Proud to join the #hokienation today.. Can't wait to get in that uniform in a couple years! Now its time to get back to work and win States— Conner O'Donnell (@ConnerODonnell) July 25, 2014
2016 North Carolina wide receiver Conner O'Donnell made a verbal commitment to Hokies yesterday. The Charlotte Observer's Prep Insiders blog reported the news last night.
O'Donnell was the first Virginia Tech commit for the class of 2016, giving his commitment to Virginia Tech assistant, Shane Beamer, also the son of Hokies' head coach, Frank Beamer. He also had offers from UCLA, Mississippi State and Akron with interest from most of the schools in the ACC, Big 12, SEC and more.
O'Donnell recently transferred to CFA [Concord First Assembly] from SouthLake Christian where he played for the elder O'Donnell, helping the Eagles to a NCISAA Division III state championship last season.
O'Donnell had 48 catches for 1,308 yards (27 yards per catch) and eight touchdowns for SouthLake Christian last season earning all-state and all-Lake Norman News' honors in the process.
O'Donnell told The Key Play via Twitter direct message, "I'm excited to be a Hokie! Dream school, wanted to commit the day they offered in March."
Shane Beamer extended the scholarship according to Conner. "Shane said, 'We'll take it tomorrow, up until signing day 2016' our plan was to do it before junior season. I called last night, done!
"I said, 'I have good news', Shane knew right away, he said, 'Congratulations on your decision, we are excited to have you as a Hokie.'"
Conner has planned a visit to Tech next week.
We plan to have more information about Conner's commitment later.
Comments
Boom, let's get this started. How many WRs do you think we'll have (with experience) come Fall '16? Should be a memorable first season for a young freshman, play time or not.
White wide receiver?
*Credit to French
Is he still open too? *looks at calendar* That's dedication.
...who reminds me of Wes Welker, who reminds me of Steve Largent.
+1 for Steve Largent every time. One of my all time favorites. Here he is being all Kam Chancellory.
Has the play actually ended here? In the NFL he isn't down until someone touches him while down, right?
Appears the leg of 36 gets him while he's on the ground
If he is down by contact (big hit in this case) then he is down. Play might not be over due to fumble, but that is a close call.
That catch at 0:59 is identical to Demitri Knowles' game winning catch vs Georgia Tech in 2012
-And here's to many more.
Just realized it wasn't actually game winning, cuz the game went into OT, but it was definitely a "game changing" catch
While I am a fan of high drama, I would prefer the game winning catches to start coming in the 1st quarter and the remainder to be of the "lead extending catch" or "get Beamer called out on SportsCenter for demoralizing the opponent catch" varieties. My liver needs less OT games against Marshall and MD, more multi-touchdown conference victories.
Actually, assuming all game winning catches mean we win the game, I would prefer them to be in the 4th quarter. Who doesn't love a dramatic football game?
Games against Marshall and ECU need not be dramatic.
Same thing should apply to Dook games.
I'm a sucker for drama. If I had it my way, every bball game would end in a buzzer beater.
My liver. And apparently TheFifthFuller's liver.
And all the underclassmen who we want to develop so they can blow out teams NEXT year.
Agreed. I'm all for drama as long as we end the drama by the end of the first quarter or so. I like to relax at half time, so a really comfortable Hokie lead by then is always appreciated.
#TeamBlowouts
We should attract talented receivers with the quality young qb's on the roster!
Good hands.
I like it. Quick, good hands, used to going downfield and making a play on the ball with his hands. Not afraid to go over the middle and hang on to a tough catch. He'll need to add some size (listed at 160 by 247sports), but he could be a very good one for the Hokies.
Two things:
1. I am by no means an expert, but from the Hudl video I am really impressed with how he influences the DB covering him into unfavorable position, then makes a cut into the wide open space he just created or blows by the DB once he gets him to bite on the wrong move. Getting separation isn't just about speed and is something our receivers struggled with last year. Hopefully, this translates to the next level and isn't just indicative of the level of talent at DB that he currently plays against.
2. He catches everything with his hands, not his body. Yes, please.
Hopefully, his body will grow into his talent, but he has plenty of time for that. His technique looks pretty impressive for someone his age.
Aaaaaand that's why you recruit natural receivers instead of just athletes who you hope will pick up the position someday.
Realizing of course, that the plan is to use him as linebacker, or maybe placeholder.
(sarcastika)
you misspelled offensive tackle.
The ultimate challenge of Mike Gentry's life: take a scrawny WR and make him into an all-ACC offensive tackle.
Don't know number of stars but love when we get a kid with a big offer list especially over SEC schools. Sounds like he is also very excited to be a Hokie which is awesome. Can't wait to see him on the field and contribute.
Good start for the 2016 class. Go Hokies!
this kid looks so young and small. Definitely needs to be gentrified.
He is also probably only 16, maybe even 15
yea I know he's probably that age but he looks A LOT younger than other class of 16 prospects do. Just first look at the kid, I don't see football player, but hey, if he can make plays on the field, then he can make plays on the field.
If you see his twitter feed, he has a tweet from a 2016 5* QB Dwayne Haskins saying "I'm thinking hokienation too bro".
That is very interesting. He is #1 in MD and #24 nationally.
You beat me to the punch on that one. Haskins would be a great addition for the next round of QBs after the Durkin/Ford/McMillian battle pans out. mcIlwain and Debiase are in that mix too.
That would be awesome. Also because everyone on 247 has Haskins as an OSU lock.
Who isn't a Ohio State lock on 247
French, what are your thoughts on Haskins? Kid can sling the rock and looks to be able to make most any throw. Plus, although listed as a Pro Style, he still looks to move well in the pocket.
O'Donnell is definitely on the recruiting trail. This photo from 8th grade is amazing, though.
Maybe it's just me but...
As long as the MAD fold in has a picture of Beamer with the MNC Trophy in the end, Its all good.
"2016 5* QB Dwayne Haskins saying "I'm thinking hokienation too bro".
4.0 GPA?
1590 SAT???
Kid could have gone anywhere with those grades and, oh yeah, those football stats.
Forget Coale, Largent & Hutson.
This is fan-freaking-tastic!
Isn't the SAT /2400 now a'days?
Technically yes, but schools don't care as much about the writing portion anymore. The kid is near genius if he got a 1590/1600.
Yeah no one tell Stanford
So I guess my question is that an 18 or 24 score? I know they ignored my writing back in '08, but I thought it was going to become normal to include writing and go off a 24 score.
Either way, we know he won't be playing for UNC
Haha, SAT is by no means a good indicator of "genius".
It sure beats juvenile arrest record
I would agree, and everyone can get lucky. But you don't find many dumb people pulling 1590s
Conner looks taller than Shane and is still growing. Could be the next Danny Coale.
I was thinking more like the next Wes Welker
He's the next Eddie Royal. Oh wait...
You know, because he's white!
Looks very young but he's got some good hands and runs nice routes.
Why no choppin' wood from Moorehead?
Sorry I was in the shop getting sharpened, all this hard work recently has taken a toll
Does anyone have the handle, "Foster's D?" Because that would complement "Moorehead's Axe" quite nicely I think
I don't think I want to see Foster's D, knowing this place...
Wow, as a sophomore, this kid is impressive. He does almost everything well, route running, getting out of breaks, adjusting to the ball, moving in the open field, and catching the ball with the hands. He will need to improve all those things, but the base is there. He will definitely need to work on catching the ball at the highest point after adjustment. His speed isn't elite, but if he continues to work on technique and route running, he will overcome that.
He's 6'1" 170 lbs as a sophomore. If he works in the gym and eats well, he can grow 2-3 inches and put on 20 lbs by the time he reaches VT. This player could become elite.
That's his plan. When I exchanged messages with him yesterday he was on his way to speed school with Coach Tre Stephens (I believe: http://www.stephensspeed.com) and he told me, "[The] plan is to get bigger stronger faster in the next couple years."
If he's listed at 6'1" 170 lbs, then that means he is 6' 160 lbs max. However, he's got two years to grow, so hopefully he's not stopped and will reach a true height of maybe 6'2" and weight of 180 before getting to VT. Even if he stays 6', that's fine. As for the 1590 SAT, that is on a 2400 scale, but that would equate to around 1100 on the 'old' scale, so that's good for the typical athlete. It's great he wants to be a Hokie and knows it so early. He's welcome into Hokie Nation in my book!
Did you fact check these claims, or are they speculation?
I didn't hold the tape measure & scale myself while measuring him, no. I base that on over three decades of BS 'height/weight/40 speed numbers produced by high schools during my lifetime. Using your stance, unless you held the tape measure & scales, you're also not allowed to consider him 6'1" 170 lbs. If you ever knew any HS or collegiate coach well enough to ask them, they would reinforce for you the fact that those measurements are 'loose interpretations'. Otherwise, guys wouldn't shrink from their HS numbers to their college numbers, then again to their pro numbers. Have a nice day. All of the remaining sixteen hours of it...
Ok thanks
I agree with imbellished numbers. I remember telling coaches my weight and height, and them writing down something larger.
After finally watching the highlights, heres what I saw.
1) He goes and gets the ball with his hands, instead of letting the ball come to him.
2) Most of his highlights were out patterns, flys and corners. Nothing wrong with those, just didn't see many plays of him going across the middle and making the "tough" catches.
3) I made a comment about how small he is, but if he is really 6'1" 170 as a sophomore, no way he isn't at least 6'2"-6'3" and 190 lbs by the end of his high school career.
Long story short, could be another diamonds in the roughs ala danny coale
As a former member of the 15 year team USA and now under 17 team USA to go along with invites past the regionals for WR camps etc I don't know that he really qualifies as a diamond in the rough. Dude seems to already be solid, but he's going to be a stud by the time he gets to Blacksburg!
Hell yes! Welcome!
Supposedly its a grayshirt offer.
I'm not certain, but I feel like most of the time, when they are recruited this far out, grayshirts aren't discussed. They are often just offers until their senior year when the coaches see the numbers they will have and see where their recruiting priorities are and then they start working with who will grayshirt.
Yeah, that seems really early to have a greyshirt scholarship offer. And even earlier for the kid to commit to it. I'm curious to hear where the greyshirt news came from.
From a site I'm prob not supposed to take info from, but it wasn't "insider info." But the coaches confirmed it's a greyshirt offer. Even though some people mentioned he might be graduating early and try to enroll early. I agree though that it's really early for a greyshirt offer, but it is.
#SOURCES
Citing the Danny Coale Provision, VT needs at least one fundamentally sound white wide receiver every other recruiting class.
Added plus if they can punt, too. Just in case...
Which provides options when Beamer gets crafty and thinks about a fake at midfield in a tie bowl game..
..................dammit................
I don't want to think about this.
Ugh...still hurts...
That's what she said?
That's what I said.
It might have worked if he hadn't called a timeout first and had a big huddle.
It never would have worked. It was best to let the D continue to play lights out
Danny Coale: Synonymous with "Open", but no A.J. Hughes.
That was such a good fake punt, AJ even caught Frank off guard!
Correct: AJ Hughes is synonymous with "Punter Swag". In fact, I'd say the embodiment?
Probably one of the most fantastic things about that, is that if they had been playing "Block" or anything but full cover return, it would have, at the very least, resulted in fantastic field position for Marshall.
As it was, almost EVERYONE was way downfield. Love it.
if only we had AJ in the Sugar Bowl, he would have ran for the TD..
Especially one that is telegraphed by calling a timeout beforehand.
I watched this kid play this past Friday and after the first couple of plays what in the world are the coaches thinking??? I'm from the area so I thought I would check him out and boy was it a major let down. I know the school he goes to is awful like 1-8 and he plays against extremely poor talent. The school he played was name Victory Christian. They got beat 75-8 and he wasn't the one who scored. The kid didn't catch a pass and couldn't get open. Since many up here is not familiar with him I thought I would get the scoop on the kid. What I was told is the kid is a 18 years old re-classed junior. 19 year old high school senior? 20 year old college freshmen? If that kid is 6'1 170 I'm 6'10 300. He looked very small and slow. I also saw where his team has cancelled several games against some good teams. The knock here is the kid gets exposed against good teams. I went back and watched his highlights and realized the teams he was playing against then I understood why he was making plays. Some of those teams couldn't beat middle school teams in this area. This must be a grey shirt situation or he has family ties that donate millions of dollars to VT. I typically don't blog but after what I saw I felt compelled too.
Being that you don't post much I'm not going to downvote this. You could have said most of this objectively, without needing to bad mouth recruits who are essentially kids, especially since we know they read this very same blog. I trust Moorehead on receivers, if he's vetted him and accepted his commitment then that's good enough for me.
Well said
I didn't mean to sound like I was bad mouthing him. If I was trying to bad mouth him I would have mention other things. I'm familiar with his school and this area I only wanted to add insight. We're 4-4 and haven't been relevant in awhile I'm a Diehard Hokie. Graduated from VT and married a Hokie. I understand that we have to trust the coaches and I do but when we have been struggling winning recruiting battles. That's the heart of our program is recruiting. Again just my observation take a long look at the DB's he's playing against. I know those teams and they're awful. The kid has never attended a VT camp and no full game eval. I'm sorry how this comes across but I can't get excited about this one. I will leave it at this. Sorry guys just my opinion.
yep, I understand and as was stated below it's hard to be critical of recruits and not get downvotes. I do think that a few things were unnecessary in your evaluation though which is why I made my comment. Again I didn't downvote though:
I just think anyone should be objectively critical of recruits. Given you are from the area that is difficult because you have your personal bias wrapped into it. Anyway, my crack at being critical yet objective using your intention:
"I am from the area and I'm just not seeing it with this kid. He wasn't making the plays you would expect and he was not playing against a good team at all. Overall, I didn't see him getting separation and making the type of moves that are necessary for D1 ball. Not sure if this is a gray shirt or legacy situation but he is small and gonna need a lot of seasoning and gentrification if he's going to crack the 2 deep."
I get where you are coming from. Didn't mean to be over critical but sometimes the truth hurts about recruits we want to be excited about. I get it. Nothing bias about my observation. Maybe I could have re-worded some things but I'm very familiar with whats going on in this area as far as the high school football scene goes. I just thought I would give my fellow Hokies insight. We can't continue down this road. Our recruiting is killing us and our coaches have lost a step in that department. I can't be in denial about it anymore. We're getting beat out for talented kids like Scott Bracey right in the state of VA for 2016. Scott Bracey commits to Duke and our response is Conner O'Donnell. I'm not going down that road. Go Hokies!!!
Just my opinion, but I wasn't too overally excited about this committment. I hope this kid proves me wrong
Totally understandable. that's why I don't think it was worth a downvote. By bias, I didn't mean negative just that since you know more about that area then probably most other hear you can be most critical. Just like me and my hometown. Anyway, I understand what you're saying and agree that we need to keep improving our recruiting wholesale.
He plays on an awful team but I believe he leads all of HS football around the country in receiving yards.
This may hurt some feelings but leading the country in receiving yards playing at the worst level in NC is not impressive. Especially when your parent is calling the plays on offense and does the stats for Maxpreps.
I have to say that I have watched a TON of HS school games, and have disagreed with plenty of VT offers. It is EXTREMELY difficult to make a post that is critical in any way without ruffling feathers somewhere (that's right, I did that with the feathers). But I really appreciate any reports from people that go out there and get firsthand looks at recruits.
I stand by the notion that you can learn a whole lot more about a kid by watching him for a whole game (or several games) than you can by looking at film or possibly even camp.
And the coaches just cannot logistically do that. I believe, therefore, that a fan can see things that the coaches cannot.
But I also understand that the coaches are a hell of a lot smarter than I am. But more importantly, there has got to be a lot more to the story of recruiting that cannot be known to the casual (or even rabid) fan that goes into making their decisions. It is not a science, and we can't just pick anyone we want. We also have to fill a roster, and I am sure that our coaches gamble sometimes, simply because they have to.
I watched Derrick Green play in HS against my old HS and we weren't a very good team and we made him look bad. I think he had 63 yards well into the 2nd half before their OL wore us down. Watching 1 game doesn't do much.
I don't think this is the case with him. The team he plays for now he choose to transfer to. Last year he played on a state championship team and didn't catch a pass in the title game. Again just my observation
If Moorehead likes him, that's enough for me.
So what's the story here now?
Nothing official, but it's looking less and less likely that he sticks. It'll probably be sometime during the summer when we hear any additional info one way or the other.
what happened?
I assuming it has something to do with our coach at his position leaving for another school.
Why? It looks like Shane was recruiting him? I've seen several rumors but nothing with a solid base.
the only thing I have seen, and it was here on TKP by a poster, was that he committed to a noncommittable offer. I asked Andy about it in another post and he said that's all he had heard as well. Which surprises me a bit because I didn't know that we gave those type of offers out.
There's also the fact that he committed to another school as a freshman (can't remember which one), but he's apparently been looking around a bit.
Mississippi State.
I hear this kid is amazing, then I hear he is terrible. But Va Tech, UCLA, Mississippi State all looking at him...how bad can he be?