Early Signing Day 12.21.22 Megathread

HOKIES!

Does she have 3 more sons other than Dante. You know we would really....... Love it.

I'll see myself out.

And we fought off a late push from FSU to keep him. Norvell made a home visit in the past week and made a hard push to flip him, but Caleb said he was committed to VT and what Pry is doing here.

That is awesome.

We could pass the time making up great OL names.

My proposal is Phil Apchak.

Who doesn't like a lot of beef in the morning?

Tony Grimes could be one, that has been rumored.
William Spencer has been mentioned as a DT candidate
Mose Phillips has also been mentioned as a S
Also seeing Teradja Mitchell and Antoine Sampah as LBs in the Portal

Idk about you, but I'm calling Williams Williams and Lovett if I need personal injury attorneys.

He wasn't previously committed right?

I like all this:

2022 (Sophomore): Earned All-AAC recognition (AAC-first team, Phil Steele-second team, Pro Football Network-honorable mention) ... lost 30 pounds since the end of last season ... earned a single digit - a Temple tradition given to those who lead by example on and off the field ... voted by teammates as one of five captains (Xach Gill, Adam Klein, Jordan Magee, and David Martin-Robinson) for the 2022 season ... had career-high 3.5 sacks vs. Tulsa , just shy of the Temple record of 4.0 set by Dan Klecko in 2002 ... set career high in tackles at Navy with 6 ... finished the season ranked t-16th in the nation and t-2nd in the AAC in sacks per game with 0.75, his 7.5 total sacks and 12.5 TFL rank as the second most on the team all season ... lettered.

I think you missed this by a bit...

I think Cotman is also one of the kids that Roc Carmichael has helped to train up as well. From his Twitter feed, Roc isn't just trying to funnel all the good ones to VT, but I am sure that he can help to guide them if they're on the fence as well.

Is there a VA area code Pry hasn't hit since he's been here?

On this day of 'Crootsmas, Coach Brent Pry gave to me

7 o'clock cocktails
6 RVAers
5 DBUs
4 big road graders
3 Quarterbacks
2 Linebackers
And for once some normal sized DEs

On the...ahem...flip side of things: all of the top 20 VA croots have already signed today except: Kamren Robinson and Jordan Bass, two players that VT have been a late push for (depending on what you're reading on the internet).

Edit: not arguing with you, just adding on to the topic of who has signed and who hasn't.

The #Hokies get a signing day transfer commitment from WR Da'Quan Felton out of Norfolk State. He had 67 catches for 1,065 yards and nine touchdowns the last two years.— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) December 21, 2022

According to his NSU profile, Shyrone Stith is his cousin

Looking forward to seeing this Churchland Trucker TRUCK a few opposing DBs in YAC. Also, is it just me or does he look a little like Eddie Murphy?

Trigged?

Well hot coach Prime did their signing day with a bunch of coaches sitting around a conference table, so we've got him beat. I think this is both a definite upgrade over what we have historically done and better than most. I like it. Makes everyone involved feel the importance and significance of the occasion.

Damn right. Small, no separation, etc. Get some dudes in here.

So was the year before, and the one before that

The Raven is now a Hokie. May he learn from a Hokie turned Raven.

I'm wondering if he isn't the end with a bang guy for today. Would be a nice finish to the day. Board had 30 slots and supposedly one hinged spot after the 30. Take Wimbush out of the fold with the PWO, and he would have been #30 today, right? Guessing (Hoping) Grimes is the extra spot when the hinge drops.

That link is to the 2022 class, 2023 is sitting 33rd and 6th in the ACC

VT 247

That's last year's class. This year they're sitting 34th nationally, 6th in ACC by composite. But I think the bigger deal is between last year and this year they've brought in 50 recruits with an average ranking equal to the rest of the ACC outside of the big 4 (Miami, UNC, Clemson, FSU). That is an impressive base to build from in the following years and hopefully will shortly end the idea that VT doesn't have Power 5 talent anymore. Obviously they still need to build elite talent from there if they want to compete for anything beyond a Pinstripe Bowl title.

But hoos last in the ACC?

QB Room gonna be lit

Considering the season we just had, I give it a 10. Fucking Ten Billy Bob GIFfrom Fucking Ten GIFs " />

I dont know how to get that to work. Oh well.

If you just go by recruit ranking average, it sure doesn't look a whole lot better than Fuente's better years and Fuente's best year was better.

But, there is definitely a clear plan that's showing signs of progress and success. It's a first that none of the recruits flipped. The December momentum was some of the best ever in VT history that I can remember. And the enthusiasm from the recruits, their families, and the high schools within the footprint seems higher than ever. The visibility with the social media, the NSD website, the signing day draft party, and all the fanfare is greater than ever before.

This all comes back to Pry, the positional coaches, and behind-the-scenes staff. He made some really good hires for recruiting. Mines was a monster this year and I don't think that stops. Coach Cheetah also got some of his too. And the inroads in VA is super visible. They need to get better in the DMV, eastern TN and western NC to maximize that 6-hr footprint, but Pry and co. seem to be on their way there too.

Based on where they were to where they are now, it's overall a B. The foundation now needs to expand wider and the chips need to get bluer, but for the first time in seemingly over a decade, I'm following recruiting again because the recruiting news isn't "VT in top 3, Recruit chooses UNC/PSU/Alabama" or "Recruit flips to Vanderbilt/UMD/NCSU".

• We drastically improved 3 of 4 thinnest position groups (QB, WR, and Secondary (aka Cheetah) all improved, OL needs work).
• Our roster seems balanced
• We did it in VA

Lots of high 3-stars. A couple 4-stars. A QB on par with HH. I'd say this is a solid B.

Our recruiting ranking of 34th might be off

You're correct, but not in the way you might think. The "total composite" numbers don't mean a whole lot IMO. If you have more signees then you have a higher number. We are only #34 because of the size of the class (it's a pretty big class). If you look at the "average", those numbers are not very good. We are in the bottom half of the ACC - more on par with Wake, Duke, etc.

While I think the staff did a great job this cycle I am choosing to temper my expectations.

On this note, there was an article in The Athletic about Shane's recruiting approach at USC. He went about making solid connections with the HS coaches and programs in the state and while it wasn't immediate, it paid dividends for them this cycle. Got 3 of the top 4 players in the state.

Just a nice (and connected) proof of concept for anyone who's anxious to see all the talk about in-state relationships come to fruition.