#gohokies !!!!!!🦃🏈🧡 pic.twitter.com/B4aQAQst1O— Eric Mensah🇬🇭 (@EricMen85258722) July 17, 2023
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#gohokies !!!!!!🦃🏈🧡 pic.twitter.com/B4aQAQst1O— Eric Mensah🇬🇭 (@EricMen85258722) July 17, 2023
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Oh let's freaking goooo!!!!
Hokies!
LET'S GO....
HOKIES!
KROGERING!!
290 lb EDGE?!?
He is going to be a DT. I'm really high on him and Laws. Laws really only camped with Rivals and they gave him a huge bump. Mensah is probably the most physically ready of any commit we have.
On3 has him at 265
That dude barely fits in the uniform! I will give 290 the nod over 265. Dude looks like a college senior. Gotta feel for the poor 235lb HS OL that have to be his speed bumps.
Stonks!
I imagine he will move inside, but this is a big get. Laws was my favorite recruit in the class, and now we have the big body that can play with twitch and get up the field to go with Laws.
Are we allowed to start be excited?
I refuse to make that mistake again until Pry and co prove that there is even reason to be excited by winning on the field. If we win 6 games in 2023 and look decent doing it (or demonstrate real signs of progress throughout the season) I may allow myself to get excited in 2024. Otherwise, I can't bring myself to do it
Yeah. My expectations for this season are pretty low. Really just look like you are well coached and get better. We have more talent this year than last, but we need a lot more to really be competitive again.
This is awesome!
Wow, sounds like he can really develop into something special!
Choosing VT was a high-IQ move.
Size- can't teach it. Let's Go.
Getting Tim Settle vibes from his measurables...hope he's even half as good and I'll be happy
A TRUE DT, AND NOT THE FUN SIZE VERSION!
Yup.
You know who invented the excuse that size doesn't matter?.... 🙄
Our OL and DL coaches under Fuente?
I never thought our OL size was an issue. Blocking ability I can't say the same for.
After the run of skill talent recruits, nice to get someone for in the trenches...also he's 290 in high school??? Dude's a tank!!!
Where's the beef?!!!
with a name like Mensah, you know he's got a good football IQ.
Also he picked us over offers from WVU, LOLUVa, and UMD so that also points to his intelligence.
Oh damn haha yeah I did
He is smart enough to just give 'em the finger and come on HomeTM
Average recruit on defense in '24 class is now 0.8780
Per Matej Sis:
DL: Johnson, Mensah, Laws, Hanchuk, Dandy
LB: Williams
DB: Barnes, Clarke, Reddish, Jenkins
DE: Johnson 6-4, 235
DT: Mensah 6-3, 290
DT: Laws 6-0, 260
DE: Dandy 6-4, 215
LB: Williams 6-4, 195
LB: Cole? 6-3, 210
LB: Johnson? 6-3, 225
CB: Barnes 6-2, 170
S: Reddish 6-3, 185
S: Jenkins 6-2, 200
CB: Clarke 6-1, 170
Great looking defensive lineup for '25
Damn.
I hope Hanchuk turns out pretty good on either OL or DL. He is a little taller and heavier than Matt Ioannidis was in high school and he ended up doing pretty good for Washington in the NFL.
Diabetic and being injured for most of last year's high school season dropped him on several teams' boards. In reality I think he's a better prospect than his ranking
6' 3" and 290 pounds. Definitely someone you want to call "sir" when you address. Welcome to the team.
This guy can move! He will be a handful on the defensive line!
He and Laws are going to be very difficult for ACC OLs to deal with in a couple of years. I really like Pry and Co.'s approach right now... Building for the long haul while working diligently to fill in gaps the best they can with the portal.
Good win over UVA who had his last visit.
That probably made his decision right there. I know after I saw uva for the first time I definitely wanted to be anywhere but there.
I like this trend of getting recruits we say we want. We should do it more often.
It's a nice change from he who I won't name.
OH YEAH GIMME THE BEEF😤😤😤
Here you go. Looks good to me, although I'd want to add some slaw.
Front four looking good
from left to right:
chicken, pork, turkey, beef
just a guess, but I'd go with beef across the whole line
https://youtu.be/HhPbkyxCdIU
Confirmed. We are gettings the beef!
One of these days when my phone doesn't suck I'll learn to embed. But for now hopefully links suffice.
TSL Chris Coleman says he was hoping for Ohio St offer and with great senior season may get it. That's good and bad right :-)
For what it's worth (and it's not worth much) VT and Ohio State were 2 of my 4 quarterfinalist schools when looking for undergrad. I picked VT, so he should too!
Virginia Tech won
Colorado State was 2nd choice and liked it a lot; VT got the nod because it was less expensive
Ohio State 3rd - just too large and urban a place for me
NC State - distant 4th. Honestly, would not have even considered NC State after seeing it. Maybe I just visited on a bad day, but the place was absolutely filthy. Train tracks running through, graffiti (and not just a little bit), overflowing trash cans, garbage blowing all around campus ... I literally walked around for a bit and then just walked right back out.
Tech beat Cornell and Syracuse for me based on price and all three had good engineering programs. Unfortunately, Tech has gone up so much in the last twenty years, I am not sure that would still be the case.
An much as private schools have gone up, I'd bet that Tech is - in relative terms - still a whole lot less. I was looking at Vet School at the time, so all 4 of the ones I visited were large public schools that had Vet Schools associated with them.
I grew up an hour or so from Cornell and Syracuse, but definitely wanted to get out of state for college so never really considered them. Although I did "visit" both since we were allowed to take a day off of HS to do so, lol.
I looked at a lot of schools, including NC State, but fell in love with VT the moment I stepped on campus. And back then, it was cheaper to pay OOS tuition at VT vs staying in state in NY. Best choice I have ever made!
Decommits and flips to Ohio State.
https://x.com/EricMen85258722/status/1702680786229473554?s=20
Big Dawged
Fuck that sucks. Position of need that we knew about before osu.
This horsehit happens of course, especially today. So let's do something about it please- go get another big DT that doesn't have a hard on for OSU
Here's to hoping Day drops another to Harbaugh's We-fense and gets run out of town.
Out NIL'd I imagine...
OSU was always his first choice. Per the alleged 'insiders' his offer there wasn't committable until a couple weeks ago. I haven't heard/read anywhere that NIL played a role (doesn't mean it didn't - just saying that no one mildly reputable has mentioned this yet).
Really glad I've just taken several steps back from following the program and recruiting. We're not in a good spot and likely won't be for a long time if ever again given the current landscape. Should just watch the games and appreciate a win when we get one and not get too caught up in anything else at this point.
I say that until a loss, then I get pissed all over again...vicious circle lol
This is why my butt puckers every time one of these threads gets revived...
Team "start a new thread" checking in.
The Headline on the Rivals article is: "Virginia DT Eric Mensah flips commitment FROM Ohio State TO Virginia Tech"... wtf Rivals!?
via GIPHY
Put his number on the portal pile, call back in two years. Ohio State has a great rep for DE over the last decade, it's usually a parade off 5 stars over there. If he's patient he could take the time to refine his skills and see the field, otherwise he will be backing up the newest big time recruit the coaches promised playing time.
He's a DT
might still happen this way.
Agree, but wanted to make the slight distinction. OSU has produced elite edges but not the same top 5 pick types at DT.
Guess we found his number in the portal pile
Impressive prediction
*takes bow*
Bummer to hear, but honestly, who can blame them? You can go to a top team with a chance of winning championships or one of the worst teams in the country which, I think, is on a long-term upward trajectory, but is still bad and probably does not have a realistic chance of being good for at least 2 years.
Hope it works out for him. And, as others have said, if we want him and if he is good but gets buried behind 5* and high 4* players, keep the doors and communication channels open.
I wasn't expecting this, but I am also not too surprised. We knew Ohio State could continue to be a factor in his recruitment if they pushed for him.
It's very disappointing. He was one of my favorite recruits in the class at a premium position (iDL) and more specifically to our program, a position of need.
One of my favorite gifs.
Just what College Football needs, the same 5 schools poaching talent from everybody else.
The Wild Wild West Transfer Portal has done a great job of helping them do this worry-free...
Player stuck on the bench and expendible because you recruited over them? Then just push them out the door...no scholly to worry about honoring for 4 years.
Then rinse and repeat.
This was easily predictable. And widely predicted by many, including many on this site.
I'm less surprised by this than I was his commitment. Definitely hate to lose him.
But, we are in a tough spot until we are winning and developing talent
I hate NIL, the transfer portal, and the rich who have ruined college football. There are like 15 schools that have a monopoly on all of the talent now.
Early 2000's college football is what I want to get back to. I remember being at ODU with my friends back in 2007 watching Virginia Tech and West Virginia and life was good with Glennon and White. Guys like Pat White, Noel Devine on West Virginia among others and Virginia Tech having Xavier Adibi, Victor Harris, Brandon Flowers, Eddie Royal and Duane Brown among others. Those days seem like so long ago and we had a 5 star in that years recruiting class with Tyrod Taylor.
Conferences have also gotten stupid, to the point of making me hate everything even more.
Same here man. I've wondered if its just me getting older, further removed from college, and just not having the same level of passion for it or what. I used to devote entire Saturdays to watching Gameday and the entire slate of games. I haven't watched Gameday in a few years now (it's gotten unbearable) and haven't really watched much college football beyond VT games. And even then I missed a few last year or only watched a quarter or two of some and lost interest.
VT being bad for so long has certainly played into it for me. But I think the larger landscape, the sheer greed the sport is caught up in now, the television networks destroying conferences and finding more and more ways to add more commercialization, and the realization for me that VT is not currently a program capable of competing at the highest level anymore has caused me to just check out. And I frankly don't think we are ever going to get back to where we once were - we missed that boat, and the university doesn't have football near the top of its priorities.
And I'm even starting to think now that's probably the best course for the university, given the awful state the college football landscape is caught up in now.
It really is sad what it has become. I have no words for it other than ridiculous. I can't stand the guys on Gameday anymore. I used to love it, now I can't stand it, but they may finally be right. The U might actually be back finally...I mean they say that every year it seems like.
the university doesn't have football near the top of its priorities.
This.
If the university doesn't have football as it's priority, this recruit flipping to OSU makes sense. This will happen again
By definition shouldn't a universities prioritize academics of the masses?
And you reach the masses by having a good football team, duh /s
If they truly cared about academics for the masses, tuition would cost a fraction of what it currently does.
Yes.
Theory vs reality.
Maybe if state budgets were helping fund higher education at the same rates as decades ago, or students and their parents didn't demand new dorms, new dining halls. Yes are there some areas they could cut back, admin salaries. But there are many other areas they should be increasing spending like adjunct professor salaries, number of tenured positions, grad student pay etc.
There's just no argument for the rise in tuition costs compared to literally ever other good and service. Especially when donors are paying for those new dorms and dining halls.
Donors aren't fully funding those things.
As a public school, its flat out unacceptable that tuition, including room and board, costs $38k per year for an in-state student and $59k for out-of-state when they are actively collecting taxpayer money. It isn't worth that kind of money.
This is exactly my point. Yes, donors aren't fully funding everything but there are multi-million dollar donations helping fund almost every project. There's no reason and there's no argument for tuition that used to cost $5K inflating to $40K
the argument is supply and demand. You tell everyone they need to go to college to succeed. Then you hand out loans without any limits based on ability to repay them to 18 year olds who don't really understand the weight of debt. So you have a massive population with "free" money to burn all clamoring to go to the same schools. Market forces, baby, well at least when a government entity puts its thumb on the scales. I guarantee that if student loans were as hard to get as mortgages, tuition would plummet.
Amen. I have a top rated credit score, and very good job. Recently got a mortgage and let me tell you, it is not easy. They even gave me shit about "working remote"- had to fax approvals, etc. Its a different ball game now. Student loans should be the same/similar. And I'm not absolving 18 year olds and their parents who play dumb regarding the terms either- read what you are signing up for.
well, somebody has to pay the football coach's salary and fund all the facilities and buy weights for the new gyms
/s
They should, but they should also recognize that football is an important part of this University. Football helped put VT on the map. It shouldn't be ignored or downplayed. After all, Sands is using a sports conference connection for the opportunity to sit next to Stanford folks and beg from for some AAU crumbs.
I went to Tech in the early 90's based on the strength of its engineering department not its football field.
I would have to believe that very few went to Tech for its football prowess in the early 90s
Bet you wouldn't be saying this if you from Jersey or South Carolina or any other state VA or boarding VA.
Football helped elevate VT from a regional brand to a more national brand.
Went to Tech from Rhode Island so over 600 miles away.
Will also admit the fact that Tech was 12k, Syracuse was 20k, and Cornell was 25k factored into it a bit. I wonder what the cost difference between the three schools is now 30 years later.
For whatever reason I recall a lot of NJ kids at VT during my time there in the late 90's, and the ones I met telling me that it was cheaper to go to VT out of state than it was to go in state to Rutgers or any other in state school.
NJ kids went everywhere they could to get away from NJ.
That's how it was for me when comparing tech to UMD. Mostly due to housing costs.
I think Jersey is one of the most expensive states for schools including public schools its often similarly priced to just go out of state. I know people told me frequently that Maryland and Rutgers cost the exact same for Jersey residents. VT probably fell pretty close too.
Replied to wrong comment but it all still stands
Rode my Falcon 10 speed across town.
Slightly closer. Went to Tech from Connecticut in the 70s, though I was only about 5 miles from the Rhode Island.
Same idea from me. I went to Tech from Missouri in 1987 because:
(1) I hated it in the St. Louis area and so badly wanted to get out of Missouri/to come back towards the east coast
(2) It was very affordable at the time
(3) It had a Vet School, which was what I was interested in pursuing at the time
Virginia Tech could have not even had a football or a basketball team and I could not have cared less. It was only a few years after graduation that I even started paying attention to VT football.
Good for you.
There are a shit load of people that heard about Virginia Tech through the on the field accomplishments of some guy named Michael Vick. You cannot deny that a football program draws attention to a school and a coolness factor to at least some. The 99 team's success doesn't mean a ton of people automatically went to VT because of Vick and that team, but it sure as hell didn't hurt VT's popularity.
It's a whole lot more fun to go to a school with a good football program than a shitty one.
Yes, I feel exactly the same. I'm not sure if it's that I miss the game back then, or if I miss VT being good, but either way I can hardly muster up enthusiasm for college football anymore.
This year is a little different because Coach Prime is sublimely entertaining. But outside of that momentary bit of distraction, I just feel overwhelmed with apathy. And I hate it.
It was exactly the same in the 2000s. Look at the teams who played in a BCS title game in that decade - OSU, OU, FSU, USC, UF, Bama, LSU, Michigan, Miami, Texas, ND, Auburn... Those 12 teams had a monopoly on talent in the 2000's, and they still do today.
There was a fun second tier of team in the 2000's and there's still a really fun second tier - in the last few years: Oregon State, Utah, Washington, UCLA, Kansas State, TCU, Baylor, Wake, Pitt, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc
The problem is that VT isn't in that fun second tier any more.
Can't disagree with this one.
Yeah what's new
Yeah honestly knowing how bad we suck, this incoming class is what's kept me positive about the future of the program. Mensah was one of the recruits I was most excited about.
We still have a good class coming in, hoping we can flip some guys and get another good OL and keep everyone else in the boat
To All:
In the future, remember that a decommitment is a big deal and worthy of its own post. It is easier on everyone to have a new post to discuss it.
In September, a decommitment isn't really that big a deal honestly
With the current state of things, ALL decommitments are a big deal.
If you're not a top recruit, it seems like it's a good strategy to commit to a program with a quality reputation and aspirations, which raises your visibility to a big dog. Then you keep your phone turned on in case an opportunity to step up comes along. Or maybe you're just a kid and the dream school opportunity materializes and you must jump. Commitment has taken on a fluidity or conditionality. Sorry to lose him, but I hope it works out.
Oh, definitely. I can't argue against any of this.
We wanted him as a recruit. Best of luck to him. Keep good relations and be open to him if he fits our needs and hits the transfer portal.
I would be way more pissed if he was an OL or LB.
ehh...giant mobile DT's are quite difficult to find. Not sure how mobile he is, but we haven't had a great one at that size since Settle I don't think
I wanna time travel back to my past depressed self in this thread and tell him it's all gonna be okay
You've been in therapy before havent you?
Off and on, yeah. That 2023 comment was made during one of the "off" periods
So, we flipped the flipped?