Now that Sweat has come and gone I felt like taking a look at the remaining targets and seeing who we could close this class with, I linked every targets 247 profile.
Shelton Johnson - DE prospect who is scheduled to take an OV to VT this weekend. Seems like FSU was his leader but with them having Sweat on the board and possibly two more 5* DEs they may not have enough room for him.
Houshun Gaines - We all know the story here. He is supposed to announce soon and Vandy appears to be the top competition.
Adonis Williamson - He is scheduled to announce his decision tomorrow. His recruitment has been somewhat quiet, but I think that Tech has a legit shot.
Victor Alexander - UCLA commit but a very soft one at that. A lot of people think that he flips to Tech eventually.
Tim Settle - Announcing at he Under Armour All American game on 1/2/15. A lot of people think that he may have to prep a year but regardless he is an elite talent and a good kid and hopefully the staff can buckle up and close the deal with him.
Joshua Nijman - I believe he is supposed to announce very soon, possibly within the next few days. There have been rumors that he doesn't want to play on the OL, so hopefully we can sell him on either the OL or DL.
Lawrence Cager - Elite level WR who took an OV to VT this past weekend. Not sure how serious of contenders we are though.
Kenny Thomas - We need OL, and Thomas is definitely that. Searels has been recruiting him for a long time and hopefully will be able to close the deal.
Ricky DeBerry - Most signs point to DeBerry heading OOS unfortunately.
Kendrick Norton - Isaiah Ford factor! Norton is a big time prospect who can play OL or DL and plans to visit soon I believe.
Long Shots: Bryce Love, Kevin Toliver II
If there is anyone I missed, feel free to correct me. I'm sure there will be last minute recruits which comes out of nowhere who could possibly sign with the good guys as well. The sky isn't falling, yet as we can still close this class strong.
Comments
I've been hearing things about Hokies trying to flip 4* QB Dwayne Lawson who has been committed to Miami since May.
VT is apparently also in the running for good ole Swag Kelly.
Edit:
Thanks, can't believe I forgot about Lawson.
For those that missed it, Swag Kelly is going to Ole Miss.
Kenny Thomas visits VT this weekend, I believe.
Tolliver tweeted this week that he is 200% committed to LSU after a Les Miles in-home. I didn't know exuberance could go as high as 200%. But, oddly today after Duke's coach turned down Michigan, they have now contacted Miles to gauge interest (seem backwards, I thought Miles would have been contacted first), but watch this to see if there is any chance Miles flees for Big Blue.
Jahair Jones, a JUCO OL is in play. Seems to be between VT and Miami.
I haven't followed the Michigan stuff recently but wasn't there noise about them being interested in Harbaugh? I'd be surprised to see Miles jump since he's spurned them in the past.
He was getting ready for a national title then. Now, he's coming off a 3 or 4 loss season. I'd say he would at least consider it.
They did contact Harbaugh but basically Harbaugh is staying in the NFL.
Ooooohhhhhh, dueling NFL gurus!
These guys are so full of themselves.
Supposedly Toliver is set to enroll at LSU for second semester
Shelton Johnson is another kid from Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, FL. That school has been a lock for us.
See: David Clowney, Brandon Flowers, Dadi Nicolas, Luther Maddy, Mark Leal just to name a few
hahaha can't even believe I looked at the list of "targets". This thread should be titled "list of players who will soon leave us disappointed".
Sorry that the thread title didn't please you. I'm willing to bet that we get at least one of the players I mentioned.
haha all good..Yeah, I would say that's a money making bet.
I don't know why you received so many down votes. I see no harm in what you stated. Here are two legs
Thank ya! Back at ya!
This about made me laugh and cry at the same time.. Oh recruiting season is an emotional roller coaster.
I recommend not getting to emotionally involved in the decisions of 17 and 18 year old kids unless they are you own. Best way to avoid disappointment...
Well the way the roster looks and the way this recruiting class is shaping up, we should be able to sincerely offer immediate playing time on the DL very soon.
That's been the pitch for 2 years.
swag kelly to Ole Miss.
hahahaha BEST DAY EVER!
Not surprised. He didn't have a committable offer from VT yet and was pretty much a lock to Ole Miss once they offered.
I am thrilled about this. That guy is garbage, and that doesn't even reflect his off the field issues. I'd take Chris Durkin as a dual threat and Andrew Ford as a passer over him tomorrow. Sometimes you win by losing. This is the textbook case study in winning by losing.
preach!!!!!!!!! the kid will be a nightmare there for sure.
thoughts on lawson??
Yeah, I kinda saw this as the lone bright spot for the day. I wasn't happy at all with that development when it came to light.
One player I would like to see Tech go hard at is Jeffery Holland, who was big on Florida until the coaching change. I think he could do some amazing things under Foster in the Linebacker corps.
Another one I am surprised that we seem to have backed off of is Marcus Lewis in DC. He seems to have a pretty open recruitment right now so would be an excellent get whichever side of the ball he landed on.
Last I had heard Searles was also making a big push to try to convince Isaiah Prince to come to Tech, although thats going to be a hard sell with the competition in front of us. Looks like he is an Ohio State lean right now.
I think we are also still in the mix for Safety Sterling Hammond. I think that he is choosing between us and Louisville.
I really like Adonis Williamson.
I've seen Kyshoen Jarrett comparisons for him, your thoughts?
Both the Adonii could be pretty good. Really hope that Alexander sticks at safety with his size.
I found the solution to our Defensive tackle needs and he actually plays in Virginia. Plus he is playing in the State 1A Championship game Saturday in Salem. He may make it to dinner faster then to a tackle but no one is going to run up the middle!!
Dondre Harris 7'0 380 LBS. Plugging multiple gaps at the same time.
Hahaha I remember seeing that early this year. Kid is huge.
Wait that is his highlight film?
His hudl highlights are set to private and this is all I could find at the moment.
Gee I hope we can do better than that. At least he's out there
I liked the punt block highlight the most. Thanks.
Does anyone know what time Adonis announces?
4pm
Thank you sir
JuCo OT, Jahair Jones commits to Miami over VT. VT started off his recruiting in October and he visited for the UVa game. Miami offered on Nov 19th, he visited them the weekend after the VT-UVa game, and Al Golden made an in-home visit last Wednesday. According to 247, our coaches never visited.
Sounds familiar.
While I hate missing out on a guy who could potentially be an impact player, the JUCO route is always a dangerous one. You never know what you will get, both academically and on the field. For example, Tennessee was counting on Dontavius Blair, a 4 star JUCO OT (6'8 300) to start right away for them. Instead, he didn't pan out and they ended up redshirting him while playing Coleman Thomas some at tackle. Now, Thomas will be a very good player, but to go from single A football in SWVA (at center) to RT in the SEC is awful tough.
Gaines has three finalists - Vandy, UVA, and VT. OVs upcoming before making a decision.
http://247sports.com/Bolt/Gaines-will-take-three-official-visits-33883691
Everytime I read something about him, I read how he is looking for someplace to be comfortable and that when he faux-committed to UF, he said he couldn't see himself in Blacksburg.
I just don't feel it with this kid. He seems to still have is on his list because we have been pursuing for so long and because we have an obvious need.
I agree. Others have pointed out that it just seems like he's looking for any reasons he can not to come here. I think if he really wanted to be here he would have committed a while back especially after we stuck behind him with the whole Florida fiasco. I guess we'll find out eventually.
I don't understand why it always seems to be that we lose out on big recruits and the reoccurring theme is "insert other HC name, made a late in-home visit and VT did not". I don't know if it's other recruit priorities or what. I mean I guess they can't make it to everyone but it seems a little prevalent lately. Maybe it's just me.
Perhaps the VT coaches were planning on visiting next week and the kid said "hey, I'm ready to commit to Miami today." There's no science behind it. These are 18 year old kids. I guarantee you the reason he committed was not because Miami coaches sat on his couch while VT coaches didn't. Besides, it's not like our coaches don't visit kids. Shane was with Ricky DeBerry last week. Recruits are constantly tweeting "Great home visit with Coach so-and-so today."
Very true.
The third statement seem at odds with the first two:
I'm not saying recruit X didn't commit to us because the opposing coach got a crucial in-home visit to close the deal.... but there is surely a reason so many coaches do just that. It must be an effective tool, or they wouldn't waste the time & money.
ABC, gentlemen.
Of course a kid likes it when the boss visits them at their house, but to think that's the reason we aren't getting some recruits is ignoring many of the other reasons they chose to go elsewhere. There's not a single reason that explains their decisions. Regardless, many are just searching for reasons to berate Beamer at the moment and few are justifiable at all.
There could be a half-dozen reasons why a home visit didn't/doesn't happen. Maybe the kid didn't seem like a fit for VT after the OV? Who knows?
I try not go through life always assuming the worst.
I am not sure that a JUCO OT that none of us had heard of before a couple of weeks ago is a "big recruit." Again, when you look at this class on OL (Clark, Arnold, Plantin-although I missed his commitment announcement, and Smith) with a good shot at big Kenny Thomas, that is four and perhaps five big bodies that have some ability for Searels to work with. Unless you as a staff KNOW the JUCO will be an upgrade at the left tackle/right tackle spot (depending on where McLaughlin will play next year), I don't think it is wise to go that route anyway.
Even with that said, (and I agree, I don't think Jones would have been a big name in this class) are we really in a position talent and depth wise within the OL to be thinking that anyone wouldn't be a potential upgrade over what we have now? Aren't we in a position where anyone that can give us some depth would be a good thing, and worry about bringing in the talented depth later, if nothing sticks out now?
I thought we brought in four OL in last years class
That we did, but to really continue to have a good strong OL going forward, classes like that, with 4 OL is what you should ideally get every year as a minimum.
We brought in three last year, not four. Tyrell is part of this class after prep.
I'm not saying it's true for this kid -- I have no idea -- but there is ALWAYS the possibility that an additional body would not be potential upgrade. ALWAYS.
I think Kenny Thomas committed to Louisville. Did he not?
According to his Twitter account, he did, yes.
Beamer's surgery is playing into this somewhat.
uh, guys?
I'm usually not the one to freak out about twitter but I don't like this. If he's staying committed to VT, then why even have a ceremony?
People thought he might flip to Clemson a little while ago but then that momentum seemed to stop after Clemson didn't have a spot for him to enroll early supposedly. Maybe they have a spot now?
I agree that it's tough to put a positive spin on this one. That's kinda like saying he hasn't been committed this whole time since there is still a decision to be made
Yeah, I have butterflies and that isn't a good thing. It just seems odd.
yep. really nothing for us to gain from this. best case scenario is nothing changes.
I believe he's enrolling early (January). Perhaps this is his official "signing"? (Financial aid paperwork?)
Maybe he is calling this news conference so he has one more chance to advertise Virginia Tech to others.
If he wants to leave, let him. Facyson redshirted, we got several others who can play like Clark for example and this class is not finished, and then there is next years class. DBU is not for everyone, only the most dedicated of backs! That said I truly hope he does not leave, but Alleyne is still with us, so I am happy!
Clark's development makes Mook less of an immediate need in the wake of Kyle Fuller's departure. Ultimately, Bud wants a Torrian Gray clone at the whip/nickel spot that he can run the base defense with. I feel really good about the future with CJ Reavis. I am a little more nervous about the rover and whip spots. Clark can't play both of them and be the first guy to roll out to corner if someone gets dinged up.
Mook is one hell of a player. I am really high on Hill, Clark, and Fullwood. But this is the guy who fits Virginia Tech. I hope he believes that, because he will be a star in Blacksburg.
Watch Mooks defensive rep highlights, then re-read my film review from UVA. You will understand why is is the textbook Kyle-Fuller nickel/whip. http://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-football/2014/12/8281/virginia-t...
Very well spoken hokiefan89. Its pretty bad that he has been committed for months and months and then your going to have a " OK now I will have a final college decision" Thats terrible and if he wants to do that then see ya when we beat ya!!!
You're going to need this.
jreynolds06, tell me the story about the cat again...please, for old times sake?
He's retweeting Chad Smith, a linebacker who is committed to Clemson. I stalked some twitter action (I know very reliable information). It seems like he's leaning towards Clemson pretty hard from my perspective.
RT'ing some clemson fans too. no love for the hokies.
he's either a master troll or a tiger.
^^^
sources close to the situation say mook is trending heavily towards master troll.
I'm not worrying too much, kid just wants his decision like moment in front of family and friends because he committed so early. Not saying he definitely doesn't flip, but he definitely isn't a hard lean to Clemson.
Well.... Why wait just commit to them right now.
Some people just don't know what loyalty is or what it means to be a man of your word. Do away with verbals and just do LOI's 2 times a year!
Well Clemson can have him because without the offensive coordinator they aren't going anywhere! The offense was the only reason they were good the past few years. They have one good year on defense, but it wont translate next year they will suffer.
I'm very very confused here. Clemson lost their OC so now we're ok with losing a recruit that has been recruiting like crazy for us (and, more importantly, French is high on?? I mean, that's like gold standard right?)
Maybe I'm missing the /sarcastica.....
Nobody said everyone is quite recruiting savvy. Key point for all of you who actually want the program to improve (and not just see it stay mediocre so you can thump your chest and say I told you so) don't write anything negative about a prospective recruit until after his name is on paper. He always may change his mind (or on this case be VT all along) and read this (and trust me, a bunch of prospective and current Hokies read this site) and decide to take his skills to south beach.
This has J'avon Harrison written all over it
Not the same thing at all. Mook is actually a good kid. Let it play out. If he is a Hokie, then fuck yeah. If not, we will move on...
Agreed. Mook has been all over the board this season with recruiting. taking officials and what not, but at the same time he seems to be recruiting for VT actively. I think he just loves the process and wants to enjoy as much as possible. He seems savvy at developing his own brand as well and a press conference is something recruits do to further their name brand. I could definitely see it as him just wanting the full experience.
On the other hand, if he doesn't choose VT then let the kid go where he wants. Best of luck to him and focus on getting other recruits. That's life in the fast lane. If we want to be a top program we can't pin our hopes on any single recruit. We need to be in the running for a lot of top talent and get those that come our way.
Personal branding is SO important for NFL hopefuls. Good for him for generating some hype!
Good grief, some folks can talk themselves into anything. Read the other thread on this topic and look who started it. He's not going to Clemson -- or anywhere but VT.
Maybe this is a good thing he announces his VT commitment live... free recruiting attention!! Maybe others see and want to join in
#SOURCES say otherwise!
I am seeing reports on twitter that Joshua Nijman has already signed with VT and will enroll in January. Anyone know if that is true or not?
Espn is reporting it, so it must have some validity. If so this is a great pick up!
link?
jeremycrabtree Jeremy Crabtree
#Hokies landed absolute steal in DE Joshua Nijman (http://t.co/49C4IIorho) from @forkunion. College coach said "he's a freak of nature.
Fork Union, d-line and freak of nature? Nick Acree, is that you?
Better hope not.
I was asking out of concern too. I'm hoping the coaches can mold him to be an absolute force on whichever side of the ball (insert whynotboth.gif) he ends up on.
I remember being in Blacksburg at a house party several years ago and when I asked a VT trainer, who happened to be there, about Acree he scoffed at me and told me Acree was "a boner". He was right....Acree was a TOTAL "boner".
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/207078...
jeremycrabtree Jeremy Crabtree
Nijman reportedly also had offers from Miami, Temple & UVa. Has already signed w/ #Hokies & will enroll in Jan. Film: http://t.co/AUgWC1Rwnu
I would love it if he turns out better than Josh Sweat. Does that make me a bad person? :-)
Not in the slightest.
I wish Josh Sweat an injury free but winless career at FSU.
No, it makes you a Fan. Like the rest of us. I hope so too. But unfortunately after watching this kids tape, he is a massive human being but does not have anywhere near the speed and quickness that Josh Sweat has.
Shelton Johnston is apparently visiting Virginia Tech
His official visit was last Friday
He has an official with Miami scheduled for January 23rd
The toughest thing about following recruiting is knowing all of these twitter handles. When VTScoop or anyone else RTs a recruit, I'm just like..."I don't know who that is...is this good?"
Thomas official to Louisville
Saw that. Too bad. On the other hand, I did see where at least 3 of the current recruiting class and some kids from the last class that prepped signed their early enrollment papers today.
Even though we've missed on alot of key recruits this year, the silver lining imo has been the numerous SEC sized kids we are getting on OL. I'm a fan of Searles philosophy of recruiting size and seeing which ones stick. These are recruits we may not necessarily get excited about but may make more impact to the team down the road. That said I hope we get 1 more big body on the OL for the 15' class.
Yeah, I think the biggest thing holding back our offense (besides youthful mistakes) has been the o line. The misses of the past and injuries to some of the more established linemen this year have really hampered the offense. If we were able to keep the QB upright a little longer or open a whole a little wider, we would have won most of the one score losses that we had and our record would have been very different. instead, 4 of the 5 do the right thing but one fails and the QB has someone in his face or a running back is getting popped in the backfield. I like the type of linemen they are recruiting these days and GETTING (key) to commit. The biggest issue with the old way of converting guys to OL after high school was the long learning curve and the bulking up process which takes time. Starting off with good size and some experience at the position is a huge plus.
The biggest problem we ran into this year was just numbers. We were really down to a very few options. I don't think that is normal. It didn't seem like that big of a deal when Shuman was lost at the beginning of the year, but it ended up being a big deal. I believe Pfaff was even hurt, in a year when he could have contributed.
That said, I don't think our talent is nearly as bad as our production. If you look at mid-major schools with productive OL's against Big 5 teams, those teams don't have the same talent level we have at OL. Our OL coaching has been really poor for quite a while now. The breakdowns we are seeing aren't talent driven, they are just WTF-are-you-doing-out-there! driven. 2 DT's cross, 3 OL stand around and let both of them go. Simple stuff.
I'm not a huge Searles fan, but we've got him, we need to keep him and build some consistency. Even if we don't add another body this year, we have enough for him to start building an above average OL.
Just out of curiosity, why are you not a huge Searels fan? Just wanting your take on him.
We lost Benedict at the beginning of the year, too.
I'll go out on a limb and say about 90% of our offensive struggles come down to having an inferior O line. I really like the look of Lefty's play designs, and his passing tree is way better than Stiney's. But good lord, it got to a point where you could basically tell he was play calling based on a mentality of "What can we get off in three seconds before the line buckles?"
We have tons of talent on O. Young, raw and green, yes, but TALENT. Ford and Phillips are a great receiving tandem, Bucky is the Truth, and I'm really high on Shai and Juice if their knees hold. I also still really like Brewer and think he could be something special with a dominant O line giving him a pocket to stand in. But it all starts up front.
Our focus on O should be 107% about fixing the OL yesterday. Put the Newsome era behind us once and for all and I think we'll surprise some people on O.
You speak the truth kind sir.
Her brother = Nyheim Hines
If he was leaning towards us I think that this would seal the deal. If he wasn't, I think this might give him something to think about. I had read somewhere (#sources) that being able to go to the same school as his sister was incredibly important.
Edit: It was VTGuitarMan (http://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/228934#comment-228934)
It looks like he brought his sister along with him on his official visit too. That could bode well or mean nothing.
But it's not a bad thing.
It certainly can't hurt!
Well, actually it can if she didn't like us. :-)
Yeah, I remember that too.
I know our track program is really good, apparently its us/FSU at the top of the ACC so hopefully this pushes him our way!
Yeah, but they are a Raleigh family. Still expect NCSU.
I think he's been a silent State commit for months. So it's an extreme long shot
Don't think that's true. Not saying he doesn't commit to State tomorrow but when you come out publicly and say that NC State and VT are both co-leaders then I seriously doubt he is a silent commit to State.
We shall know for sure at 3 pm tomorrow :)
We have lost out on a number of North Carlinians who chose NCSU over us. We are due to land one.
We have? Toney Baker?
Last year Kalen McCain comes to mind. He decommited from us for the Wolfpack. We were also in pretty good shape with Kentavious Street for a while.
Several offensive lineman in the past 6-7 years. Robert Crisp is still on their roster but there have been others.
I really like this years recruiting class (I can say that now that 7 of our guys have already signed and are starting class next month).
The past two years we have stocked our Oline with depth and I think Searles knows what he is doing and between our depth at RB and Oline we are looking very nice.
So what if we missed on Sweat, Dalton and probably DeBerry...if those guys wanted to come to VT we would have opened our arms and cheered for them louder than UNC or FSU and probably OK will...however their choice was (is) to go out of state and hey I can't blame them...I'm from MD and I went OOS to go to Tech.
The guys we got are Lunch Pail Dudes and lets hope for the best over these next few years...send Beamer off the right way, in the national spotlight with the Game Day Crew preaching Beamer Ball is back!
Now lets close this class with some Love and Gaines....Settle for some Hines, Cager and Toliver House Cookies...might I also mention my first name is Alexander and Blacksburg is a far better College Town than UCLA.
I'm done...mic hits the floor
(Edit never mind saw my question in another thread)
BOOM got one on the list. Welcome Mr. Gaines