Larry Rubama summarizes Sweat's recruitment up until this point.
http://hamptonroads.com/2014/12/no-news-yet-plans-oscar-smith-star
I'm trying to not get too excited reading the quotes from Josh's mom.
"And can my family get there?" Carlette said laughing. "But if not, we'll still have a family base set up to make sure he gets that support that he needs if he's far away."
OK, so if it's a Tech-FSU battle the Hokies are the closer of the two schools.
"It's his choice; it's his decision," she said. "Wherever he goes, we're going to support him."
But that may not matter at all.
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We're done. Its that simple.
Some people may tell you to quit being so negative, but after so many recruiting misses recently it may be best for all of our sanity to expect the worst and hope for the best. Hopefully Santa comes early this year!
Don't really see where you get that after reading that article?
I'm joking really. You cant get anything really from that article. The part that concerns me in that article was his mother clearly has her choice, which everyone believes is Tech. But, she always says she will support him, making me believe they are not on the same page.
Or his mother doesn't want to give anything away and take away from her son's biggest moment in his life. She will presumably support him no matter where he goes.
I'm going to put this as close to the top as possible...
Can we please stop making inferences about recruits taking, or even asking for money without any proof whatsoever?
Good Lord, I had to stop reading this thread with the stuff below. On the eve of the decision of one of the biggest recruits in history, we have a heated debate on what we need to do unethically to land him.
Did it occur to anyone the inference that makes to the recruit himself?
100%
If we could cut out the middle of this thread it would be for the best.
I assume you aren't talking about my comment, right? I skipped the long argument in the middle of the thread.
Thanks for the heads up. Have a leg.
Hoping for a Cornell Brown like moment...
For those too young to remember, it went like this:
"I'm going to the University of Virginia....Tech."
Tyrod, too.
Kevin Jones was the best...
Take that Penn State!
Not getting the warm fuzzies about this one.
I'll just say this (and I have said it before), we can't afford to not get him. #1 recruit in your own backyard 2 years in a row playing on the side of the field you're supposedly known for dominating, and to miss out on both would be devastating to the perception of this program. If we swing and miss again, I have zero faith in this coaching staff ever landing a top flight recruit ever again. If we had landed Hand last year, 2015 looks like a promising year for us. Had we landed Nnadi as well, 2015 would have been looking like a potentially special year. If we had landed Dalton on top of that, our defense is national title caliber, and had we landed Sweat and Settle on top of that, it would have been dominant. We were a Top 2 finalist in all but Hand, who grew up a VT fan.
Eventually, we HAVE to start closing the deal on these guys. We're not going to see this run of top end talent coming from our area likely ever again, and it would be devastating to the program to miss out on the entire lot. I pray that Sweat's decision tomorrow changes the path we're on, because I really don't like where things are going.
I may get downvoted for this, but this is JUST MY OPINION.
Rich Rod's name has been thrown around recently as a potential successor to Frank. I believe he could fix our 5 star problem. The question is with the ethics involved with securing these players.
Setting aside your specific choice, you bring up a good point about recruiting ethics.
Let's just cut to the chase. Recruiting is a dirty business, and we have a coach who keeps his hands clean. Although it's sad to say, in this day and age the question we have to ask ourselves is, do we want a program we can be proud of, or do we want a program that's a national championship contender?
Not a rhetorical question.
I want both.
So does everyone.
Good, then there should be no confusion over what the answer should be.
Unfortunately that mindset is essentially choosing a program you can be proud of by default.
I disagree, just because a team is a national title contender doesn't mean they've sold their soul to the devil. Sometimes the glass can be half-full, you know.
The reality is, VT does not have the history, the prestige, the facilities or the resources to be able to effectively compete for 5 star talent against the premier programs on a consistent basis. That means to land some of these 5 start prospects we agonize over losing out on, we as a program would have to push the boundaries of what is allowable by the NCAA's antiquated recruiting rules.
In not saying we should break the rules, but I am saying if we want to increase our recruiting success we would have to push the envelope way harder and way farther than we currently do. And that means occasionally coming under the same scrutiny by the NCAA that we ridicule other teams for.
The glass half full is what we've traditionally had at VT: an overachieving team that is clean as a whistle. I'm talking about the growing sense of angst and apathy among the fanbase because we can never quite get the glass completely full.
I really, really want to disagree with you and say we can have our cake and eat it also, but at this point I can't.
I don't know whether pushing the envelope is the right thing to do, but with the success we have had in the 2000's and the angst felt by the alum over the current state of the program, I wonder if that is a path (pushing the boundaries) that will start to look appealing to the powers that be.
As I have always said when it comes to these mythical rules for the NCAA... If there is no punishment for breaking them, do they really even exist to begin with? I mean, when you have a school like Miami proven to be paying players and recruits with the most overwhelmingly damning series of evidence ever seen and they are handed a couple years probation, or when you have a school like UNC paying players AND performing outright academic fraud to keep players eligible without actually doing work and you have eye witnesses and hard evidence to back it all up, and the governing body conveniently turns the other cheek and ignores anything happened, the rules are absolutely meaningless. If the governing body is too spineless to punish anyone who steps out of line, then the rules don't actually exist. Those that play by them are only holding themselves back.
Or, maybe the schools that choose to play by the rules value their own integrity over top recruits. How can Beamer constantly preach the importance of character if he's handing Josh Sweat money under the table?
My goal for the program isn't, and never will be, to "play it nice and by the rules". I think everyone in Hokie Nation wants to win. I also think that the large majority of Hokie Nation wants to win the right way.
Two questions for you:
1. Would you rather offer to pay Josh Sweat $200 and have him come to Virginia Tech or offer him $0 and have him go to Florida State?
2. As an employer, would you rather hire a football player from UNC or Virginia Tech? Maybe, just maybe, Coach Beamer cares about the 99% of his players that won't play in the NFL just as much as he cares about the 1% who will.
I stopped reading at answer #1. Wow.
Yeah I think he has lost it...completely ridiculous. Were talking about a game.
Stepping back from this particular recruit and talking about recruits in general, do you want kids that would be so easily swayed by a little cash? They might be the next Reggie Bush and help us fill that empty trophy case. But they'll also be willing continue to bend the rules to fit their desires. Then the NCAA can swoop in the a year or two later, vacate those wins, and the trophy case will be empty again.
I'd rather miss out on the high flier recruit and even the championship rather than win it and have it taken away because we didn't play by the rules.
Say the NCAA swoops into Auburn tomorrow and removes the Cam Newton trophy for paying Cam (not that they will, but just for argument's sake, lets say they do). Do you think Auburn fans will just forget about that season? Do you think that'd color their feelings about that season? No way. They'll still count it, because it still happened, and no amount of NCAA white-washing can remove something that happened.
That's one good reason why I'd rather stay clean.
Trophy with no asterisk or none at all.
But when they say "hey remember that championship we won" the retort from anyone else would always be "yeah and remember how it was taken away?" Sure, have a memory, but it's a tarnished history that undermines the value of winning. Alabama counts a lot of BS national titles, but does anybody actually consider them to have won 15 (some claim as many as 19) national titles? It's something that only matters to the fans and everyone else just laughs at you for acting like they are real.
Ok, but the NCAA can't go back and undo all the fun you had getting there. And I think it's toothless enough that it'll never invalidate a championship anyhow.
"The memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of a man in his prime."
You only get 1 chance to be in college and play college ball. only 1.5% of all college FB players go to the NFL.
If I had been on the team that won the NC and it was vacated because the coaches cheated, I'd feel cheated.
The memories of playing with the guys would be the same if we won, lost the NC, came in 10th or 25th. the memory of having won it and then taken away because someone else couldn't play by the rules would diminish all that.
And there are no do-overs.
Clean program, no cheating. Go up to and touching but Do Not Cross the Line.
Correct, they can't undo the fun. They can just take away any support that you deserved the title and destroy the validity of the victory. But hey, if you lost, well then they'll let you keep that humiliation. All I'm saying is if you want the trophy case to be filled so bad, don't do it in a way that gives the NCAA reason to make it empty once again.
I usually agree with a lot of things you say, but I think this is a little much. While I'm a dedicated fan, it's just a game. No need to break any rules to win.
So Josh Sweat is going to pick the Hokies for less than the price of a Go-Pro camera?
I saw a movie called Blue Chips back in the early 90s (Shaq really stretched himself acting-wise). Even in that fiction the kids are getting thousands of dollars.
The dollar amount was, and remains, immaterial. The fact that Alum07 said he would pay Josh Sweat under the table in order to get him to come to Virginia Tech was what I was appalled by.
Hopefully we can end this thread now...
Well, maybe you'll get your wish with the post-Beamer coaching staff.
To be clear, it isn't my wish. Just because I point out the dichotomy doesn't mean I'm picking the opposite side.
I'll take a clean program and contending for ACC championships. I don't think we have the profile of a national championship program.
Then we agree. With the right coach in place post-Beamer, I think we can return to the "glory years" of Virginia Tech football, which was consistently being the best team in the ACC and when the stars align just right, having a legitimate chance of winning a national title. Expecting to be Alabama just isn't realistic
Yeah I definitely see us as the team that has to have a few things go our way to have a chance at the national championship. I see us as more of an Auburn. We will field great teams that usually have to catch a break somewhere to get a shot.
Having said that, we DO have to get more aggressive in recruiting if we want to even maintain a hold on the ACC.
THANK YOU!!! If you think that Virginia Tech will ever achieve the allure of Alabama, Texas, USC, Michigan, Ohio State, and others, you're fooling yourself. It just won't happen. Even Oregon won't be able to sustain the success they are seeing right now. Those historically top programs I mentioned can't do it either. Look at Texas and Michigan. Look at Alabama in the mid-2000's. Some teams will make runs once in a while and that will be our place. It's better to accept that than it is to believe otherwise and continually be disappointed.
Honestly out of the programs you listed, I think Oregon is the program we should try to model ourselves after.
Because Oregon is who we were in 1999. They kept themselves in the picture longer by having a lot going their way with loads of Nike money (uniforms, facilities, etc) and a flashy system that recruits loved. Who doesn't want to put up points by the buckets? But again, they will drop back down to the upper middle of the PAC (pun intended) and USC and UCLA will rise again. Then once in a while you'll see a flash in the pan with ASU or Zona. That's just how it works. What I'm saying though is yes, teams like Oregon are who we should look at to make those runs. Stanford is another one out there in the PAC-12. Other teams to look at would include Wisconsin, Auburn, Michigan State, A&M, UGA, TCU, and a few others.
i honestly don't see oregon falling back to earth. if the nike money keeps flowing, i think they keep winnin'.
I do and here's why, they've already started to drop off in recruiting and once that starts, the results will drop. Here's a look at their recruiting rankings (stars are according to 247 because they show expanded rankings)
2009: 28th on 247, Outside Top 25 on ESPN, 0 5*, 4 4*
2010: 13th on 247, 22nd on ESPN, 1 5* (RB Lache Seastrunk), 9 4*
2011 (National Championship year): 11th on 247, 14th on ESPN, 1 5* (RB De'Anthony Thomas), 8 4*
2012: 13th on 247, 18th on ESPN, 1 5* (DE Arik Armstead), 10 4*
2013: 19th on 247, 26th on ESPN, 1 5* (RB Thomas Tyner), 7 4*
2014: 21st on 247, 27th on ESPN, 0 5*, 7 4*
Currently: 18th on 247 and ESPN, 0 5*, 6 4*
While they still are in the top quarter of classes, they quality has dropped from their title run. They were pulling top recruits with Kelly and not as many now. They will fall back but still be competitive in the Pac-12
yeah no one can expect to be alabama... not even Auburn lol
IMO I will wait to see what happens in the next couple months. If we lose out on most top recruits and dare lose in the bowl game imagine the pressure on Whit. We all know we have 2 options and it comes down to what will help VT in the long run. I do think Whit has an idea and is just waiting to let things play out.
Until then I'll continue to support VT football and everything else will works itself out.
Bama was a unique rebuild.. in 06 they went 6-7 in 07 (1st year with Saban) they went 7-6 and then in 08 they went 12-2.. That is a little more than 2 years to rebuild and go from mediocre to MONSTERS.. That will not happen in today's world
Recruiting class in 07- ranked 10 by Rivals
Recruiting class in 08 - ranked 1 by Rivals Include Julio Jones, Mark ingram and 2 5* OL.
Maybe, but F$U is shady as hell. Just sayin'. However, at least they produce wins and titles, unlike UNC who takes shadiness to a whole new level and still sucks.
There's pushing the envelope, and then there's wiping your ass with the rulebook. Programs that take it to UNCheat's level rarely have huge success because 1) they were desperate in the first place to go to such extreme measures, and 2) the types of people who condone such dickish behavior are usually too douchey to be able to effectively lead a program to success.
I'll also say this
The "we rather play it clean than to get dirty and win titles" rings very, very hollow from a fanbase of a program that does not have one single team National Championship in any varsity sport over the entire >100 year history of their school. It reeks as an excuse more than a legitimate argument, very much in the same vein as how UVa routinely throws out their academic argument as a reason to why they cannot beat us.
At this point I'd rather win one and then complain about the ethics involved rather than to continually make excuses to why we cannot compete.
Au contraire, monsieur. VT is the proud home of the 2007 collegiate bass fishing national championship.
It was also a joke.
HEY!! Bass Fishing is the real deal! Don't you try to take that Natty away!!
Football might be a club sport if we do what you are saying
look...just because you say "with all due respect", that doesn't mean you can just say whatever you want....
But its in the Geneva Convention!
You're killing me Alum...also where does this thread end??????????
We went to NCG once and fell short by 1Q.
Top 10 what, 3 times since then?
I do not need a NC so bad I want cheating to get there.
I'm proud of the program but want to see a NC.
I do not want cheating to get it.
Get it clean or don't get it.
Agreed 100%...I don't like the way you're talking Alum. No offense or anything but if you don't like that VT runs a clean program you can go join some other fan base that doesn't value integrity. I for one am pretty disgusted with coaches like Jimbo Fisher and programs like UNC and Miami. Imagine if Frank had defended Marcus Vick the way Jimbo has Jameis?
"Oh sorry he stomped on that guys ankle but he is just a competitor you cant blame him for that."
I thought the gun incident in the McDonald's parking lot was immediately after his dismissal?
EDIT: Yeah when I googled it, all the articles from when it happened say "former Virginia Tech quarterback." He was already gone when that happened.
Ahh hell I give up - no more tangent Gifs... too hard to find
What are you talking about? During his time at tech he was guilty of speeding, pot, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor by providing alcohol. He was never convicted of rape while he was the QB at Tech.
can you believe our frank beamer would defend a convicted speeder?
Actually now that I'm looking into it, I can't find anything that says he was actually convicted in that incident. I see tons of stuff about the charges and then that he was suspended for the 2004 season, but nothing about a conviction. Are you sure he was tried for that?
So instead of tangent gifs, I'll just be random
He plead no contest to contributing to delinquency for serving alcohol. But that video tape also had the girls saying that they were 18. That is what killed the rape charge as he had reasonable expectations they were telling the truth.
I am not a Marcus defender, but Beamer did suspend him for the crap he pulled for a year, and then threw him off the team. Things Jimbo Fisher has not done.
So what the heck are you doing bringing this misremembered stuff up in a thread on recruiting anyway?
Anybody googling Sweat's name is gonna have this come up.
CFB doesn't tolerate idiocy but is willing to give a guy a second chance. These are kids after all and they don't always make the right choices.
Fair but strict.
It's about right.
I find it hard to take anything about the program's ethics that you write seriously (Alum07) when about 30 minutes ago, you stated that you would like to pay Josh Sweat under the table if it meant we'd land him.
This isn't a personal attack, just an observation of your views.
As for the Journell thing, our policy on this is pretty cut and dried, and consistent with almost all FBS programs. If a player is charged with a felony they are immediately suspended pending resolution of the court case. Any player convicted of a felony is dismissed from the team. When Journell pled down, the felony charges were dropped and it became a misdemeanor case. We don't dismiss for misdemeanors.
don't stop now!
I hate that you have me defending Marcus but I have to in order to stave off your attack on CFB.
Juvenile and Domestic Judge Robert C. Viar Jr. dismissed the sex charge against Vick. He got a single suspended contributing to the delinquency charge, a fine of $100 and community service.
Marcus was dismissed from the VT Football squad on Friday, 6 January 2006. He pulled the gun 2 days later on Sunday 8 Jan 2006.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2006-01-09-vick-f...
If you are going to attack someone, at least use the correct facts. You cannot get away with the incorrect facts in the age of the Internet.
See my response above. I too felt dirty for defending Marcus but facts were facts and most of his crap was post Tech.
Brings up a good point.
There's cheating (Miami) and then there's pushing the boundaries of what's allowable. We pretend it's black and white but it isn't.
The programs that get a recruiting edge are the ones that follow the letter of the law but get the most flexibility out of it. They exploit loopholes. That's the sort of behavior that draws investigations and usually result in a slap on the wrist because technically no rules got broken. We make fun of programs when it happens to them, but that just means they are doing everything they can to get a recruiting edge.
To clarify my original point, I'm not saying we have to cheat to succeed. I'm saying to improve our recruiting success we would have to shift our focus from "What does the NCAA want us to do?" to "Can we get away with this?"
More randomness!
Actually, there was a pretty significant little dropoff right after MV1 went pro, and a lot of these program in decline conversations were had then, too. There just weren't internet forums around for them to be has as publicly. The rebound we had when we joined the ACC was a significant rebound back into the top 10, and it happened because of a bounce in recruiting from joining a better conference. Now we're seeing that decline again, and the question is will the staff shakeup bring about the needed resurgence in recruiting to ascend once more. We're seeing more 4 stars and true OL recruits, but we need to lock down the top in state talent again if we're gonna return to prominence.
But my larger point is, it hasn't been a steady decline since MV1 left. It was a sharp decline, a significant resurgence, and then a slower, steady decline. Another resurgence is entirely possible.
And normal.
Cycles are normal in anything. In nature, in football, in business.
Expecting cycles and not being devastated by them is not an admission to mediocrity.
It's acknowledging them and looking to make sure changes are made, that progress occurs in places, a plan is developed and implemented for improvement.
I see changes, I see effort and resource increases and allocation adjustments. I see reactions that tell me there is a plan and it is being executed.
I am impatient and want it now but, I am wise enough to know that demanding it right now, won't help. The victory will be sweeter with the knowledge of the effort it took to get there.
Also, what's reasonable as far as expectations go. Over in the Military Bowl thread, someone said they missed complaining that they were tired of the Orange Bowl. Hopefully when we do rebound and make it back into the playoff picture and land an ACC championship again, we can get back to ENJOYING it.
This is exactly what would happen to most of our fans if an NCAA investigation into VT football was announced!!
I would never want tech to become a program that oversigns and lies to kids about scholarships. Thats a terrible thing to do. However there definitely is this recruiting grey zone of young recruiting camps where other schools seem to be getting a leg up by starting relationships with players. I do wish we would do that
I'm not impressed by Rich Rod. I think we could/will do better. Plus, I don't like sloppy seconds from anything Mountaineer.... He still has the smell of burnt couch all over him!
I cant even fathom what a Bud Foster D with Sweat, Nnadi, Hand, Dalton, Maddy, Ekanem, Hill, Mihota, Marshall would look like :/
Keep in mind we also lost #1 VA DE Johnathan Allen to Bammer.
End scene
False.
And this is a big misconception among those who say everything is fine on the recruiting front.
Virginia Tech was doing very well attracting the top players from Virginia when they were competing for conference titles. This is something that can't be disputed. Getting some players ranked between 10 and 30 in state is not that same as getting some in the top of the class. We are basically in UVAs recruiting wheelhouse right now and we are starting to get UVA like results. This is how VT has performed since 2003.
2003 Class - 3 of the 4 four
Xavier Adibi
Vince Hall
Chris Ellis
2004 Class - 2 of the top 4
Eddie Royal
Kent Hicks
2005 Class - 3 of the top 4
Macho Harris
Elan Lewis
Deveon Simmons
2006 Class - 0 of the top 4
2007 Class - 2 of the top 4
Tyrod Taylor
Cris Hill
2008 Class - 3 of the top 4
Vinston Painter
Dyrell Roberts
Ryan Williams
2009 Class - 2 of the top 4
Logan Thomas
David Wilson
2010 Class - 0 of the top 4
2011 Class - 0 of the top 4
2012 Class - 2 of the top 4
Joel Caleb
Ken Ekanem
2013 Class - 0 of the top 4
2014 Class - 0 of the top 4
2015 Class - 0 of the top 4 (With Sweat and Settle pending)
If we don't land Sweat or Settle we will have gone 5 of the last 6 recruiting classes without getting a player top 4 player in the state of Virginia.
2003-2009
15 - Top 4 Virginia recruits
2010-2015
2 - Top 4 Virginia recruits
Those missing ACC Championship game appearances are in those numbers.
Nice research. Leg for you, sir.
Out of curiosity, where did those we didn't get go?
I'm curious, because it seems as though there's been far more interest from other major contenders for those players than there has been in the past. As if schools from others states have recognized Virginia as a hotbed of talent and have now planted their seeds, so that these top athletes from Virginia begin looking elsewhere because they can.
2003-2009 (28 total prospects)
(15) VT
(7) UVA
(1) Florida
(1) USCw
(1) UNC
(1) PSU
(1) NCSU
(1) Clemson
2010-2015 (24 total prospects)
(6) UVA
(3) PSU
(3) Alabama
(2) LSU
(2) VT
(2) Undecided - Sweat, Settle
(1) OSU
(1) UNC
(1) Mich
(1) FSU
(1) Stanford
(1) Clemson
2016
(2) Duke
(2) Undecided
too many hands in OUR cookie Jar.
What was interesting to me when compiling this list is that UVAs recruiting profile for top prospects in Virginia really hasn't changed from 2003-2015. VT has suffered the most from out of state schools competing for Virginia guys.
Both programs are currently trending lower since 2011.
UVAs record from 2004 -2010 is 41-44
UVAs record from 2011-2014 is 19-30
VTs record from 2004-2010 is 73-21
VTs record from 2011-2014 is 32-20
was wyatt teller not top 4? that's the only 1 that I think may have been top that you missed, but I might be wrong
most places had him at 5-8
oh okay, thanks I knew he was right up there
its not censorship. you were objectively wrong about recruiting
I will be honest, I'm not into downvoting, but I'm more inclined to downvote these silly edits than the original unethical OPINION. Now, any person reading this thread has no idea what the comments were intended for, basically ruining the article. They can definitely get a math lesson though.
Allen is originally from Alabama so we (nor anyone else) had a shot at him.
Not completely true. I talked to one of hid old coaches about why he never considered VT in his recruitment. It basically came down to Tech not showing any sort of initial interest because at the time he was too small. Kid felt slighted and stayed butt hurt the rest of the process
Too small? I am shocked to hear that considering the weights of our 2 starting ends.
Its not for lack of effort. These guys want to go where they can win a national title. Very few young men want to be program builders. Most want to step into a well oiled machine and compete for National titles, not resurrect a regional power.
I somewhat disagree. I think there are probably more recruits, or at least more of the recruits that have a major impact on a program, that prioritize making the NFL over winning a national championship in college.
Once upon a time I think your assertion was dead on, and why college football for so long was a story of a handful of teams completely dominating while everyone else battled for the leftover scraps. Today, though, college ball is a de facto minor leagues for the NFL, and the top tier recruits will look at which programs put players into the League at their position.
And unless that position is DB, I don't think VT helps out very much in that respect.
Alabama puts half their defense in the league, USC could be counted on for offensive talent. FSU is going to start cranking up the NFL machine again at most postions. Its gonna be interesting to see if VT can stay competative putting guys at the next level. We are down to our last Fuller.
Oddly enough, we are fairly successful at putting WRs in the League. Also tailbacks, they just don't pan out.
Not horrible at O linemen either, strange as it sounds.
UVA?
Or come to a school that struggles to put points on the board. This works against offensive recruiting AND defensive recruiting. Offensive recruits don't want to be a part of a stagnant system, while defensive recruits don't want to keep that stagnant system above water. We start to put bigger numbers on the board and we will potentially bring in those bigger names.
(we've had some pretty good recruits come in, I'm just saying we'd have more high profile guys)
"But I felt really good at one school in particular... but I won't say."
Did his mother join him on any visits besides the visit to Blacksburg?
Not sure, but she didn't join him on the F$U visit.
That could be good or bad. Remember Charles Barkley picked his school based on which one took him to a strip club.
heard he felt a little disrespected at FSU on his visit it was raining the man didn't even have a hat and they couldn't get him an umbrella, I believe we have a better shot at him because 1) he's in state 2) he knows how much he would mean to our program and its not like our defense is bad were gonna have a hell of a team if we stay healthy next year.
If it's true that a guy chooses one college over another because one school didn't provide him with a hat and umbrella when it was raining, that's pretty pathetic. This sounds like a story The Onion would print, not an actual reason for choosing a rival school. I'm sorry, I just have trouble believing a kid would choose one university over another because of this. And not only that, but it does tend to rain a bit in Florida, so if Sweat is getting his feelings hurt over this then he's in for a long, wet road ahead of him.
Sometimes a hat and umbrella are not a hat and umbrella.
Sometimes it represents the paying attention to detail.
This makes me think of the TV Show "Life" with Damien Lewis.
BINGO!! Nailed it!!
I didn't say that would be why he chose 1 school or another I said he felt a little disrespected because of it, I was just throwing that out there because I heard that and didn't know if others had heard that as well. My points for why I think we have a better chance at getting him were listed below 1) he's in state 2) he knows how important he would be to our program
Has he scheduled the time of his announcement?
10 am.
It will probably start leaking out tonight with the Crystal Ball changes.
Oh good. I'll get my coronary out of the way early tomorrow.
You just caused a very hearty coffee snort, leg sir.
That was funny. Leg for you.
"It really hasn't hit me yet," said Carlette. "But I felt really good at one school in particular... but I won't say."
I wish she would just say which school. Mama Sweat is playing with my emotion. It wont be too long before everyone finds out. I hope its TECH.
No news is good news. It means we are still in it.
On the JD Howell Show last Tuesday (35 min mark), Jason Stamm of Rivals mentioned that Bud & Stiney would be doing the in-home visit, but not Frank. Presumably, his visit was being saved for this week. Considering Frank just had throat surgery, is he in any shape to meet with Josh & his family today?
Did't Frank see him recently? I thought I saw on a recruiting site that he went to Josh's house. Maybe it was just a scheduled visit that he can't do now because of the surgery.
Head Coaches only get one in-home visit. If he was with them last Tuesday, then that was it, but like I said, the report I posted said it was just Bud & Stiney.
Motley is gonna have to give up his number next year is all I will say
#sources
Hope you're right, but not losing sleep over him choosing F$U.
I have a buddy who has been right every time in the past that I can remember when he said someone was a lock to us, idk who his source is but he said Sweat's a lock to us, I hope like hell he's right at least 1 more time. And he just told me this as of yesterday, so unless something changes between now and then I feel pretty confident, and I honestly think that OSU might be the 2nd team not FSU, Urban Meyer has a tradition of getting great DE's
If Sweat doesn't sign here, I fear for your internet safety
I'm just trying to keep everyone positive, it's not like I have any actual control over where he signs, shit I wish I did guys we would have the #1 class every year, and Beamer's championship case would already be full
i hate that i want to believe
Not sure why the downvote, but here's a leg to offset it!
thanks. tkp is starting to get a little tense about sweat
Isn't Jimbo going to his house tonight? That could be a potential change.
If Sweat does commit, Motley won't have to give up his number unless they play on the field at the same time. So both can wear #9.
Did you forget about the Josh Sweat TE package?
This is both sarcastic and serious.
my 10 am meeting for tomorrow just got cancelled. Also, it's hokiedad55's birthday. Good omen, or good omen?
My anniversary, I'm going to get lucky tomorrow!
I finish the last assignment (a presentation) of my first semester of grad school tomorrow at 10. Please, Josh, help me kick off the party the right way.
congrats on the hard work. Either way i get the feeling life will be a party for you either way.. BTW on another part of life, if u ever move up in the officiating level will u promise TKP that you will check back here regularly and give us some cool insight into ref'ing.
Oh, there will be a party.
Haha I'll be sure to keep dropping tidbits of officiating knowledge as much as I am able to do so. If I make it to the NCAA level, I'll be sure to pull a little Ron Cherry and work "dork magic" or "fully dipped" into a call.
Haha TKP would explode. We need to start watching ways to work in that into a call. Oh the possibilities....
All i gotta say is i have sources that are telling me Sweat will commit to a school of his choice tomorrow.
#momsource
My #source says the school's name has a vowel in it.
I think the school also has colors, but i cannot confirm from my source at this time
The source has aso confirmed that the school does have football, so that rules out UAB
And LOLUVA.
This needs to be green.
You sure you want to go out on that limb?
Did hokieknight take over alum07's account for the day or something?
damn SHOTS FIRED!!!!!!!!!!!
Really I was just surprised to see him comment the way he did earlier. And then to act like a martyr when he knew what he was saying would be downvoted when he posted it, it was just out of character (from what I have seen on TKP, I don't actually know alum07)
a 6-6 year, coaching questions, 3 year plateau and missing top recruits will get after ya...
Editing because people just love piling on the negative votes
Censorship is fun!
Oh, I see how it is...
Well played
Again, to clarify, this is mostly a joke, and the only reason I said anything is because you are typically at least reasonable in what you post. And I didn't downvote anything you said here. Even if I disagree, you are entitled to your opinion.
The entire censorship move kinda felt like this:
I didn't like it, either, so I edited them all out
It was a really confusing thread with all the random images and math-related things. Took me a while to figure out what was going on
Respect, +1
The suspense is killing me.
I told myself I would not follow anymore Virginia Tech DLine recruiting after Nnadi chose FSU, yet here I am reading everyone's comments looking for the latest "source" information. Trying really hard not to get my hopes up.
I've done everything I said I never would again....way too invested in this decision
WARNING THIS THREAD HAS REACHED SQUIRREL STATUS
Thread Summary:
1) MysteriousRhinestoneHokie starts the thread with a case of the Debbies, says he's joking, but damage already done
2) For some reason RichRod name pops up again as possibility for VT and recruiting shadiness comes up.
3) Alum07 says he would rather pay for a recruit and win, than not to have the recruit at all.
People collectively:
and wonder if HokieKnight has hacked Alum07's account.
4) @ALLTHE EDITS: To curb runaway downvoting Alum07 nicely changes posts a "few" times (by the way i didn't downvote, no offensive material. questionable ethics yes, offensive, no.)
5) Joe starts new thread and moves the party to here:
http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2014/december/9/josh-sweat-decision-ev...
Editing posts to run away from downvotes makes me all
Before this board erupts either in joyous revelry or devolves into a rabble, I would like to point out that, in the Rivals era, Virginia Tech has never had two five-star athletes who were recruited to play on the same side of the ball at the same time.
Does Kyle Fuller playing all 11 positions last year count?
anyone know what thread will be the official one?? we got like 3 or 4 going right now
I have to imagine that Joe has a commitment thread ready for any eventuality that will become the new one, as is standard around here for big recruits.
as time gets closer im bouncing all over the threads! im ready for some good news! do you know if there is a live feed i can watch on??
May the football gods smile upon Hokie Nation today...
Any info on a live feed? Who are the local network affiliates in his area? Maybe one will stream it
Seconded. My boss is a Hokie alumn andI plan on running into his office yelling, "WE GOT SWEATY" if we sign him!
Its been a very long time since we've hauled in a legitimate big fish
Hope the coaching staff brought out the deep sea rods last night.
I seem to remember a certain Fuller just 2 years ago...family connection or not, still a big fish.
Oh my freaking lord, how in the hell did that slip my mind?
Deep... Rods... Hehehe.
Went to water the Christmas tree this morning and it fell over onto my dog and the water went everywhere....
Mr. Sweat, I could use some good news to counter the toppled tree encounter.
Is the dog okay?
Yep Dog is ok. Gave him some peanut butter as a sign of my apologies for not properly securing the Fraser Fir
Man i hope he picks the Hokies, cuz i dont know what im gonna do with these 15,000 'VT Sweat Shirts' i had printed...
I'm sweating thinking about what you'll do with that many sweat shirts...