For those that don't want to search through the open thread to find out who has committed to Tech:
Andrew Ford, QB, 6'3" 193 Lbs from Camp Hill, PA
Chris Durkin, QB, 6'3" 230 Lbs from Poland, OH
Travon McMillian, ATH/QB, 6'0" 200 Lbs from Woodbridge, VA
Marshawn Williams, RB, 5' 11" 226 Lbs from Hampton, VA
Shai McKenzie, RB, 5'11" 215 Lbs from Washington, PA
Tabyus Taylor, RB, 6'1" 215 Lbs from Hopewell, VA
D.J. Reid, RB, 6'0" 190 Lbs from Chester, VA
Colt Pettit, OL, 6'4" 260 Lbs from Deschler, OH
Billy Ray Mitchell, OL, 6'4" 280 Lbs from Westwood, NJ
Eric Gallo, OL, 6'3" 285 Lbs from Richboro, PA
Tyrell Smith, OL, 6'3" 260 Lbs from North Brunswick, NJ
Kendrick Holland, WR, 6'3" 190 Lbs from Winter Haven, FL
Jaylen Bradshaw, WR, 6'1" 180 Lbs from Chesapeake, VA
Cam Phillips, WR, 6'1" 185 Lbs from Laurel, MD
Isaiah Ford, WR, 6'2" 180 Lbs from Jacksonville, FL
Xavier Burke, TE, 6'3" 245 Lbs from Lawrenceville, VA
Vinny Mihota, DE, 6'5" 252 Lbs from Fredericksburg, VA
Kevin Bronson, DE, 6'3" 258 Lbs from Boynton Beach, FL
Ricky Walker, DL, 6'2" 265 Lbs from Hampton, VA
Steve Sobczak, DL, 6'1" 285 Lbs from Milford, VA
Melvin Keihn, LB, 6'2" 215 Lbs, Towson, MD
Raymon Minor, LB, 6'3" 215 Lbs from Ashland, VA
Holland Fisher, DB, 6'2" 210 Lbs from Richmond, VA
Greg Stroman, CB, 5'11" 165 Lbs from Bristow, VA
Terrell Edmunds, DB, 6'1" 185 Lbs from Danville, VA
C.J. Reavis, DB, 6'0" 190 Lbs from Chester, VA
Shawn Payne, DB, 6'3" 176 Lbs from Chesterfield, VA
Michael Santamaria, K, 5'8" 150 Lbs from Athens, GA
Will Edit this as additional commits come in (fingers crossed for Ford)***Ford has been updated***
That's 28 commits thus far.
15 from the state of Virginia
3 from Florida
3 from Pennsylvania
2 from Maryland
2 from New Jersey
2 from Ohio
1 from Georgia
2 QB's
4 RB's
4 OL's
4 WR's
1 TE
1 ATH
1 K
2 DE's
2 DL's
3 LB's
4 DB's
Probably the most balanced class in terms of positions in quite a while.
Comments
My guess is that MacMillian moves to WR
Lefty said they would give him a chance at QB. In my head this is how it plays out. 2 weeks into it lefty will call him into his office and say yeah you're doing fine but I feel like you could be more usefull/play faster if you were a WR. Imagine the Jet sweeps, imagine the deep routes, imagine the screens. You belong at WR.
What Lefty did with Parker against UCLA was pretty cool.
That's exactly what they did with Carlis Parker. Told him he'd get a fair shot. Saw him one day practicing with QBs, the next I saw him running routes in the back gym by himself. He pretty much knew the writing on the wall without even having to be here that long.
Pending depth, I'd say McMillan ends up in the secondary.
Did they do the same with Motley? If he can compete with the QBs then I'm all for it, otherwise, I hope he's open to a position change since his athletic ability can help this team somewhere.
No, I'm pretty sure he was mostly recruited because he is an athletic local kid with Hokie ties. I'd imagine he is open to moving positions, but right now I think he is the dark horse candidate for QB.
First impression yes, until you watch him at QB. He is a STUD. Guns it 50+ yards and lightning fast at 6-0 200.
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/913243/highlights/107094380?autoplay=1
Regardless we have a QB competition a WR competition and a RB competition. Who would have thought that in 1 year we would have major changes with recruiting and bringing in the guys to help the offense and lessen the pressure for our D
Also, you forgot Isaiah ford
He'll likely be added once it's officially announced. VT has his LOI, but he wants to do his little announcement anyways.
I think he's waiting for his official announcement coming momentarily.
EDIT: Beat me to it by 20 sec. Well done.
Is this official?
Well whadayaknow, we got two Hollands as well. Perhaps some sort of play on words with Netherlands?
This is what other teams' fans will be saying:
THIS IS SUCH A HORRIBLE CLASS!!! WE DIDN'T SIGN A SINGLE PUNTER!!
We didn't want to make AJ angry. Nobody likes AJ when he's angry.
Just ask The U.
Someone make a meme of the picture of AJ standing over that Miami guy that says "Who said you could sign a punter?"
Yeah I just need to get my Ford a little Fuller so I can visit Holland. I am just Durkin you around.
Now don't tempt me to go all Bronson on ya with the Colt! Nah, I better chill, pour some Gallo and maybe take a short cruise on the Santamaria...wouldn't want the police to have to go all McMillian (telling my age, haha) on me!
er...uh..Williams
not sure its reliable
We have 27 in on the HokieSports ticker. That's a pretty big class. Other than Ford, whom else are we waiting on? Any?
Let's See:
2 from Florida (3 if Ford sticks)
3 from PA
2 from Ohio
2 from NJ
1 from GA
Not Bad, we have definitely increased our recruiting footprint.
Its now 28 with the addition of Ford
So since Santamaria is listed and none of the other kickers are, does that mean that he will be on scholarship?
yes, If I am not mistaken only scholarship athletes sign NLI's
Yes, he was the only Kicker offered a scholarship. The others were offered preferred Walk On status
Ok - now which signee are we going to pin as the guy that we should have moved to TE?
Nnadi
ouch.
For VT:
For Michigan:
To the VT Recruiting Class: Welcome to Blacksburg!!
Best thing I have seen all day..in all of this Signing Day Madness we have AJ Hughes wondering about....
Getting ready for next year:
4th down QB needs to limber to be more involved in inadvertant fake punts.
Quick and Dirty, looking at 247, Rivals and Scout, we have 14 guys who were considered a 4 Star prospect by at least one of them...not the worst class in the world!
Andrew Ford, QB, 6'3" 193 Lbs from Camp Hill, PA (247 4 Star)
Chris Durkin, QB, 6'3" 230 Lbs from Poland, OH (247 and Scout 4 Star)
Travon McMillian, ATH/QB, 6'0" 200 Lbs from Woodbridge, VA (Scout 4 Star)
Marshawn Williams, RB, 5' 11" 226 Lbs from Hampton, VA (247 and Rivals 4 Star)
Shai McKenzie, RB, 5'11" 215 Lbs from Washington, PA (247, Rivals and Scout 4 Star)
Tabyus Taylor, RB, 6'1" 215 Lbs from Hopewell, VA
D.J. Reid, RB, 6'0" 190 Lbs from Chester, VA (247 4 Star)
Colt Pettit, OL, 6'4" 260 Lbs from Deschler, OH
Billy Ray Mitchell, OL, 6'4" 280 Lbs from Westwood, NJ
Eric Gallo, OL, 6'3" 285 Lbs from Richboro, PA
Tyrell Smith, OL, 6'3" 260 Lbs from North Brunswick, NJ
Kendrick Holland, WR, 6'3" 190 Lbs from Winter Haven, FL
Jaylen Bradshaw, WR, 6'1" 180 Lbs from Chesapeake, VA
Cam Phillips, WR, 6'1" 185 Lbs from Laurel, MD (247 and Rivals 4 Star)
Isaiah Ford, WR, 6'2" 180 Lbs from Jacksonville, FL (247 4 Star)
Xavier Burke, TE, 6'3" 245 Lbs from Lawrenceville, VA
Vinny Mihota, DE, 6'5" 252 Lbs from Fredericksburg, VA (247 4 Star)
Kevin Bronson, DE, 6'3" 258 Lbs from Boynton Beach, FL
Ricky Walker, DL, 6'2" 265 Lbs from Hampton, VA (247 and Rivals 4 Star)
Steve Sobczak, DL, 6'1" 285 Lbs from Milford, VA
Melvin Keihn, LB, 6'2" 215 Lbs, Towson, MD (Rivals 4 Star)
Raymon Minor, LB, 6'3" 215 Lbs from Ashland, VA (247, Rivals and Scout 4 Star)
Holland Fisher, LB, 6'2" 210 Lbs from Richmond, VA (247, Rivals and Scout 4 Star)
Greg Stroman, CB, 5'11" 165 Lbs from Bristow, VA
Terrell Edmunds, DB, 6'1" 185 Lbs from Danville, VA
C.J. Reavis, DB, 6'0" 190 Lbs from Chester, VA (247 and Rivals 4 Star)
Shawn Payne, DB, 6'3" 176 Lbs from Chesterfield, VA
Michael Santamaria, K, 5'8" 150 Lbs from Athens, GA
Wow... Three 4* LBs? That makes me really excited for the defense. We've had solid LB play, but I'm excited to see what stellar LB play does for our D side.
Also, DL.
Good chance Fisher will play rover though
Yea, he's listed as a DB on hokiesports.
More like Free Safety. Reavis is the Rover is this class, and McMillian could wind up at FS, ROV, WR or QB
Fisher has been playing linebacker for the past year. He is definitely a rover
Fisher played LB a good bit in HS, but he camped as a safety and played DB for FUMA. http://www.forkunion.com/sites/default/files/2013%20PG%20Roster.pdf
He could wind up at either Rover or FS, but I think he starts at FS because I see Reavis as a Rover.
Somebody obviously doesn't want Fisher to play rover
FWIW, Xavier Burke is a 4-star TE prospect according to ESPN.
ESPN? not worth much! ;)
Hmmm.. Scout is absolutely the worst recruiting service of the big 4. They have a class ranking of 36 for VT at this time. They don't even have anybody that really looks at the state of VA prospects.
I believe ESPN has these guys as 4*: I. Ford, X Burke, T McMillan, R Walker. I think they have 1 other VT committ as a 4*, but I cant remember...
For class ranking their point system is out of proportion. They give 200 points for a 5*, 120 for a 4, 40 for 3. A 5* is good but I don't think there is that much difference between a 5 and a 4 or 3. Is a 5* five times better than a 3*?
i would argue many 4 stars are just as good as a 5 star for the college game. 5 stars may just have what it takes to be more "League" ready. i believe it was rivals who actually disclosed that their ratings had less to do with how a player projected at the collegiate level and more to do with their NFL prospects.
now, i recognize that a kid who is NFL material will be a great college player, too, but there are plenty of GREAT college football players who may never even get a shot at the NFL, let alone be a top draft pick.
i think the whole reason they shifted from a 4 star system and added the 5th star was basically to differentiate between the 25-35 kids they thought had a legit shot to be top NFL draft picks in 3-5 years and those who would be great for college, but maybe not project to the NFL just yet as an 18 year old.
By my count, there's 12 4* from 247, 8 4* from Rivals, and 5 4* from Scout. Is that just because of the ridiculous amount of variance in rankings between the various services, or do they have drastically different numbers of 4* players?
Its a combination of the two. It also comes from how many different analysts they use.
My opinion as far as the ranking services go:
247 Sports
ESPN
Rivals
Everyone that types on the internet
Scout
Its also interesting to see how often one service changes their ranking on a kid and over the following week or so several others follow suit.
Exactly....Perfect depiction of what I think of Scout as an evaluating entity
I gotta go
Rivals
247
Internet Typers
ESPN
Scout
Scout really is absolute garbage. The top two give honest evaluations, I think. The bottom two have realized that they'll get more page clicks if they rank certain schools classes highly. The middle is uninformed, but belligerent.
My recruiting ranking system rankings:
1) French
2) Everyone else
I don't care too much about what other teams are doing, as long as we're bringing in quality players for our system, and French does a fantastic job of covering that.
Look at all that offense. :) Maybe we didn't get everyone we wanted, especially on defense, but this class is pretty dang respectable, and I'm already itching to buy season tickets for 2014.
so on point. Look at the commits, we needed LB badly, we got 3 maybe even 4. We needed all sorts of help at RB and WR and QB we know have an open competition for all those positions. It would be a better class if we got nandi, but I am extremely happy with all the offensive talent we brought in.
Nandi Pandy! When we meet FSU in the ACC Championship Game were gonna roll him!
So, how many of these guys will have to go to Prep Schools? I now some are coming out of them as well.
another walk-on FB! i love it!
Baller.
Here is his Hudl
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1805816/steven-peoples#
His profile on 247
http://247sports.com/Player/Steven-Peoples-36756
Beat me to it +1. that first block ohh my lordd absolutely pancakes the poor kid..
Love his North-South running.
Welcome!
So why wasn't he recruited if he's pretty good? Or did he just settle on VT and not get a scholarship? But great to have another FB in the mix!
Single A player out of Galax isn't gonna have a lot of scouts on him regardless of what he does. As far as I know the only scholarship player I've ever seen come out of that district is Coleman Thomas to Tennessee. Been a few decent walk-ons though.
Got to see him in person and scout his team this year. Probably the one guy I am most excited to see if he can make it at Tech. In three films and game I watched in detail not once did I see him get knocked backwards. He always gave the hit before he went down getting those extra one to two yards.
I would love to see us bring in a goal line package kinda like we did against Miami this past year. bring in big hop bring in people's and bring in durkin. Now that is a scary but could be a very efficient group inside the 5. Could people's be the next JC but with more power?? That's my thought process right now.
In all honesty, I was thinking the power of Lee Suggs from the 20 yd line on. Maybe I am being a little optimistic with that comparison but for redzone situation can you just imagine the packages you can come up using both Sam Rogers and Peoples. Makes me smile at the possibilities of some amazing leading block destruction.
so true add malleck and cline to that package ohh my hurry up spring practices
Look on the bright side. We don't have to worry about people misspelling Nnadi for the next 4 years.
EDIT: #SARCASTICA
ohh my lord.. watch the first block he throws. Reminds me of a certain fella we have on our team now. People's Hudl
Is this the most out of state guys Tech has signed?
ESPN Sucks! They have us rated as the 31st 2014 class. REALLY. I love the skill position upgrade.
ESPN is by far... BY FAR the worst recruiting site to use.
If you go by 247, and especially their composite, we brought in a pretty darn good overall class, despite today's setbacks
I recommend the LEONARD composite. They rank the Hokies' recruiting class Number One All Time and Never to be Topped Ever.
I'm going to disagree and say that Scout is by far the worst. Any recruiting site that doesn't have Ricky Walker ranked as a 4* is definitely the worst, and that would be Scout. Scout also has our class rank at 36-- the lowest by a decent margin of all the services...
Scout is awful in their own right... but that said, ESPN partnered with Scout, but added in their own influences to the rankings...
You will Learn rankings don't mean much outside the top 5. Last year michigan had the 6th ranked class, how'd that work out. Notre Dame had the 4th ranked class.. Auburn had the 11th ranked class.
That's last year, the real story is what does each of those schools do in two to three years from that recruiting class when the class is actually contributing to play on the field.
Logic? What are you doing on this thread? This is about gut-shot reactions and half-baked prognostication. Did you not see "recruiting" in the title?
I would hope I saw it....since I typed it.
I submit, then, Miami's 2008 class. Even the Cane fans I know still spit when they talk about that class.
and this is a part of the reason Randy Shannon no longer has the head coaching job there.
Ok...for the classes that made up the bulk of the 2013 rosters.
2010:
1) USC
2) Florida
3) Texas
2011:
1) Bama
2) FSU
3) Texas
2012:
1) Bama
2) Florida
3) Texas
Hmmm...it seems that great recruiting classes - at least as defined by rivals - does not ensure success. So there must be other factors at play here that are equally (if not more) important than the Rivals rankings...like coaching, luck, talent evaluation...and, god forbid, the notion that the recruiting rankings are a not a quantitative measure of success but rather a collection of nearly entirely biased, subjective, qualitative opinions used to produce a quantitative measure of relative success in the modestly meaningful game of recruiting.
ESPN is all about promoting what benefits them the most and makes them the most money, and that is SEC. I bet there are SEC teams all over their top 20
Yep, 5 out of the top 6 and 10 out of the top 20.
I noticed something while I was watching a little bit of their coverage yesterday. I don't have firm numbers to prove it, but it seems to me that their rankings tend to heavily weight the the presence of any 5* recruit (with 5* being determined by them, of course, and we all know how that works - offer from top SEC team = 5*, so it's a self-fulfilling prophecy). That leaves a huge spread in the rankings of individual players. Some teams, like Kentucky (football powerhouse right there) got a high ranking for landing like one 5* guy and having everyone else ranked at #40 or below in their position. Meanwhile, there's steady-handed VT landing guys ranked #10 - 20 at their respective positions, evenly across the board. No "top recruit" at any position, but everyone is highly ranked. I'd rather have consistently solid athletes all over the field rather than a couple of gems with the rest being much lower ranked. Of course, performance is all about utilizing skills, so these rankings mean very little to me at this point. Just an observation from what I saw yesterday.
"I'd rather have consistently solid athletes all over the field rather than a couple of gems with the rest being much lower ranked."
So, basically, you are a Hokie and not a Hoo.
Sounds like, god forbid, you'd prefer results on the field than on paper using some mystery formula.
Though I am partial to mystery formulas...
You must be a fan of the BCS! And, well, probably the CFP too...
Pretty much. We went from one mystery that was (hopefully) based on math to another mystery based on a group of people's preferences. Both systems are broken but both give us a reasonable expectation of entertaining football. Let's see how the CFP goes.
We have an entire football team in this recruiting class
Screw ESecPN. We all know they are biased toward their golden child, cough SEC cough, so we coach-up the guys we have and get back to dominating the ACC.
This is all of us through today:
What in the Wild World of Sports are we going to with ourselves from now until the Spring game? And then until August!! Its gonna be a long spring and summer....Aaaaagggggghhhhhh!!!
I'm sure there will be numerous discussions about this, but who sees the field this year?
My guesses (in some capacity):
Andrew Ford, QB, 6'3" 193 Lbs from Camp Hill, PA
Chris Durkin, QB, 6'3" 230 Lbs from Poland, OH
Marshawn Williams, RB, 5' 11" 226 Lbs from Hampton, VA
Isaiah Ford, WR, 6'2" 180 Lbs from Jacksonville, FL
Vinny Mihota, DE, 6'5" 252 Lbs from Fredericksburg, VA
Ricky Walker, DL, 6'2" 265 Lbs from Hampton, VA
Raymon Minor, LB, 6'3" 215 Lbs from Ashland, VA
Holland Fisher, LB, 6'2" 210 Lbs from Richmond, VA
C.J. Reavis, DB, 6'0" 190 Lbs from Chester, VA
Marshawn
Cam Philips
Fisher
Walker
Reavis
Keihn
Jury is out on the QBs. Spring ball will tell if any of the vets will step up.
No Shai?
Shai is rehabbing his knee. So most people are expecting him to redshirt and make sure that knee is solid before he steps on the field.
Probably a good call - especially with our history of RB's and knee/ankle issues.
And we have 5420798 other RBs that will see the field this year
And with walk-on Peoples, it's now 5420798 + 1.
Good list overall, but I'd be really surprised if both frosh QBs take the field.
But... when we have a 2-QB rotation, we make the most of it it. Unlike that other school.
Agree. I tried to put an OR In there but the editing/caching wouldn't behave so I just left it.
The best thing about this class for me is, I can look down the list and see a huge amount of guys who I am confident will be starters at some point. We also got more Rivals 4-stars than ever.
On the down side, we whiffed on the top VA prospects. Had we gotten 4-5 of the Top 10 it would have taken the class from good to great.
We have no idea if getting 4 or 5 of the top 10 would take the 2014 class from good to great. It could actually do the opposite...let me explain.
In 2010, VT got 4 of the top 10, 7 of the top 16, and 12 of the top 30. The only players with meaningful contributions from class was/is #20 Derrick Hopkins and #26 Caleb Farris. That's it. So basically 0 for 4 w/ the top 10, 0 for 7 w/ the top 16, and 2 for 12 w/ the top 30.
So for all we know, only getting 1 or 2 of the top 10 in VA and getting some high ranked players from other states instead is a blessing in disguise. It certainly couldn't have hurt in 2010.
Interesting...do you happen to have the names/rankings for the 12?
Here are the names/rankings for the 2010 class members from Virginia
I like how I can Flickrstalk you from this window, and find out about your love for pictures of coaches and Excel spreadsheets.
Its all good, just shows about the only thing I use Flickr for, other than my aquarium photos.
VA recruits 5, 6, 9, 13, 15 and 16 - none saw significant playing time, some not on the team any more.
Va recruit #27 - 4 year starter.
Wow. The state of VA produced pathetic talent from the class of 2010 outside of Justin Hunter. This also inspired me to go back and look at the VA state rankings for the last 5 years or so and realize how few of these guys end up producing on the field.
Pfaff is also in this class
oops, you're right. Pfaff delayed his enrollment. Taraschke is the guy who is coming back.
Is there a reason Pfaff didn't submit a new NLI today along with Reid and Fisher?
He was a greyshirt so no need for a new LOI.
Thanks
Why do you have Holland Fisher listed as LB?? He is playing Free Safety.
I listed their position based on what Hokiesports posted as part of their profile
Well he's listed as DB on Hokiesports.com profile and as a safety in his hokiesports highlight video Scout.com might have listed him as the #3 OLB but Scout doesn't pay close attention to VA. He played safety for FUMA, camped as a safety all through his junior & senior years and was adamant during his recruiting that he saw himself as a safety and schools that wanted him to play LB shouldn't recruit him.
I wish people would stop projecting him to Whip or Backer.. there's no rationale other than his size, which at 6'2" 200lb also happens to be perfect for FS/ROV.
From what I understand he has actually been playing a lot of linebacker in the past year. I definitely think he is the heir to Jarrett at Rover.
I think he will end up at Backer or. whip.
"Kam, dont' them change you into a linebacker" said Torrian Gray, to the best strong safety in the NFL.
Holland Fischer will be a rover in Bud's defense.
The whip is going away ya'll. We'll be a base nickle look with with 1 Mike and 2 Backers or 1 Backer and 1 Dadi vs run-heavy teams.
I dont think the Whip is going away. We haven't had the required talent to play whip recently. It takes a very skilled player who can cover 1v1, tackle in space, take on blockers and blitz. Cody Grimm was the last guy we have had that could do the consistently. RVD was stepping into that role and was going to see a lot of time at whip this year until he got hurt which is why we went primarily to a nickel coverage(it didnt hurt having 2 fullers and a facyson for depth there) This year we don't have that great Nickel guy slated early on. We will run nickel a lot still against spread teams but the whip will stay around if Bud has a guy who can play it.
Thanks to the author for putting this list together. I should have said this earlier, but in my excitement with the 2014 recruiting class, I forgot and I apologize.
Now then, "WHAT A GREAT FREAKIN' RECRUITING CLASS! GO HOKIES!" That is all.
Here is his Rivals Profile and his hudl highlights. Seems like a good player coming from a powerhouse program. Should be a solid walkon for the number 1 walkon team in the country. Welcome to Hokie Nation CJ!
this is exciting...won't argue with more offensive players to choose from
Fun to watch his highlights.
He's a tough fella'.
He's our Austin Proehl replacement.
I will tell you folks....I have been a Hokie fan for 25 years and have been a member on this AWSOME site for almost 2 years and have never posted anything just because I thoroughly enjoy just reading the articles and comments (Especially French's articles). I think it is time I chime in now from time to time. I am just flippen stoked about this recruiting class. I have done some research.....this recruiting class is stacked with playmakers from top to bottom. I would not be surprised if 10+ of these freshman see some form of playing time and would not be the least bit surprised to see a starter or 3 in this group. The way college football is these days, no since in red shirting great players that may leave early.