Virginia Tech announced seven mid-year enrollees to the Hokies football program. The following is the lengthy, and extremely informative release from the athletics department.
BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech football program announced Thursday the signing of seven new scholarship members to its program who will join the Hokies in January. The seven players, listed alphabetically are: Adonis Alexander, a safety from Independence High in North Carolina; Xavier Burke, a tight end from Brunswick High and Fork Union in Virginia; Austin Clark, an offensive lineman from Rockbridge County High in Virginia; Carson Lydon, a linebacker from East Lake High in Florida; Yosuah Nijman, a defensive lineman from Maplewood High in New Jersey who is currently at Fork Union; Mook Reynolds, a cornerback from Northern Guilford High in North Carolina; and Tyrell Smith, an offensive lineman from Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey who is currently at Cushing (Mass.) Academy.
"Let me be the first to welcome the newest members of our football family to Virginia Tech and the Hokie Nation," said head coach Frank Beamer. "We're excited about them as players, and as people. They all come from great families and I hope their impacts on our university, community and program, are significant. Also, let me thank our recruiting and coaching staff for their hard work on the recruiting trail. These players represent our current trend of bringing in young, talented players that we hope can contribute as quickly as possible."
All seven of these student-athletes will enroll at Virginia Tech in January and will begin working with the program immediately.
Adonis Alexander
Safety • 6-3 • 193
Charlotte, N.C. • Independence HS
About Adonis: Rated as the No. 28 player in the state of North Carolina by Rivals ... Listed as the No. 65 safety in the country and the No. 29 player in the state of North Carolina by 247Sports ... Ranked as the No. 100 safety in the country and the No. 47 player in the state by ESPN Recruiting Nation ... Named to the Charlotte Observer's All-Mecklenburg second-team football as a junior ... Was an all-conference safety as a junior.
Coach Shane Beamer on Adonis: "Adonis is a big guy with size who comes from a great program at Independence High School in Charlotte. We initially were drawn to Adonis because of his athletic ability and his size. He is a rangy safety and it will be exciting to see how he develops and where his body takes him once he gets in the weight room with Coach Gentry and has a chance to get bigger and stronger. He is a dynamic football player that we feel like has the ability, and flexibility, to play a lot of different spots. "
Xavier Burke
Tight End • 6-4 • 250
Lawrenceville, Va. • Brunswick HS • Fork Union
About Xavier: A 2014 Virginia Tech signee ... Played for Fork Union this past season as a post-graduate ... Rated the No. 5 Prep School Recruit by the 247Sports Composite Rankings ... Listed as the No. 1 prep tight end and the No. 2 prep player in Virginia by 247Sports ... Ranked as the No. 33 player in the state of Virginia by The Roanoke Times as a senior ... Listed as the No. 20 tight end in the country and the No. 18 prospect in Virginia by Rivals ... Ranked as the No. 21 tight end in the country and the No. 20 player in his state by 247Sports ... Listed as the No. 59 tight end in the country by Scout ... Ranked as the No. 10 tight end-Y in the country, the No. 49 player in his region and the No. 15 player in the state by ESPN Recruiting Nation ... A Semper Fidelis All-America Game selection ... Caught a touchdown pass in that game ... A first-team 2A all-state selection by VirginiaPreps at defensive end ... The defensive player of the year, as named by VirginiaPreps ... A first-team All-Conference 37 selection at defensive end ... A first-team Tri-Rivers District selection ... Helped lead his team to the state title game ... Finished the season with 95 tackles, including 18 for loss and 10 sacks, along with 20 quarterback hurries and four pass breakups.
Coach Bryan Stinespring on Xavier: "Xavier is a terrific young man first and foremost. He comes from a terrific family. I think he has a lot of length to him, a lot of growth potential. I like his hands. He was a basketball player during his high school career and has really good hand-eye coordination. I has tremendous upside and potential. He is only going to get bigger and better as he goes along and the fact that he is coming in at mid-year is a tremendous benefit to him. I want to get him out there this spring and get him involved as quickly as we possibly can. He has a really good combination of size and movement ability, there is a skill set there that excites us moving forward. We've got to get him stronger, and that is going to be a major emphasis for us right from the start. "
Austin Clark
Offensive Line • 6-6 • 297
Lexington, Va. • Rockbridge County HS
About Austin: Rated as the No. 84 player in the country, the No. 3 player in the state of Virginia and the No. 7 offensive tackle in the country by Rivals ... Listed as the No. 165 player nationally, the No. 17 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 8 player in the state of Virginia by 247Sports ... Ranked as the No. 40 offensive tackle in the country, the No. 39 player in his region and the No. 13 player in the state by ESPN Recruiting Nation ... Was first-team all-state as a junior by VirginiaPreps ... As a junior, was the Blue Ridge District and Conference 31 offensive lineman of the year.
Coach Stacy Searels on Austin: "Austin Clark was a very highly recruited athlete from here in the state. I'm proud that he stayed in state. He made a statement; he could have gone anywhere in the country but he knew where he fit and sees the need we have on the offensive line."
Carson Lydon
Linebacker • 6-1 • 231
Tarpon Springs, Fla. • East Lake HS
About Carson: Listed as the No. 78 outside linebacker in the country and the No. 148 player in the state of Florida by 247Sports ... Ranked as the No. 39 outside linebacker in the country, the No. 319 player in his region and the No. 106 player in the state by ESPN Recruiting Nation ... Played at Raleigh's Cardinal Gibbons High as a sophomore before moving to Florida for his last two seasons ... Was a Tampa Bay Times first-team All-Pinellas County selection as a junior after recording 149 tackles, eight sacks and two interceptions to help the Eagles reach the state semifinals for the first time ...Was named third-team all-state that season.
Coach Torrian Gray on Carson: "Carson is a go-getter, an all-in type kid. He is going to be high-energy. He's going to be a great leader who brings a lot of intangibles to us. We are excited about what Carson can contribute to our team. "
Coach Bud Foster on Carson: "I'm really excited about Carson. He is a big, athletic linebacker who is very physical, runs extremely well and is very athletic in space. He is a guy that we will look at as a backer and /or would be an athletic mike."
Yosuah Nijman
Defensive Line • 6-7 • 268
Maplewood, N.J. • Columbia HS • Fork Union
About Yosuah: Played for Fork Union this past season as a post-graduate ... Rated the No. 2 Top Prep School Recruit by the 247Sports Composite Rankings, along with the No. 1 defensive tackle and the top prep player in Virginia ... A top-flight shot put competitor at Columbia High ... Played football for Columbia, starring on both sides of the ball ... Earned all-area honors from Worrall Media at Columbia Ran a 4.88 40-yard dash at the Nike Combine in high school ... Played in the Phil Simms North-South All-Star Game ... Named first-team all-state for Group 4 in the shot put ... A state champion for the Group 4 level in the shot put.
Coach Charley Wiles on Yosuah: "Yosuah has a big-time body but is still very raw. He could play a couple of positions but we will probably start him out at defensive end to see how athletic he is."
Coach Bud Foster on Yosuah: "Nijman is a big, athletic, raw defensive lineman. He could potentially be an end, but worst-case scenario, he would be an athletic defensive tackle. He is a talented big man who can run, who can bend his body and has a tremendous upside. "
Mook Reynolds
Cornerback • 6-0 • 175
Greensboro, N.C. • Northern Guilford HS
About Mook: Invited to the 2015 The Opening ... A member of the 247Sports Top 247 ... Rated as the No. 30 cornerback in the country and the No. 11 player in the state of North Carolina by Rivals ... Listed as the No. 224 player nationally, the No. 24 cornerback in the country and the No. 8 player in the state of North Carolina by 247Sports ... Ranked as the No. 45 "athlete" in the country, the No. 209 player in his region and the No. 19 player in the state by ESPN Recruiting Nation ... Named to the Carolina Gridiron Preseason All-Gridiron Team prior to his senior season ... Led Northern Guilford to the North Carolina Group 3AA state championship as a senior.
Coach Charley Wiles on Mook: "Mook is a dynamic athlete who can play a number of positions — corner, nickel, safety, could play wide out. He had a big time senior year catching touchdown passes, but he is also a dynamic blitzer and a guy who I think can cover, so I think he makes us more versatile in the backend."
Coach Torrian Gray on Mook: "Mook is a dynamic defensive back who can run. He can play cornerback, he can play safety, he can play nickel. We love his versatility. "
Tyrell Smith
Offensive Line • 6-4 • 285
North Brunswick, N.J. • Don Bosco Prep • Cushing (Mass.) Academy
About Tyrell: A 2014 Virginia Tech signee ... Attended Cushing Academy in Massachusetts this past season as a post-graduate ... Listed as the No. 27 prospect in New Jersey by Rivals as a senior ... Ranked as the No. 125 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 44 player in his state by 247Sports ... Listed as the No. 56 offensive guard in the country by Scout ... Ranked as the No. 84 offensive tackle in the country, the No. 140 player in his region and the No. 29 player in the state by ESPN Recruiting Nation ... A 2013 All-New Jersey second-team selection ... A first-team all-state selection by the Star-Ledger following his senior season ... A second-team all-state choice by MSG Varsity as a senior.
Coach Stacy Searels on Tyrell: "I'm very excited about Tyrell Smith signing with us this year. He is a young man who comes from a good family and we are excited about him being a part of our program. It is a position of need. We are working to build depth on the offensive line. I think Tyrell will be an outstanding center-guard prospect, and I'm looking forward to getting to work with him this spring."
Comments
7 new Hokies? Yes, right on! Welcome to the Program!
Welcome, all!
OMG! I have that sweater!!!
Pics or it didn't happen!
I love January enrollees
Good list. Really excited about Austin Clark.
Left out in the description of Mook:
"Could play a big role in our recruiting program."
"All-American Tiger Troll."
6-7 DE
Giggity
Yo, does Mook have any younger brothers? Just...curious.
#THEFIFTHREYNOLDS #SOURCES
This makes me happier than a tornado in a trailer park.
Sweet! Austin Clark is here just in time for the bowl!!!! That Frankie Beams is a sly one!
This is exciting.
Love all the pancakes Burke is laying down. Made me smile. Lydon is a beast on special teams. All the rest are great too!
These upcoming months in the weight room and conditioning are huge. Kids can also spread Thier classes out over an extra semester, keeps the grades up. So great to get all these early enrollees.
Excited for all the new commits! Austin Clark had a ton of great blocks in that video, albeit against a lot of people who looked like middle schoolers...
Man...these guys are going to be awwwwwesssssssssome! Clark, Reynolds and Lydon look like men amongst boys out there...the future is bright, indeed.
O line depth is becoming a nice comfort. Lots of young guys out there now
This whole concept still blows my mind, I don't think graduating early from High School was even an option when I was still in school. Classes ran year round, do most high schools now do semesters similar to college and you can just opt out of end of the year finals? Regardless welcome aboard, go Hokies!
And let me guess, you walked 5 miles in the snow, uphill just to get there? Pfft! #OLDPEOPLEPROBLEMS
Five miles in the snow with no shoes, thank you very much. And uphill. Both ways.
Being cold builds character. And walking in the snow builds leg muscles. How are kids these days going to run away on those shriveled calves when their precious interweb
machines come to life?
I think most schools are block scheduling now. 4 classes for half the year, another 4 next half. My senior year I only needed History and English to graduate.
Can anyone explain how the scholarship numbers work out with early enrollees? Do they go on next years class with the rest that sign their LOI in February? Or do they go on last years class like a greyshirt scholarship works?
I think you're confused about a greyshirt. A greyshirt counts against the next year's scholarship. Early enrollees count towards the year that they are being recruited for, so in this case 2015. Last year's greyshirts also count against this year. As do players that went to prep school. A greyshirt usually is offered to an athlete who coaches sometimes don't see making an immediate impact, but most importantly in a situation where the numbers for the current year will not line up with a scholarship being available due to oversigning (which we will avoid at all costs unlike SEC schools) or lack of attrition.
One thing you missed - January enrollees can count towards either class. The 7 guys who just enrolled can count against the 2014 or the 2015 classes.
Summer/Fall enrollees count towards that year's class only.
Learned something new. I always thought that they were applied to the class for the year in which they enroll. So start taking classes in January 2015 and you count towards class of 2015.
Not sure it's correct that grayshirts count against this year. They may not count at all. Here's the language from the manual:
So am I reading that right - they don't count at all against the 25 limit, as long as you stay under 85 at all times?
By no means am I a Cowboys fan, but the first time Xavier catches a TD pass, he must pull this out
Carson Lydon won't get a lot of attention in this class, especially now that he's an EE, but that dude gets after it.
Did he get his Electrical Engineering degree in HS? I thought VT made great engineers, not recruited them.
HOKIES!
One of my first thoughts about this class was how Carson Lydon looks like he has our Mike spot already figured out. And he hits hard. This kid is going to be making a lot of QB hate getting the ball every snap before his career at VT is done.
A quick cross-sectional assessment:
Adonis Alexander, Safety - 3*
Xavier Burke, Tight End - 3*
Austin Clark, Offensive Line- 4*
Carson Lydon, Linebacker- 3*
Yosuah Nijman, Defensive Line- 4*
Mook Reynolds, Cornerback - 4*
Tyrell Smith, Offensive Line- 3*
4 ea 3*s and 3 ea 4*s to start in January (I think that is called "grey shirting").
Has this ever happened at VT before? I don't think so. Great set of new Hokies! Spring competitions will be very interesting. The young talent at VT just took another big step up. Sweet Friday news!!
This is a sign of the improved recruiting 3 and 4 star players recruited for positions and not as athletes. We are also encouraging signing players to get here for the spring semester so they can get a jump on EVERYTHING.
Greyshirting means "voluntarily" not enrolling in school until the second semester. These guys are either 2014 signees who didn't qualify for Fall enrollment and now have or guys who have completed their high school requirements and are enrolling earlier than the rest of their class.
I believe they actually can enroll in the fall, but just have to pay their own way until the next year/second semester when the scholarship can be activated within the limits/rules.
Greyshirting is when they prep for the semester so some are greyshirts while others are just early enrolees