Discuss and share any recruiting topics for July 2024 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 linking 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
[5] Scholarships to all the VA Top 10
[6] There is NNOOOOO number six
[7] The new Commonwealth Cup replica is perfect for drinking Hoo Tears.
Comments
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Uhhh Cole Woodson commits to Pitt. What's up with that? Was he not a take? Were we gonna make him switch positions?
Maybe Cole wanted to stay in coal country?
Absolutely no insights on my part, but maybe he wanted to make his own path and did not just want to follow his older brother. I know I would not want to have been anywhere near 1 of my older brothers back when I was that age.
I think Tech is in pretty good shape for Messiah Delhomme after Faheem Delane committed to anOSU (they have a number of safety commits now, so may not be room for Delhomme) and the staff seems pretty high on him. Maybe with Robinson already in the boat, they didn't want to take three safeties - although who the hell knows if players of that size actually end up at safety or Star these days. No sauces, just random rumblings I've heard.
I hope he signs so we can yell Messiah Daylight Come and me want to Delhomme... when he makes a big play. Prime Chris Berman was awesome.
Cringiest thing you've ever posted on here
my brother what have you been reading
That's a legit pun and golf claps should be encouraged.
Is he related to Jake?
I always hate having to do this, because I know it's going to sound like #sources, but trust me when I tell you that this is as close to coming directly from Cole as it could be. VT didn't really even start recruiting him until recently. His perception was that VT thought they had him just because he was Caleb's brother. Meanwhile Pitt (and Duke for that matter) were recruiting him hard and building a strong relationship with him. "Showed him the love." So he went where he felt he was truly wanted. VT started texting him as soon as he committed trying to change his mind. And with the news that Delhomme broke his leg in 7v7 and will miss his senior year of football, I'm guessing they really are going to try hard to flip him. But my guess is that ship has sailed. I would be extremely surprised if he changed his mind at this point.
Eh, VT still is high on delhomme. They still have a chance at Daniel's and are a player there. They are still trying to flip the safety Lawrence that is a Vandy commit. And we already have a safety commit. Don't think he was that high up the VT safety board to be honest and probably keeping comms open if the others fall through.
I don't much follow recruiting anymore, but how we looking fellas? Anyone else looking to commit?
Major Preston is committing on the 6th, we had his final OV. tbd though as he's got some SEC offers, i think it would be a good pull. originally from VA but has been playing at IMG
https://247sports.com/player/major-preston-46137922/
Hopefully he signs with us and is a Major Payne for opposing quarterbacks.
Looks like Ole Miss
Shit
Edit: Confirmed. Damn. We're probably going to push extra hard to flip Cole Woodson now
Whatever, next recruit up. Go all-in on DJ Pickett
Looking good for the Hokies on the field and the diamond.
PLEASE AND THANK YOU
With a final 4 of North Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Virginia Tech for a 4 star Virginia athlete, this is the kind of recruiting battle we really need to win more often than lose. Fuente would almost always lose, but I feel much better with Pry and Company. We won't get them all, but this type of battle we need to win regularly to take the next step.
Just curious. Is he Mormon or have a connection with Utah? Had BYU and Utah on his list as being warm to. Seems like there must be some sort of connection for someone out in VA to have interest in those 2 as well as schools around VA/NC.
He was committed to South Carolina, but specifically for baseball. So, this would also be a big win against Shane Beamer too, as he really should have had the recruitment for football in the bag.
He is definitely religious (has a Cross in his Instagram account name). He has a biblical name. Looking at the two most Mormon-related schools (but notably BYU was not in his top 8). I think the connection is likely all related.
Also interesting that the Book of Micah (Hebrew bible) is quoted in the Book of Matthew (New Testament). Seems like that would be an intentional choice by his parents, but maybe just a coincidence.
His future may be baseball. He isn't going pro directly, but he is a top 50 player in baseball, top 200 in football. Honestly, winning this recruitment would be a bigger win for the Hammering Hokies than the football squad. He could be the Hokies version of Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, Jameis Winston, or Russell Wilson and be a dominate force in both sports.
Thank you for the insights Chazz. Would be happy to have him for baseball or football.
Our current average recruit ranking is 87.21. I counted 15 schools in front of us who have higher scores, but lower average rankings. There are only 6 teams with lower scores, but higher average rankings. It's been like this for a while. I'm pretty happy with the trend of the averages. We have some position groups that need love though.
I am very pleased with Pry's recruiting performance so far, however I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that we didn't land one of Delane or Watford. That being said, it's only a matter of time before Pry lands his first five star. In the past we've lost our states top talent to Florida State, Penn State, UNC, Michigan, Notre Dame and most recently Clumpson. I think those narratives are slowly turning and recruits are starting to see that they can have a big impact on a local roster. Pry is selling the vision it'll just take a little time for it to grab hold. Win some games, put guys in the league (first two days in particular) and keep the HS relationships strong, and I think we'll be winning more of these battles than not. Sounds easier said than done, but I like the approach so far.
I myself are all for keeping the Slades, Fords, Laborns, Smiths, Coles, Tyrees, Jones, etc etc in state and specifically in Blacksburg.
It's coming Hokies; I feel it.
There's generally about 15-20 schools every year that get at least one 5-star HS recruit. With NIL, many thought that would decrease, but it's stayed the same. And, it may even be resulting in a slight increase in the variety of schools that get at least one 5-star. Schools seem to be throwing top dollars at some "can't miss" recruits like Nebraska did with Dylan Raiola (Neb. legacy) and KSU did with a 5-star commit from their home state. So, in theory, VT can definitely get in there, but they probably would have to be willing to pony up the cash.
VT definitely is not getting a 5-star in this class, and I think it would seem unlikely in the 2026 class unless some possibilities fall their way:
I doubt VT would throw pony up cash for a WR recruit in the 2026 class when the room is so deep. And if they didn't pony up for Faheem Delane, then who would they pony up for? It is fair to note that the 2025 S class is deep and VT may be getting two really good 4-star S recruits this year and so ponying up for Delane wasn't in VT's best overall interest. Or maybe VT did pony up for Delane and he decided OSU was a better spot anyways.
My guess is that VT will be able to entice better QB recruits after the Drones's record-setting 2024 season. So, maybe VT gets one of these 5-star QBs in the near future. Or maybe, as VT continues to focus on the LOS, they can get a top OL/DL 5-star. Or maybe, VT will continue to build a wide base with 3/4-star HS recruiting and get their best contributors via the portal and get a 5-star transfer recruit (but there's typically less than 10 each class). Or maybe this is all a pipedream.
Maybe put some NIL cash towards some linebackers?
Maybe they tried with Chris Cole. No idea if VT's offer was better than the UGA offer. My guess is that VT did not try to greatly overpay to keep him in VA.
And honestly playing LB for UGA is a better investment than VT. Until we get back to putting defenders in the draft every year the money isn't there. I thnk we'll get there and this year should look good for us, but UGA will look better.
Yeah he's better off getting UGA coaching the next two years, then he's either starting or they'll push him out and VT or some similar team will get an UGA developed LB.
Why do you think UGA coaching is that much better? The program is better due to good coaching and talent, but I don't know that they would better prepare any particular player for the league. And Pry has a long history of getting elite LBs into the league.
Definitely agree with the second part. He should know by sophomore year if he is likely to be a starter or just a role player. And if he wants, he can transfer and find a spot at a number of high caliber schools.
I can confirm that Coach Mickens has been very impressed with the staff and said nice things.
This may be the goal by loading up the WR room with excellent targets. If a 5-star QB wants to get drafted early in the order, get in a school like VT that has the tools to make him look good and is on the rise. If that QB can get them back in the playoff and look good doing it, it's the ticket to a very early draft and $$$$$.
VT's WR average is 89.1 in the Pry era, if we include Matthews. It's been elite. And that's 12 recruits!! Quantity and quality.
Speaking of Shane, on Sunday, Shamari Earls flipped from USCe to UGA, and there's chatter that UGA just made a committable offer to Caleb Williams.
For all we've talked about shane eating our lunch in the commonwealth, he might not end up with such a significant haul in VA Top-10 after all