settle calling Nnadi up and telling him to commit elsewhere because he wants to be the next great DT at Tech. Hah one can dream!
too late to send this guy an offer?
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Arthur-Williams-...
Seems FSU decided not to send him an LOI or answer their phone calls from him this morning...smh
Man, poor kid. You commit to your dream school and they don't even send in the LOI. Probably the worst feeling in the world.
people on twitter suggesting it may be academic issues...but still. you answer the phone. even better, you discuss the issues with him in advance of signing day! SEC bush league crap that i expect better than from ACC schools...
Remember... FSU built themselves after the SEC, if you paid attention to what the tv blowhards were saying on ESPN during the title game
That was just ESPN's way of justifying that why the best team this year was not from that conference.
Forwarded this on to a few FSU friends of mine. Overwhelming attitude was an immediate laugh at the kid and saying... and I quote:
"He's a 3* recruit, he shouldn't expect to be treated well"
Disgusting.
That, ladies and gentleman, is taking football far too seriously, and in the wrong ways.
sad...if it wouldn't kill the ACC, i'd be happy to ship them off to the SEC...
Just to add to the sting:
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1606378
Knowing that, he still chose FSU when he could have been in the 2 deep right away most likely at tech.
You can play it off, but this still sucks. He was one of the few I thought we had in the bag. Best of luck to him.
Also, on a sidenote, "next man up" irritates me. Can't really explain why, but it does.