On3/rivals are reporting that Peter Bourque has committed to Virginia Tech.
https://www.on3.com/rivals/news/virginia-tech-lands-biggest-commitment-i...
"The Hokies have been real aggressive on the NIL front for Bourque," Wiltfong wrote earlier on Thursday. "Beyond that he has great relationships with head coach James Franklin, Danny O'Brien and the coaching staff. He likes the direction of the offense and trajectory of the program."
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LET'S GO!!!!
Hokies!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stonks
Also, I have it on good authority that Kirby was in Mass last night making a hard push for Bourque. We big-dogged the bulldogs.
Would never have happened in the pre-NIL era
Huh, I guess you can consistently recruit great players to VT after all.
Welcome aboard, Peter!
BANG! Huge Pull and is already recruiting a 4 star TE on his Hayes Fawcett Insta announcement. I like this kid.
Would prefer him to focus on OL since we don't have any on the bus at the moment and Carter Jones is almost certainly going to Clemson.
Junior Sanders is looking like a hokie
Four star OT from VA
From Woodberry Forest to be exact, which is where 2026 OL recruit Buddy Wegdam came from
Woodberry produces alot of D1 Talent
Moore has also been recruiting Ohio a lot for the big boys
Found some footage from the recruitment:
Thank you. This is the best Gif I have seen in a long, long time.
Welcome home! I see that 247 has him as a .92 but his composite is a .9637. Who has him rated so highly?
Looks like a great pickup. Hopefully one of our blue chip recruits will actually meet or exceed their potential and become a star. Seems like it's been a while.
On3/Rivals has him pretty high
Composite still has him rated almost exactly the same place as the 247 rankings. #7 QB on both. 247 has him at #80 overall, composite has him at #82 overall. So the numbers may be different but the ranking is the same.
i'm hearing that Coach James Franklin can recruit...
Big, if true.
You show some respect and call him by his proper title.
JMFF!!!!
James Franklin is an absolute machine. One of the absolute best ace recruiters and recruiting-focused head coaches ever without question. Went head to head with Georgia for this one. Wow is all I can say.
When was the last time the Hokies pulled a QB rated this highly out of HS?
Straight QB. Tyrod probably?
Correct, since LT's rating was for TE
of note, #6, #7, and #12 (Huhn) are all currently on the roster together.....I've called us TEU and RBU recently...are we gonna be QBU too??
I'll take another Bryan Randall any day of the week. One of my favorite Hokies.
Damn Straight.
What about a Gay QB?
As in "happy"?...yes, a happy QB is preferred over a sad one. Hehe
so long as they can figure out how to stick it in
Then you want a bi QB cause they'll stick it in both end zones
Two way players are all the rage again
But wouldn't that be like throwing a TD pass and then throwing a pick 6 INT on the next drive? Doesn't seem like a good option.
No, I want some one who is at least monogamous for a half.
Happy Pride Month 😅
What!?!?! Who's next? C. Whitehead?
ESPN just posted this. We big-dogged them on the announcement!
That puts us squarely in the #2 spot in the ACC recruiting rankings (based on avg. composite), just ahead of Cal.
Which is weirder to hear, that virginia tech is #2 in acc recruiting or that cal is #3?
Yes
It's surprising to see this quick, but Tosh Lupoi has a history as one of the best Recruiters on the planet. Didn't think Cal would necessarily have the NIL $ to make it this successful though.
The weirdness isn't solely due to cal recruiting well, but the fact that they are in the acc. Still havent gotten used to that part of it
One of them gets me harder, if thats helpful.
It is not
With the QB room being the way it is, someone is likely not gonna play snaps for us and will leave. That doesn't really matter right now. Getting a big win in recruiting this early in Franklin's tenure does. It's the kind of move that builds on itself as more and more kids start looking our way which is exactly what needs to happen to build ourselves back up to where we were in the 90s/00s and hopefully beyond that
To be fair... CJF has done a pretty good job of keeping QBs around - He convinced 5-star Drew Allar to ride the bench while Sean Clifford finished his time at PSU, and then convinced Grunkenmeyer to ride the bench for 2 years (the second of which he started half way through due Allar's injury).
One could argue that CJF hasn't done the best with the QB position, but he certainly can recruit and retain.
I think this is exactly how you should recruit your QB room. Look how unprepared we were when Jerod Evans left. We had Grant Noel backing up Michael Vick. Mark Leal backed up Logan Thomas. The list goes on.
In the past we always seemed to push all our chips in on one star QB and then had mediocre to poor backup play and it bit us in the ass a few times. This is The Way
I thought Leal backed up Taylor and Motley was Thomas?
Either way, your point is valid
Leal backed up LT3 before Motley
We had Deep Ball Dave Meyer backing up Michael Vick.
You mean Dave "Hero of the 2000 Pitt game" Meyer? Yeah, that guy.
It depends on how Grunk plays this year. It's most likely he returns, but he could play well enough to leave early opening up the starting position for someone, probably Bryce Baker. If Baker lights it up then he could also leave early. Unlikely scenario but possible. Otherwise it's unfortunately likely Kelden Ryan who leaves, unless Baker transfers again or Huhn falls way behind.
More big time arm talent. A good problem to have.
Here's to hoping CJMFF is still head ball coach of the good guys when he's game ready.
Gobble, MF'ing Gobble, Bishes!
My heart is happy to see so many QB recruits, one of the most painful aspects of previous regimes was the heavy reliAnce on portal QBs. Now we find out can we close the deal on all these cruits
BORQUE BOURQUE BOURQUE HE GOT THAT DAWG IN HIM
Nice.
Nice pull. Ballsy and presumptuous to put that "C" on the jersey...
Biggest fuckin' C in the world.
Making it bigger doesn't make it better. It's not tits.
Being that we were up against UGA for this one, this seems like an appropriate place to post this insane stat:
One of the funniest things I've seen on the internet recently...
Committing to UGA then committing any traffic violation has big "speeding in Emporia"-energy.
Like UGa football players actually pay for gas.
That dude is cooked. Speeding is his least worry.
The felony charges are for purchase, possession, manufacture, distribution or sale of marijuana, and sale of a schedule I or II controlled substance.
BIG DOG CROOTIN
Franklin really has me believing that relationships and the transformational over transactional dynamic in college sports is still very much alive. It's one thing to hire a staff that says it's all about relationships, it's another to hire one that absolutely eats sleeps and breathes it. You can listen to James Franklin talk for 10 minutes and get fired up. Now paying attention to him closely, you can tell he is a truly dynamic personality and leader. Think we hit the home run here.
It certainly helps to also put the money where the mouth is
relationships get you in the door, money gets them in the door
I really thought with NIL coaching salaries world take a hit as players make the plays, not that coaching isnt important but almost 100x the value of compensation is insane. But with the transfer portal coaches are now WAY more important because they bring the players with them.
When everyone can pay, the things that matter are how much (and what) they offer, who they are, and who you work with.
On top of bringing them with, coaches have to recruit on three fronts now. High school, current roster, and identifying the right portal guys and getting them melded into team in spring/summer. Some cases now having to overhaul 70+% of starters in a single offseason.
Also, a person capable to be an effective head coach is much more rare than a person capable of playing football.
Just as the rarity of people capable of playing an effective QB, LT, etc Iis different than a person capable of playing most any other position and thus demands more pay.
In the NFL just about every starting QB makes more than any coach. LTs make more than most coaches, but coavhes aren't THAT valuable because they can't bring a whole team with them like college. You could buy sugars roster but you'd have to pay Kirby ridiculous money to get them.
I don't know a good way to test this theory but here it goes:
I think NFL coaches are easier to replace than college coaches
I mean, the NFL teams make a buttload of money no matter who coaches them. The Browns make bank even though they are the Browns.
I think I agree. I might rephrase to say "the difference between the best and 100th best coach is far greater in CFB than in the NFL."
Your goal as an NFL head coach is to be 1-3% schematically better than the rest of the field 12+ times year, and thrice in January/February. Your players are professionals who manage their own professional development.
Being a college football coaching is a lot more about resource management, organizational management, developing players (physically, mentally, emotionally), talent aquisition, talent deployment, and most importantly: building a strategy that molds all of these things together.
The range of skills required to be a great college coach is so much wider than that of an NFL coach. Very few individuals excel at all (or even most) of these skills. Between that, and the fact that your players aren't able to develop themselves, there's just sooo much more margin for error week in/week out.
Thats the thing, Franklin is by all means not 1-3% better than most coaches at D1 when talking about in game. You arent paying for football knowledge, you are paying for relationships. You're not paying for what he brings to they table but who he brings to the table.
Ehhh... I also thought coaching salaries would decrease. We haven't seen that yet, but we are seeing that ADs are way less willing to pay buyouts - Napier, Fickle, Tony Elliott, Norvell, Aranda, Locksley, Venables, and more all got/are getting at least a year more than they would have in the pre-NIL era.
Another comment in need of caveat... in almost all of these cases, the players are getting a significant raise too. It's not like the guys who followed Cig from JMU to Indiana weren't getting a significant raise. Same thing with Chesney/JMU players, Morris/North Texas players, etc.
In fact, I'd argue that if a coach doesn't bring players with them, it's most likely because the destination program is under-resourced; I am confident that few, if any players are leaving significant money on the table just to stick with a coach. And I'm tremendously confident that no coach can convince a half dozen players to leave money on the table.
But time will tell. Given how much the landscape has changed in 5 years (NIL, Unlimited Transfers, new playoff, two new TV deals, COVID eligibility, etc), it's still tough to get a clear picture with a 'limited' data set.
100% you have to atl eaet pay the xfers the same. No one left PSU for VT for a cut. But coaches know this and I think Franklin planned accordingly and made sure VT bought in.
Well done! Dude's a competitor.
Friggin sweet!
He finished 2nd overall. Should expect a recruiting bump
2nd overall yet rivals gave him zero superlative...:wtf
This is why I'm not putting any stock in his Elite 11 performance...not saying he won't be great but doing well in the underwear olympics shouldn't move the needle.
I mean QP finished like 6-7th IIRC? Tyrod Taylor was also an Elite 11 qb.
The MVPs of Elite 11 have a really good track record so I think as you get to the top you should have some more confidence in their ability at the next level.
For reference previous Elite 11 winners: Cade Klubnik, Caleb Williams, CJ Stroud, Spencer Ratler, Justin Fields, Tua T,
About 50% of Elite 11 QBs get drafted (per Grok). At best, it's directionally meaningful.
True, but those odds would still be a significant upgrade at VT.
In the last 25 years, VT has sent only 3 QB's to the NFL via straight draft;
MV 2001 (#1 pick), Tyrod 2011 (6th round pick #180), LT 2014 (4th round, pick #120)
(And LT didnt really do much as a QB, need i say. And I dont feel counting Hendon to VT is really fair, sigh....)
So, a 50% hit rate would be a huge improvement.
Not sure what you asked grok but of draft eligible qbs that won MVP more than 65% ended up drafted...that's a pretty significant hit rate considering the average 4* draft rate is like 20-40%.
Draft rate is definitely a hard number to track.
I do agree that the middle and bottom of the Elite 11 are just going to have the same hit rate as a typical 4* QB but finishing 2nd is likely a better than average indicator
Quincy Patterson? He should have started or Hendon Hooker really either over Burmeister. The fact that we lost both of them is a sin!
Quincy will always be a true Hokie to me after the UNC game that refused to end.
*refused to end with a UNC victory*
Alum, I just noticed your avatar. Can't tell the breed from the pic and see it's a puppy, but it strongly resembles our Jug Dog. Watcha got?
Puppy pic from my 13 year old dog who passed a few weeks back
Sorry to hear that bud. We don't deserve dogs and they don't live damn near long enough
Sorry to hear that, but all too familiar. We mark some time frames in our memories by our dogs at the time. One of the biggest compliments I have received in my life was one a buddy once paid me. He said that if he died before me, he hoped he'd come back as one of my dogs. And as painful as it is to lose them, I can't seem to live without a dog. Down to one now, hope to outlive her.
Some friend, wanting to crap on your floor and make you clean it up.
Worth it.
We all knew that guy in college...
Big cat guy, eh?
Nah, I like my rugs without the urine scent too! Well when we used to have rugs. Our cat gets separation anxiety any time we leave for the weekend. The dogs just are dogs.
Alum: This hits hard. Very sorry for your family to lose a pup. As said, we don't deserve them - they are our best friends for their entire life - and they make sure we know it.
Wait, what is happening here? I thought VT commits get adjusted downward?
The James Franklin effect outweighs the VT effect
Yeah just think about how much of a bump these guys would have gotten if they went to PSU.