Discuss and share any recruiting topics for February 2023 that don't warrant their own threads. Commits and decommits warrant their own threads.
This recruiting thread is used to share information regarding VT-specific targets, PWO offers, scholarship offers, visits, camps, and general news, in addition to larger trends. In the interests of limiting load times, favor post links to tweets rather than embedding. And if you want to embed, please check the thread to see if a tweet was already embedded prior to adding it yourself.
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[1] New commitments, decommitments, portal entries, etc... deserve their own thread. Please read the brief best-practice tips at the top of the recruiting forum
[2] Scared money don't make money.
[3] Pry Marve 2024
[4] We must ride on the wings of the Pry-beast
Comments
Top 7 for 4* WR Alex Taylor out of Greensboro NC, the kind of regional recruiting battle we need to win
https://247sports.com/Player/Alex-Taylor-46118490/
There's a "V" in "seven" and VT has the most iconic 7 to have ever played the collegiate game. All but confirmed to the good guys!!
Yes I feel completely rational and not at all delusional, why do you ask?
Also, we are nice and centered in the school layout. Again, confirmed rationally to the good guys.
Ball don't lie.
99.9% sure he is going to commit to Clemson
yeah his twitter kinda leads me to believe that too
Darn y'all with logic and stuff. Still hoping we can start to be in legitimate conversation again regularly for guys in the 4 star range.
Ohhhweee we had Kevin Jones on campus for Junior Day? Using alumni to help with the recruiting process? Novel idea!
Talented 2025 RB Jeffrey Overton Jr Recaps "Amazing" Virginia Tech Visit
https://247sports.com/player/jeff-overton-46136402/
Kevin Jones is majorly involved with Triumph NIL. I'm pretty sure you'll continue to see him and Brenden Hill a lot in Blacksburg.
Kevin Jones owns or co-owns a design and marketing firm in Blacksburg. He's lives in Blacksburg (area at least).
Does he still drive the teal Hummer with 'KJ' in the headrests?
I like this kids attitude. It seems like the culture and desire for winning and bringing tech back to prominence is important. He's not necessarily chasing Championships or anything. That being said we'll see how we hold up in the recruiting process. We honestly need to get back to putting RBs in the NFL. Herbert was our last one but he was only here for a year and a transfer in.
I like his attitude also. But I'm afraid we're going to have trouble recruiting RBs until our line dramatically improves.
He may not be chasing championships, but I'm certain he personally wants to be successful on the field, ie., yards gained, touchdowns scored, etc.
Good news (for later years at least) is all but 5 of our linemen are true or redshirt freshmen Those 5 include 4 jr's and 1 soph.
I saw Jeff Overton make an ace at a US Open practice round at Congressional. I would have guessed he exhausted his NCAA eligibility, but what do I know?
Another pwo from the Commonwealth. 247 reporting offers from the likes of Marshall and ODU
https://247sports.com/player/stephon-hicks-46135938/
So now we have Hicks and a Christian, we just need a Skid and a Hockey Player and we have the Letterkenny combo.
I think it's fair to say our last 5 years of football seasons fulfills the quota for a skid.
Checks underwear...
Hockey player, best i can do...
my mind instantly went to Zachariah "Mega Jesus" Hoyt
I miss Mega Jesus so much.
https://twitter.com/AsaadJr/status/1621333048351498245?ref_src=twsrc%5Eg...
I'm not sure how to embed on my phone. But Asaad Brown seems to be super close possibly.
A bunch of the recruits got the same graphic.
Gotcha. I don't twitter and had that pop up when looking at something else. Guess I don't keep up with the times quick enough.
No worries. In general, they give all the recruits some version of the same graphic. Some are more personally tailored than others. Usually they change name and number. This one just changed name.
I like that CFM and Coach Cheetah are on the case.
.9488 composite rated 4* wr from green run
https://247sports.com/Player/Keylen-Adams-46103155/
It took me awhile to realize the ones on the left was WVU. Gotta keep the good ones in state. Lets see how Pry's vision is playing out with the players he has had some time with.
So...
Virginia Tech has a prayer?
"Keep Prayin'"
Anybody else realize chance Fitzgerald got upped to a 4 star?
Now I did
https://247sports.com/player/noah-jenkins-46130850/
Really hate seeing Penn State in the top whatever for these guys. Here is hoping that Pry can work his at home magic....
I know Franklin can 'croot, but I still don't understand why everyone is so excited about PSU. It's in very rural Pennsylvania, not too dissimilar from VT. I know they have Big Ten bucks to spend but they are always going to be third place to OSU and Michigan in that league. Just don't understand the edge they have.
That's the thing -- they have big ten bucks to spend. They might not match up on the level of anOSU and UM on the field -- but in a recruiting battle they don't have to match up on the field, and in a lot of these recruiting battles (like this one) they aren't going against anOSU/UM, it's against VT and USCe for instance.
Penn state is in a similar area to tech, but they play in a league that has huge fan bases, and play a very good schedule in front of large crowds. Tech plays little sisters of the poor where if our fans don't go to the games, there may be 15 20 thousand fans. Psu is playing in large stadiums in big games, tech- not so much
Yeah the big state school thing/large fanbases and stadiums I'm starting to think is a big selling point. The ACC is sorely lacking in "football atmosphere" as I'll call it. VT is one of the few ACC schools that have a legit football stadium experience. I'm really starting to think playing schools like Syracuse, Wake, BC, Duke etc just hurts when you are going to play in big environments every weekend in the B1G or SEC. ACC has too many private schools/small fanbase schools with no football atmosphere.
I think you're overselling the B10 schedule. Half the league doesn't have that impressive of a football atmosphere (Rutgers, IU, MD, Indiana, UCLA, Northwestern, etc aren't on anyone's CFB bucket list).
True, and why I much prefer SEC when/if VT ever gets an invite to jump. Outside of a few schools in the Big Ten I think it's pretty overrated.
I don't know about that. I'd say there are 8 or 9 fairly rabid fanbases in the B1G. And 2 or 3 of the others would still be top 3-ish in the ACC.
UCLA? The fanbase isn't huge, but they average 42K a game (5th in PAC12). And the stadium is iconic and I would imagine catching a game there would be on the bucket list of many CFB fans.
Meh, THE Rose Bowl is a bucketlist game for CFB fans. Watching UCLA at home... idk not so much.
Watching VT @ UCLA would be a bucket list item for me. As would VT @ USC. As would VT @ many other schools.
Would you go out if your way to watch to Iowa at UCLA? Probably not. Would you go out of your way to watch an Iowa v Oregon Rose Bowl? Probably.
No and no.
i dont know if i'd ever go out of my way to watch iowa lol
Iowa is the most fascinating team in FBS right now. Not the best. Not the most entertaining. But the most interesting IMO.
Anyways, my example was bad, but I think the point stands - THE ROSE BOWL (the post season bowl game) is a bucket list item for a lot of college football fans. A run-of-the-mill UCLA home game (that happens to played in the rose bowl stadium) is not.
See this is how I feel about almost all of the Big Ten schools. Couldn't care less about Iowa, Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Rutgers, Maryland, Minnesota. I really question what the California schools are getting from the move besides a paycheck. No one is going to be hyped about playing any of those schools I listed
Iowa is fascinating - one of the most one-sided teams in the history of the sport. Purdue was a fun watch under Brohm. Bret Belima is doing interesting things at Illinois. I'm high on Nebraska long term. Minnesota is one of the schools running something close to my dream offense. The rest of the schools I agree with.
Part of it is a pay check. Part of it is a culture thing. B10 schools do a good job of being party schools but still maintaining a reputation of being a good school (and an AAU accreditation). Remember, realignment happens at the President and Board level, not the athletic director level (when TAMU went to the SEC, the AD was blindsided).
I know a few fans of each LA school and the UCLA people are truly puzzled by it. UCLAs president wanted to get rid of the football program altogether thanks to Chip Kelly's incompetence and the program operating at a significant loss for years. It was when the B1G flashed the cash in his eyes that he changed his tune-the fact that the B1G is generally above average academically is what convinced him. The USC contingent was far more receptive to moving all they care about is the cash.
I'm sure there's a lot of presidents (especially in the P12 and ACC) who personally don't want to be participating in P5 football - it's an outlier in so many ways (TV money, roster size, etc) - but they have to, because (a) their alumni/donors want it, and (b) it's basically a marketing tool for the university. For these reasons, I don't think we'll ever see a P5 team willingly give up that designation.
Speaking of being one-sided, I got a kick out of the adjusted pay schedule for the Iowa OC. And shows the potential problem of nepotism with the coaches' son on the staff. Fine to have family and friends on staff, but if they do not produce, you need to not have them on staff. Right Fu?
"Iowa announced contract amendments for offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz with incentive-based opportunities to reinstate his previous contract after the Hawkeyes had a statistically poor offensive performance in 2022.
In the new contract, Ferentz will make a base salary of $850,000 and will be able to have his contract reinstated to a two-year rolling agreement with a bonus and salary adjustment if the team meets certain requirements. The team needs to score at least 25 points per game and win a minimum of seven games in 2023 for Ferentz to hit his goals.
Ferentz was previously making $900,000. He'll receive up to $112,500 in bonus money if he hits all the incentives. His current contract ends on June 30, 2024."
Full link here: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/35603611/iowa-amends-oc...
The ineptitude of Iowa's offense is nothing close to anything under Fu at VT. Iowa's 2022 offense (118 in SP+, 121 in FPI) was about as bad as ours this year (125 in SP+, 99th in FPI). Fu's 2016 and 2020 offenses were top 40 and top 30 (respectively) in SP+ and FPI.
Notice how it says 'the team' not 'the offense'.
This is basically a way for Dad not to fire his kid. If the team can get 25 points/game, then the contract renews. If he can't, then Brian's contract will be up, and he won't get fired.
I'd be infuriated if I were an Iowa fan.
I really like the tradition that they have installed in the last few years at Iowa. Between the first and second quarter, the fans, the players, and the coaches from both schools pause to wave to the kids and staff in the adjacent University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.
I am a big fan of the Enter Sandman tradition at VT, but this tradition may out rank even that. It has enough of a pull that I root for them whenever they are playing.
I was in complete agreement, until:
How long does it take to make something a tradition? Neither have gone on that long.
If it happens more than once, and it happens on predictable schedule, and you plan to keep doing it, then it's a tradition.
Over 20 years isn't long enough to consider Enter Sandman a tradition?
He was talking about the "tradition" at Iowa I think, not Enter Sandman.
I assumed "neither" was referring to Iowa's wave and Enter Sandman.
I forgot about the "neither" part. My brain hasn't been firing on all cylinders the past few days. More like one of the cylinders is half firing - if that were a thing.
Yes, I was
I was replying to KingJames' comment.
https://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/1182336#comment-1182336
I mean probably 20 years is enough, but it was more of an open ended question, give out 25 to a ST player is probably now tradition but I would have said stick it in was one too and it was a tradition, but its not anymore so I'm not sure what to call it.
It was tradition to stand and sing Tech Triumph, or at least clap with the rhythm every time the band played it. Regardless of timing. Enter Sandman should go away if it's the only thing worth experiencing at home games. We need home field wins to keep the excitement in the entrance.
Must... Not... Downvote...
Yeah, that's taking a LOT of willpower. I'm not sure there's any valid reason for getting rid of Enter Sandman. Should we play "it's a Small World After All" or something? I'm in Florida now and had a service guy at my house and wound up talking football and he knew about Enter Sandman and thought it was impressive.
The amount of Hokies in Jax just keeps growing.
The guy I was talking to was a big SEC fan, but he still knew about Enter Sandman (and liked it). If that's the type of recognition it has, again why exactly would we get rid of it?
But always nice to have fellow Hokies here! I keep hoping we'll have a bowl game here again!
I had to read it a couple of times, but I think I get the point...
Note: Emphasis mine.
I was trying to think of a decent analogy (couldn't, but here goes anyway). Would you shell out money to go to a expensive restaurant that had one awesome appetizer if all the entrees were just plain painful to eat (i.e. caused a "3-4 hour stomachache")?
There have been numerous threads about the decline in the gameday experience from long lines to get in to poor fan behavior, etc. I think it's great that other fanbases recognize Enter Sandman and think positively of VT because of it, but if I had to choose I'd rather have the rep as a hard nosed, disciplined team that other teams don't want to play because the Hokies would beat them black and blue on the field.
Hopefully we get to a point where we have both, and Enter Sandman just adds to the trepidation of the visitors because they know it's a harbinger of what's to come once the whistle blows.
Warning: My response devolved into a rant about a (relatively small) portion of the fanbase, but I stand by it, and want to share my opinion anyways. It's not directed at you, but just at this subtle notion that we have to 'earn' the right to play enter sandman (or have other nice things).
I mean, I've gone to expensive restaurants to try a single dish that was (allegedly) world class. I didn't getting food poisoning from the rest of the food, but I absolutely overpaid for it.
My opinion in general is that these random, bizarre traditions (which include, but are not limited to, Enter Sandman at VT, Waving to kids in a hospital, Jumping around at Wisconsin, tOSU marching band, hail to the victors at Michigan, Touchdown Jesus at ND, Throwing torillas at TTU, Sneaking Fireball in the stands at Wazzou, Sailgating at UW or Tennessee, eat-shit-fuck-you at MSU, Tumor's Corner at Auburn, Touching Rocks at Clemson, Zombie Nation at PSU, Throwing fire spears at FSU, Cav man falling off his horse at UVA, Boomer Sooner, etc etc) are what make college football great, and fun, and more interesting than the NFL (or any other league/sport in the world for that matter).
Yes, I want the Hokies to be better. But the notion that the fanbase and team should punish themselves (and the rest of college football) by eliminating Enter Sandman because the team is supposedly unworthy is absolutely absurd.
I don't understand why, but there's a small but all too vocal portion of fan base (especially in the middle-aged crowd) that thinks that VT should give up all of our nice things, and embrace being a broke ass coal-miner that has nothing to be proud of except their work ethic. It's 2023. No one wants to be a coal miner. That job fucking sucks, and we're better than that. Act like it and stop being so damn masochistic.
There's also this (related) notion that 'kids these days don't know how to enjoy a football game' - Do the people making these accusations actually believe that if we take away these fans' favorite part of the game, that we can punish them into being better fans? Dawg, 90% of our fans are in the stadium BEFORE KICKOFF! Do you think that that happens at any other school? Or even any other sporting event?! At most schools, fans wait until midway through the first quarter to see if the game is any good before deciding to go into the stadium. We have the opposite problem - people come in, celebrate the team, and leave when they are not engaged.
Enter Sandman is something that we can and should be proud of, regardless of how good or bad the on the field product is. Our entrance was one of the few things that kept us mildly relevant over a decade of mediocrity. We should appreciate that, embrace it, and build off of it (to the credit of the administration, we are doing this), not hide it in a closet like it's some guilty pleasure.
/end rant
Exactly, keep CFB weird!
Wish I could leg this more than once.
Amazing post. Shame I have but one leg to give. 99.9% of the griping goes away if we start winning again. How we get there/if we're on the right track is a different argument, but taking our traditions away as if it's going to help anything is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.
Also - they throw tortillas at TTU? That is hilarious and I did not know.
I have questions:
Do they do it for distance?
Has anyone ever gotten from the top row down to the field in a single throw?
Are they limited to off the shelf tortillas or can you bring custom molded tortillas optimized for flight?
Does HF think this is more or less appropriate than paper airplanes?
Do they have a pigeon/rat problem in the aftermath?
Why does no one call out "Big Tortilla" for encouraging this and driving up the price of tortillas?
I can answer 2 of your questions:
Not sure about top row, but they have gotten on the field and on the court.
You have to sneak them in. Hide them in your boots or your junk or whatever
I will guess more appropriate, because (a) the tradition started in 1989, and (b) Tortillas aren't pointy, thus way less dangerous.
But they can be dangerous, when kept in the freezer prior to gametime. That's something I've heard coming out of Lubbock.
/sigh
The only thing I was trying to do was clarify what I thought was the point if the post that while Sandman is great, if the team/gameday experience continues to suck it's not going to be enough to get folks to come out. In fact, I can envision it becoming a joke if we don't improve a number of other things - primary among them is winning damn games.
I'm not advocating getting rid of it at all - I was at the BCA Classic in 2000 where it was unveiled (unless I am misremembering) and despite there not even being an actual game and having to stand in the driving thunder and rain for 45 minutes before they let everyone out of the stadium, it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen and me and my friends still talk about it today.
What I said (or meant to convery anyway) was if someone came along with a (dork) magic wand and I had to choose between having the entrance or having teams crap their pants to come to Lane because they were going to be flat out punished for 60 minutes, I would choose the latter.
I ended with the hope that we can have both and that's what I really, really want.
I dont remember if it was the BCA game that didn't happen or thr next but I was at both. I loved the entrance but watching it now it seems way too produced. Its not what it uses to be and it just feels like ESPN had a hand in that. Same for Howard's rock and the wave at Iowa. Those are great because they just happened. They make college football special but there are so many more things that I love about college football, I love thr bands, the pomp and circumstances, the pettiness between rivals. I miss the highty tighties playing at the beginning of games too. Now we have elongated enter sandman and removed the bands for what seems like TV ratings. And it's probably a great recruiting tool, but like Metallica it feels like we've sold out.
Appropriate laughter ensued....
It's the classic "Leaning Tower of Pisa" problem.
Everyone goes to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and does the poses for pictures where it looks like you're holding up or supporting the tower in some sort of way and leaves.
But no one actually goes and tours/climbs the Tower to see where pizza is made.
I still don't get the logic. We suck, but Enter Sandman is cool. If our football experience for a fan is going to suck, it should 100% suck, not just 90% suck? So, let's take away the 10% that doesn't suck because it's all or nothing for suckiness. When do you bring it back then, when you only 40% suck? 60%, or do we 90% not have to suck before we should be "allowed" to play Enter Sandman again?
And what do we do instead? Nothing, players just run onto the field? Have one guy on the field playing a kazoo over a megaphone? I mean, it seems like most alternatives would actually ADD suckiness to what is already a not-great product. And saying to take it away now seems like it suggests an expectation that Pry can't turn things around in another year or two and more of a "let's bring it back in 10 years when we're finally decent again" attitude.
No thanks all around. If you don't like it, cover your ears when they play it. Let everyone else enjoy it!
Yeah I've always appreciated a fan base that turns out regardless of the onfield product. I think there's a nobility in that; sure outsiders will call them delusional but we're already talking about a silly game that endures regular pro/amateur debates and takes 3 hours to have 12 minutes of action
Nice, we've got a new "the coaches shouldn't worry about uniforms and focus on winning".
The general public and business environment is far more football centric in Pennsylvania than Virginia too. That can make a difference.
And while PSU & VT are somewhat similar in their geographic isolation, I'll bet the number of people within 3 hrs or 5 hrs of the campus is considerably more for PSU. I'm guessing at least 2x or more.
When an investigator is killed because they are getting to close to upsetting the football power that is JoePa, you can't compete that kind of football environment and sleep well at night
Can you provide some context to this? Had not heard about this component of the scandal.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Blotter/sandusky-investigator-center-mystery/...
Interesting. I like how they say it's baffling, the guy fell off the face of the earth, and after exhausting every resource, we've got nothing. But then they say with near certainty it's got "absolutely" nothing to do with the scandal, and that any connection is "highly doubtful." Has a little bit of a "toe the company line" ring to it. Though to be fair, they're likely scared themselves.
There are a lot more conspiracies surrounding the whole Sandusky thing too. There was some wierd stuff that I dont remember it all.
I wasn't putting a value judgement on the football-centric environment. I absolutely think the environment was indirectly conducive to the whole Sandusky affair happening - and PSU (and it's fanbase) didn't pay enough of a penalty. Nevertheless the power of football in PA is real and not to be discounted.
Not to mention the Sandusky thing happened almost 15 years ago - and for many it's a distant memory.
They want to put Paterno's statue back up. Forgetting about things like Sandusky's acts and the people who helped cover it up is how this kind of shit keeps happening. Fuck Penn State and fuck anyone who thinks college football is worth covering up child rape.
That's great and all - and as I said, I don't think PSU and its fanbase paid nearly enough of a penalty - but the fact of the matter is the world always moves on.
There will be a time in the not very distant future where 9/11 will mean as little too many people as, say, Pearl Harbor or Gettysburg. Sure, some will still understand and appreciate the significance, but a substantial majority are barely aware of what happened on Dec 7 or what Lincoln said after those 3 days in July.
If you're 17, you're barely aware of who Joe Paterno was - and even if you are made aware of the whole Sandusky thing, it happened in a different world far, far away.
This isn't wrong, but being the third best program in the conference has gotten them into the Rose Bowl twice in the last decade. And once the playoff expands to 12, they'll likely sneak in every few years
In addition to what others have said, they also have a massive fan base and much more success historically than VT. It's honestly hard to say what advantages we have over them, which sucks.
We don't have Sandusky. Maybe that is not as big a turn-off for people now that years have gone by, but I'll always consider it a positive for us. And 99% of other schools too. I'll root big time for UVa, WVU, pretty much anyone over Penn State.
Obviously Sandusky is/was a horrible guy along with everyone who enabled/covered for him. The shocking thing is how the psu fanbase supported him and paterno in the face of what happened.
Yep, and that is one of the many reasons Penn State is one of my most disliked teams of all time. People around here (my office is in PA, though I live in NJ) still support Paterno. Not all, but far too many.
That's exactly what gets me about it more than anything. How the fans didn't scream for everyone's heads. They care more about wins in football than anything else, especially something as bad as Sandusky. There should have been a bloodbath of firings in the football program, athletic department, and senior university officials. Didn't happen and the fans didn't care that it didn't happen.
This is one of the biggest reasons I think we aren't Big Ten/SEC material. The amount of things swept under the rug is probably always more than anyone could imagine. There have been major issues in multiple athletic departments in the Big 10 and everything just moves on. I'm glad VT cleaned up their program in the 90s and I'm glad we largely keep things clean. I don't want to be like Penn State, or MSU, or any other school with major issues that are just tossed aside for winning.
What are you talking about?
Louisville gives zero fucks. They belong in the Big 10
Actual question, which MSU?
Michigan ... Not football issues, but within their athletic department
Gotcha that's what I thought, just wanted to confirm
Off the top of my head:
Regarding this piece:
FWIW - I think this is PSU's year to beat OSU. OSU is going through a QB change. PSU is returning a ton of talent every where.
The only thing I'd say is if you want to play the best teams, I'd argue playing Clemson in the ACCCG is better than what the Big 10 has to offer (at least until the past 2 years). Clemson has more National championships in the past 10 years than the entire Big 10 combined (2 vs 1, but still). This goes back to wanting/needing Miami and FSU to be good again. If just those 3 programs were great, It seems like the ACC and Tech would have have some pretty good (better?) marquee games compared to the Big 10.
Yes, we need VT/Miami/FSU/Clemson to all win 10+ games each season, and then the ACC will become more compelling. But we've seen the ACC be that deep AT MOST twice in the last 2 decades (and it has never been all 4 of those schools - it's typically some combination of at most two of them, and then a GT/Pitt/UNC .
The B10 pays for better recruiters. They have bigger, more prestigious brands. The Athletic did an article on this recently - the ACC is just behind the B10 and SEC in terms of how the league is perceived by recruits - when asked "Are you noticing ACC schools having to change their message with the perception that it's now the SEC and Big Ten and everyone else?" there were responses like "The ACC has to fight a stigma", and "No doubt. I think the ACC understands that." "To a certain extent" - I'm cherry picking some quotes here, but if you read the piece, you'll see that recruits think the SEC is god, and for the most part, that the B10 is better than the ACC.
Fair, but I think part of the recruits' views an the Big 10 reflect a media bias towards them. Everyone talks about how great they are, but since the playoffs started, I think the Big 10 team has made it out of the first weekend just once. That's pretty freaking sad. Yes, the ACC has had Clemson, but they made it out of the first weekend I think every time they were in the playoffs. And Clemson wasn't always undefeated. That seems like the ACC might've been better than the Big 10 for awhile. But barring a lot of direct cross-conference games like an ACC/Big 10 challenge like they have in basketball, there isn't exactly a fair way to compare.
I know you'll point to some metrics, but there's so much variance in metrics that just doesn't seem to be as objective as direct one-on-one games.
I mean, I know I harp on it, but I'm curious what everyone else's take was on 2016 when we lost 35-42 to Clemson in the ACCCG, then 11-1 Ohio State lost 31-0 to them in the first round of the playoffs. And the year before that, Michigan State getting shut out also. The only two shutouts in the playoffs, and both are Big 10 teams. That pretty freaking sad if you ask me. The best the Big 10 had to offer couldn't even score a field goal against another team? I don't get how the media fawns over them so much. I mean, you can look at metrics all you want, but is there anything more important than actually playing for a championship, and those are the results?
And yes, Ohio State did get out of the first weekend twice, but the most recent time was in 2020 and I don't know how much stock I put in that season, between the Big 10 playing a short schedule (your players aren't going to be as beat up playing 6 games as the teams that played 11) as well as a lot of players sitting out of postseason games because of COVID and focusing on getting ready for the draft.
Edited for clarity because autocorrect and proofreading suck.
There may be a media bias towards the B10, but that's because the B10 has more prestigious, storied, programs with larger fan baseS. I think that's pretty undeniable. Recruits aren't ignorant of that.
Doesn't mean it can't be overcome. And for what it's worth, I don't think the on the field product for the ACC is *that* far behind the B10. But the ACC at large keeps shooting themselves in the foot. We don't have 75 years of history to fall back on
For"Fair" points. And the Big 10 has some serious and long-standing rivalries that make things more fun/interesting also.One of my favorite commercials of all time is this ESPN commercial featuring the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry 😂
Edit: as I mentioned before, autocorrect sucks. Also, I hate my virtual keyboard.
As always, follow the money...
That is a hard sell if you're recruiting for VT. When is VT going to surpass Clemson and FSU? When is VT going to be at least in the upper half of the ACC? PSU is much closer to winning the Big10 than VT is at making an ACC championship game.
There was a solid decade that we were the class of the ACC with great in-state recruiting ties. If we can keep those guys here instead of PSU, we can pitch on rebuilding what was consistent dominance in the ACC. Pry certainly has a lot of pressure on him in that regard, but us being on top in the ACC is not that far in the rearview mirror.
Agreed at the moment. Though if Harbaugh sticks around, and OSU keeps doing OSU things, it's a tough combo to have a consistently great team throughout the year and have those two falter, also assuming MSU and Wisconsin don't put together solid squads.
For what it's worth, I agree with you for the most part. We're an unknown going forward that looked shitty last year, while Franklin and PSU have been pilfering the state and putting up results. Can we convince enough guys to stick around in Virginia and hopefully get results quick, making it back towards the top of a bad conference? I can only hope.
True, but that was 12 years ago. Other than 2016 we haven't been all that relevant in the ACC since 2011. Most of the kids we're recruiting right now were in kindergarten. And we haven't beaten Clemson since most of them were still wearing pull-ups for nap time.
If anything, I would argue that 2016 proves that with the right players, we could be back on top in any given year. From 2012-2015, we were 7-6 three of those years and 8-5 in 2013. And that includes that 0-0 tie in regulation abomination against Wake in 2014 (you remember, the year we had their playbook). So to go 10-4 in 2016 including a 35-42 performance against Clemson (eventual National champs that year, the same team that shut out the best the Big 10 had to offer that year in 11-1 Ohio State) tells me the possibility to get back to the top is probably just a couple good recruiting classes away.
And let's not forget, the Big 10 is the only conference to get shut out since the playoffs started (Michigan State in 2015 (38-0 against Alabama) and Ohio State in 2016 (31-0 to Clemson), so not even remotely competitive).
We did have a bitchin defense that year. I miss that so much.
Our offense was pretty freaking good too. If we didn't start slow in a number of games, we might have been even better.
Seems this was a well answered question already but yeah...go visit happy valley sometime...or throw on a home wrestling match sometime...their commitment to brand and production value is off the charts. Their on a level Im not sure we will ever see...just have to find the ones that fall in love with vt.
https://247sports.com/Player/Terrell-Anderson-46118445/
Michigan all the way. Grew up in Michigan.
What's the point of a top ten if "recruitment is still 100% open"?
Marketing? Gets people talking about him, then other schools that may not have looked at him may think they're missing out and extend him an offer.
It builds hype. Gotta get those re-tweets, likes, etc!
Two words: Teenage brain
If watching a race you want to know who's leading before the finish. These are just the programs he likes best now. A dark horse could come in with NIL and take the lead.
CB from Evan Watkins for Davi Belfort to the good guys
If his 247 offer list is correct that is a hell of an offer list. I would definitely like to win one against those teams.
Its correct I just think alot of teams are put off by his Size. Doesn't bother me that much tho
If they were bothered by his size why offer. I don't really understand why he's an 87 ranked QB with all those offers. Something just doesn't add up, why are Bama and Georgia wasting time with him? Either he is way better than his ranking or everyone is just smoking crack.
Offers might not have been commitable. It's pretty tough to confirm if an offer is valid.
Also think it's about to be 3 high schools he's played at now? Need to double check my work there, but that's a bit odd
Unless he has parents that could move him to progressively better programs because he's that good?
it's been trending this way for a while. I love this kid's tape. We're in good position for FL QBs in the next couple cycles
https://247sports.com/player/davi-belfort-46103873/
Vitor and Davi had a blast visiting SERTC and attending the wrestling match last time they came up. This is a very real shot at a solid out of state recruit.
I guarantee that Torrian would say hi to Davi's mom.
2025 CB from Thomas Dale in Chester
https://247sports.com/Player/Shamari-Earls-46139066/
VMI -> VPI
Graduate Transfer LB
#stonebystone
I was just thinking the other day that nature type names need to come back in style. Good tough names like Branch, Spruce, Stone, Oak, Hickory, etc.
Yes. And Willow, Pansy, Booby, Sloth, and Slug.
WHAT'S COOLER THAN COOL?
via Gfycat
First Tisdale gets moved to MIKE (which might be the squarest peg in a round hole in history), then they bring in a guy who looks and has the size of a MIKE (who was also very productive.) Frankly, I would be absolutely gobsmacked if Tisdale is a Hokie next season.
Didn't Pry make some comments that sort of cryptically suggested this? I seem to remember him saying something to the effect of we may or may not have room for him if he does return to school
Tisdale to Mike..?? Has pry gone insane?? He got washed out on the edge.
Based on the other comments in that Bitter column, i took less as "Tisdale is the mike" and more "Tisdale could find himself at mike in certain sub packages"
Tried to find some film on this cat but all that I did find showed him getting blocked 90% of the time. It was a small sample size but what I did find wasn't too impressive. Did not see the hole filling that I would expect from a traditional Mike. French, have you had a chance to review film on him yet? DO love his size as a traditional Mike and he should be athletic enough after playing QB his senior year in HS.
Anyone know if scholly or PWO?
PWO for now.
Really? That's surprising given his accolades
There's still gonna be hella attrition on this roster. Imagine scholly/pwo depends on outgoings
Supposedly his tuition is going to be covered by NIL.
First to offer, 2026 WR out of Southlake Carroll, Southlake TX.
TX2VT is back baby!!
Willie Pile's kid, give me all the legacy 'cruits.
Related - I feel VERY old thinking about this.
Definitely feeling old - I played against him in high school (he was unbelievably fast), hard to believe he has a kid that's being recruited now!
I played beer league softball against him in DFW. Dude is still amazingly fast! Very down to earth good guy. Still has tons of love for VT so hopefully Jr makes his way to Blacksburg
My wife now hates how old you made her feel (by proxy, she doesn't know it was you).
Is he a WR? if so why are all our DBs kids playing reciever? We need the Fullers to change this, we need DBs! Mama Fuller understood.
We can we get the Vick girls to up our team speed?
Was in a class with him and Suggs I believe. I think they used to fight over who could turn the lights off when we pulled out the projector.
Forward me the Hardee's coupons, I'm a few minutes away from his high school and can pass them along.
Thank you for recruiting news!
Crazy seeing how many of our football alums I remember watching growing up that are now having kids being recruited.
Welcome to the club. I was in school when Eugene Chung was there. Remember when Kyle was being recruited and my first thought was, oh, Eugene Chung's younger brother ... nope. Felt so old when I saw that was his son.
24 new comments had me like...
Unfortunate peak offseason
You mean fortunately peak offseason
No rating yet on 247 so using on3
https://www.on3.com/db/daniel-coles-152237/
Any relation (cousin, brother, etc. Probably too old to be a son) to former VT WR D.J. Coles?
Maybe he is related to Danny Coale.
Maybe he's Coles Blooded
VT suffers from what I call: Danny Coale-sLaw
Just like real coleslaw; we seem to always get shredded by every possible/questionable bad call in a game that can/will likely go against us.
Rarely does any 50/50 call go in our favor. If it can go wrong, it does for VT sports it seems.
If you go back far enough, we are all related!
Cols Colas. A name not frequently mentioned.
Looks like we got a PWO commitment last night from a 6'8" 260lb OL/DL, his father was a 2nd team all-ACC OT at UVA
6'8" 260lbs sounds less like OL and more like TE
which means he's our next QB?
Sorry, low hanging fruit
Sounds less like TE and more like practice squad OL...
But good luck to him.
do you ever laugh at anything
Hopefully he prefers D2 to West End, going to need about 40 lbs on that 6'8" frame before he can hold position. Good news is that we have a lot of youth in the OL room and should give this guy some time to grow and develop.
If he stays 4 years, I bet he will be 320 by the end with that height.
Well, lets see...
I am 5'11. I entered Tech at 185. By senior year I was up to 220. I didn't have unlimited access to a Div 1 strength and conditioning program.
He should be 320 by the end of his Soph year.
I lost 10 pounds my freshman year, and not for lack of eating.
Same HS as Luke Tenuta. Coached against him the past 2 years. He's very similar to Tenuta, not very fleet of feet but got better each year of HS, high IQ, hard working and has the all important NFL frame. He'll be 315+ in two years.
https://247sports.com/player/jordan-shipp-46117435/
Michigan and UNC
Fuck UNC
+1
Also, the obligatory Fuck Pat Narduzzi
Richmond and DMV Coaches Clinics
https://247sports.com/college/virginia-tech/Article/Virginia-Tech-Connec...
Glad they brought the cup and Mines reminded them how little the other team has held it.