Defensive tackle Tim Settle verbally committed to the Virginia Tech Hokies during today's Under Armour All-America Game. The 6-2, 300-plus pound Stonewall Jackson (Manassas, Virginia) product was predicted by recruitniks as an out of state or Wahoo lean early on in his recruiting process, but ultimately Settle chose the Hokies over Louisville, USC and slew of other Power 5 offers.
Settle's teammate and friend Greg Stroman committed to, and eventually signed with, the Hokies on August 3, 2013. Perhaps that was the moment when Settle seriously started to consider Virginia Tech as a possible college destination.
I got to go visit VT
— Tim Settle (@tim_settle) August 3, 2013
"I like that they're a Virginia school, they're good at recruiting, I want to take another visit there," Settle told The Key Play's Alex Koma in August 2014. "But I feel like I'm missing something with them. I need something to click."
Settle took three visits to Blacksburg (Aug. 30, Sep. 27 and Oct. 23) during the 2014 season and that gave the Hokies ample opportunities to sell Settle on the program.
We dem boyz @_ImThatDude20 @Iam_GS3 pic.twitter.com/Mi7GSi4az9
— Tim Settle (@tim_settle) September 1, 2014
The stability of Beamer Co.'s defensive coaching staff was a definite draw for the 4-star (247Sports Composite) prospect and Tech's persistence recruiting Settle paid off.
Settle is an explosive defensive tackle that can create chaos in an offense's backfield by either using his quickness to blow past a blocker or his strength to drive him backwards.
ESPN's scouting report of Settle is favorable.
STRENGTHS: Strong, physical presence on the inside who can move and penetrate. Big bodied defender who demonstrates very good short-area quickness and long speed burst for an interior lineman. Flashes dominant upper and lower body strength and is very explosive off the ball. Has a nose for the football, particularly on the move. Gets down the line quickly and shows high pursuit effort. Very productive versus the run and pass showing good technique; he's sound yet disruptive. ... AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: Might be topped out in weight so will benefit from added strength and continued refinement as a pass rusher. ... BOTTOM LINE: Settle moves very well and is quick and active for his size making him a versatile prospect on the line. Appears to still have good upside and projects to be a productive, well-rounded player with valued scheme versatility along the interior.
Former Stonewall Jackson head coach Mike Dougherty agrees with ESPN's assessment.
"He reminds me of Warren Sapp," Dougherty explained in a 2013 interview with The Key Play's Mark Trible. "You might look at Tim and think the same thing because he doesn't look like he can move as well as he can.
"You look at (2014 Alabama signee from Woodbridge) Da'Shawn Hand and he looks like a grown man. Tim still has a little bit of a spare tire on him. But he's only 16 and more athletic than anyone trying to block him...Some schools have told us flat out, he's a first-round draft pick. You have 10,000 quarterbacks, 10,000 running backs but there are only 30 guys like Tim."
Mike Gentry's strength and conditioning program should keep Settle's weight in check, but academics could be a barrier to Tim seeing the field in Lane in 2015.
"He enjoys the notoriety, the opportunity to take these visits," Raiders head coach Darryl Robinson told Koma in the aforementioned August 2014 interview. "But I'm more concerned about making sure he's getting his grades in line and leading the team.
SportsWar Recruiting Analyst Chris Horne also noted that academics may be a roadblock for Tim.
Talent-wise there is no doubt Settle has the potential to be a big-time college player, but there is a caveat. Academics are a serious concern. There are rumors he may have to attend prep or even junior college before arriving on the major college level.
247Sports' Sean Fitz asked Settle about any enrollment hiccups on Sunday.
While Settle will have some work to do in the classroom to qualify, he feels confident that he can make the scores he needs by the summer to enroll at Virginia Tech.
"If I don't qualify during the year, I will qualify before I go in the summer," Settle told 247Sports' Sean Fitz on Sunday.
Beamer Co. did what it had to and earned a commitment from one of the state's top prospects. If Settle's academics are an issue, Tech will have a leg up in re-recruiting him in 2016. If not, the Hokies will have a difference maker on the roster in 2015.
Comments
LEEEEET'S BOOOOOOOOOGGGGGIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE
Wow Joe! I can't believe how fast you wrote this article. GO HOKIES!
My guess it was already written as was the article if he didn't pick Tech.
I like to think Joe can stop and start time as he pleases.
So Joe is actually Zack Morris?
wink ;)
Yes, Lord, YES!
TIMMMMAAAYYYYY
Yes, I know it is a repeat from the other thread... I'm still sprayin the bubbly, thou
Any of you engineers got some equations for those curves?
http://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/190623#comment-190623
I'm an oracle.
Should change user name from rocco to delphi
We needed that boost not only on the recruiting front but as a sign of hopefully things to come.
Let's enjoy this one Hokies!!
PS: I love the TV time commitments :D
What a get! This team is ridiculously deep at DT.
What are the odds he gets moved to OL like Wyatt Teller?
None
Absolutely zero
"Deep" is not the first word that comes to mind when I think of of our depth at DT
But at least we are out of the kinky pool and in the shallow end?
Had to preserve it before you edit your post!
Only took me 2 days and 15 hours to realize what I had posted. That's what I get for posting after 5 on a Friday. Glad you all had fun with it.
Is there really a difference?
Kinky pool? Is this where you get fully dipped?
The kinky pool is where dork magic comes from
I keep asking my wife if she would like to take a dip in the kinky pool:
My wife is making me buy her one.
Is there something wrong with me? I read this as "out of the kinky pool and in the swallow end"
God bless us, everyone.
Well done, bagman. Now go have a conversation with Darrell Taylor.
On it. And due to the unfortunate outcome of several recent white elephant gift exchanges, the ol' bag is overflowing.
Haha I just realized you had Daniel Crandwell as your avatar. CLASSIC.
Law Office of Daniel Crandall Commercial
The last 3 guys to commit to Tech (Clark, Nijman, and Settle) have each taken over the top spot on the VTScoop commitment tracker. This makes me happy.
Put this in the other thread but need it here too
Yes.
I have left this door open for over an hour.
Seriously, fellas...someone needs to grab the reigns. We are celebrating here.
Emma style!
How old was she in this gif? I need to know if it's legal to get excited by it.
And what movie it's from, it looks very good.
Bling Ring, yo
Clearly a cinematic masterpiece.
It's from last year so we are good.
SO HAPPY!!
This is almost a perfect representation of my living room, down to the reactions of me, my mom, and my dad.
Between the SEC meltdown and the FSU debacle, and now this....
hot damn, 2015 is starting off nice for us
https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1721500&PT=4&PR=2
If he's talking about 2015, perhaps his grades are less of an issue that are rumored \ reported.
Also, let's put the Bud can't recruit meme to bed.
Been hearing he busted his ass this year and his grades are significantly better and the coaches believe he won't have to prep anymore.
I thought you were talking about Bud initially. Which, up until the prep portion of the sentence, is very true, I'm sure.
With the pickup, VT now has one of the top 25 recruiting classes in the country with the 4th best in the ACC.
Welcome Mr. Settle. We will enjoy watching you clog up the middle for years to come. Go Hokies!
Welcome to Hokie Nation Mr. Settle! We are looking forward to big things from you!
Awesome news! A leg for everyone!
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss! I mean...great news :)
I hope he gets on campus this year. Learning under Maddy and Marshall can only help.
If Andrew Brown was a 5*, Tim is a 7*. Compare the film... His twitch, effort and motor are superior. Hope he qualifies
He'll have a better career than Brown. Guaranteed.
Welcome to VT, Tim Settle! We can't wait to watch you terrorize opposing offenses!
"If Andrew Brown was a 5*, Tim is a 7*".
Couldn't agree more.
This is my favorite pic of Settle, and pretty much sums up what he is bringing to the party.
Take a good look a the beast he is slaying here - and the coach in the background. That is a WTF pic, right there... and he is probably 16. Every now and then, you just know when you are looking at a future pro.
But I still am holding off on the Patron until he qualifies, although I'm getting the good vibes with the Friday happy hour announcement, Tim.
Maybe just a pinch of Camarena, ya know, to keep my Chi right. Booya.
According to ESPN Tim is a 5* recruit. For once ESPN got it right.
They have him as the #4 DT in the country.
He was a consensus 5-star earlier this year. Got downgraded by Rivals and 247 after some so-so camp performances.
Imagining this in a Bud Foster defense
That's visually upsetting in the best possible way.
If you like that, you're really gonna like what I have in store next...
The guy trying to block him is tiny.
6'2 283 is'nt exactly small, but the key here is it wasn't the size that was his downfall. with an additional 30 or 40 lbs, Settle beat him with speed and quickness. That is flat out impressive.
BTW the guy blocking him is a 4 star OL out of DC. Are we recruiting him? Would be nice to get another blue chip trench player.
Here's Settle's swim move after a year of Gentry and VT chow:
Happy hour and the whole gravity of the commitment are taking hold of me...
Please be right on the qualification runors Alum!
Damn, that dude got clobbered by that elephant. That is beastly. I work a lot with animal conservation and in the back of my mind every time I am close to one I am just thinking this thing could snap in an instant.
And you know how Foster and Wiles like those gap-down slants...
So who is the top recruit in the class now? I still think that Clark is the most important.
Settle.
Clark and Settle are 1 and 1a in my book. Both with have a fundamental impact on their respective lines.
Everything is awesome. A disgustingly good D-Line just got better and deeper in 2015! It's been a good week to be a Hokie...
We got a 5 star that's what ESPN has him as, now Mihota or Baron or both could go back to DEI feel good about the depth we have at DT and DE now =D
I had an opportunity to watch Settle and Greg Stroman play once together in 2013. While defensive tackle wasn't a huge need position, Settle is a guy who can be guy who can either beat guys with quickness or jam things up inside. He isn't typical of a Bud Foster DT, but Bud has been a master of taking uniquely skilled players and finding a way to put them in position to succeed without fundamentally changing his system.
Also credit to several of my twitter followers who pointed out how valuable a two gap defender can be as a nose tackle when Bud uses his 30 front looks against spread teams.
Settle as the nose in a 30 front is delicious.
Elite defensive tackles win championships. The big championships.
Settle right after the commitment
That's huge. He's huge. This is huge.
Tim Settle reminds me of the tank that ECU had in the middle.. Terry Williams was his name I think.. That man single handedly stuffed our run game.
Tim will definitely help Ekanem Dadi and Luther get some more 1v1 situations and if they don't double him big ol settle will be blowing shit up in the middle !!!!!!!
From what I have seen of him, this guy is an absolute monster for the interior of the defense. He has the potential to stuff everything up the middle, and will create matchup nightmares for OL going forward. Pair him and Hill on the same side of the LOS pre-snap and it'll give offensive coaches nightmares about stopping us. You won't be able to double them both, so what are you gonna do?
And this doesn't even touch on the fact that having monsters like this up front will allow for our extremely talented CBs to shine. QBs will be rushing throws, which will lead to inaccurate passes, which should lead to these guys picking off passes at much higher a clip than we're used to now. Settle very well could be the missing piece that turns a good defense into a great or elite one.
This is awesome news, now who moves to DE?
Fullwood?
I know I am.
According to 247( free part) Tim says he will qualify either at end of year or summer,if necessary.
Outstanding , welcome big guy! Looks like this site about blew a fuse & went in meltdown mode on this commitment news. Great news & hell YES 2 more to go this weekend.
I wonder if along with Settle they play Nijman at DT, that would be 2 completely different sized guys than what we usually have there. Could be interesting to see. I'm starting to feel like more and more Nijman goes to OL now that we have Settle, that can send someone back to DE and khein back to LB.
Hey Cam Phillips how do you feel about Tim Settle's commitment?
How bout you coach Shane?
And your thoughts Bud?
And Lastly Coach Beamer's reaction.
LOL! Frank needs to do some kind of buy my disc/ Zuma dance/ fitness infomercial after he hangs it up.
I'm inspired to get my azz off the couch with that stuff. You go Frank.
Assuming he qualifies, we could very likely see a starting DL next year of Dadi-Settle-Maddy-Ekanem... And those who would potentially be backups all got significant playing time this year.
Yes, I like this very much
Was Marshall a senior? If not then Marshall's still got a starting spot.
I think Marshall would get the start for the first couple games, but if Settle is as good as advertised, he's one of those players you just can't keep off the field, and he'll eventually be starting by season's end.
That means hes really damn good. I think he ends up in the two deep and Foster/Wiles rotates DTs at will to keep them fresh. 1st team Maddy/Marshall, 2nd team a combo of Williams/Walker/Settle.
Not so sure! Corey was also a 4 * and senior , coming off an outstanding season.
True freshmen don't often upstage an incumbent senior, especially in a Beamer coached team. Plus, Marshall was good this year and the 2-deep gets plenty of play time anyways.
He would be in the 2 deep. But the starters would be Luther and Corey.
Corey Marshall is coming back, right?
Yes because of taking the red shirt in 2013.
I had to google the guy after seeing this gif multiple times. I was not disappointed.
In other news, Braxton Miller looked at the calendar and had to change his shorts.
Didn't know we were playing Oregon next year ; )
He meant our practice schedule. /s
Thanks Greg!
WOOOOOHHHHHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That gif speaks to me in so many ways. Thank you.
This is it !!!!!!!!!! You win , hands down. +++++++++++++++++++ Everyone is shitting rainbows .
So now that we've landed tim....what do we have to do to get his dad lined up next to him on the interior?
Where is the pistols gif from the bowl game??
When I first saw this, I immediately thought Shane was asking for drumsticks. However that look at the end makes it seem like he's excitedly asking his wife if she wants to get it on after the game.
See above, re: kinky pool.
I can envision Tim, Big Lu and Corey hands in the dirt and Dadi and Ken coming off the edge. Welcome to Hokienation Tim.
Bringing back the 5-2 front?
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
5-1-5. Because why the hell not?
In Bud We Trust.
Verbal.....boys..and girls. AND we have all forgotten about the O line recruiting!
Why would we discuss OL recruiting in a thread about a DL player committing?
You mean 4 star early enroll Austin Clark? 3 star early enroll Tyrell Smith? 3 star Mike Arnold?
D'Andre Plantin as well.
In 99% of cases, you don't get the kid at all without a verbal, so what's wrong with getting excited about the verbal, particularly when it isn't a June verbal, in the kid's Jr year, but a verbal on national TV at an All Star game where they tend to stick, to their commit.
Did we just plug a BJ Raji into the middle of that DLine???
Yeah Manassas what.
The best thing to come out of the Colbert Report
IIRC, Settle is about the same size as the Hopkins brothers were, yes? But plays with more athleticism.
My God please let this young man qualify.
Hopkins brothers are 5'11"-6'0". Settle is 6'3".
Coulda swore the taller one was like 6'1" or taller. All the better.
At one point, I believe that one of them was listed as 6'1", but when the were both playing for VT, neither was listed at that tall (I could be wrong, but I remember looking it up because I couldn't understand why both weren't projecting to the NFL).
Skip and Hop were 6' flat on a good day. Settle is a similar weight for AFTER they grew some at VT. Kid is going to be a monster.
It looks as if Foster/Wiles will be able to go with a 3 group platoon if necessary. Maddy/Marshall, Williams/Walker and Settle/Sobcezak at DT. Not to mention Baron or Mihota
Don't forget about Whitehead either. He's got the size to come in and play immediately if he impresses Wiles and Foster early.
They're going to have to expand the airport so they can land the C-5's necessary to feed our D-Line next year
The O-line will be eating Teller Pancakes, though.
Not gonna lie, This was the fist thing I thought of when you mentioned C-5's...
I'd go as far as saying our defensive line is so good, we have 2-3 NFL draft picks there RIGHT NOW. Tim Settle seems promising along those lines too.
First time ever Va Tech will have 2 each 5 star players on the same side of the ball. One on the line the other in the secondary. Excited to see what that's like!
Kevin Jones and Marcus Vick, my bad! Second time ever.
Macho played on offense with Tyrod for a few plays.
Who is the other 5*?
Kendall
That question should result in double secret probation.
I'm seeing Settle listed as 4 star by both Rivals and 247.
5 star by ESPN, and he's a high 4-star at any rate from the others
Gotcha. I never look at the ESPN ratings. That would explain it.
ESPN has actually been surprisingly accurate with their rankings. They've got their busts and misses of course, but they're right up there with the other major scouting services.
Nothing against them. I just kind of forget about them. I remember when Rivals was basically the whole show. I'm not even really down with the whole crystal ball thing yet.
I'm not down with the CB thing either (unless we're talking about Fullers, amirite?), but 247 is usually pretty solid from an info/interview standpoint.
Is there video of his commitment?
http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/on-the-trail/post/_/id/639...
Was about to post the same thing as [binary] above, but didn't move quick enough. After all I'm not a computer. It says "insider" but you can still see the video after a short commercial.
Beep beep boop! That's a binary R.
Finally! What makes me even more excited about Settle is how perfectly he fits into this defense. His quickness is what makes our D excel. He made the right decision for sure. His size is just the icing on the cake, he is already big enough and fast enough to play at this level.
Now lets keep fingers crossed he makes it into school this fall.
Wooo! This is awesome! Settle is a beast! I hope he can qualify immediately because he can make a huge impact as a freshman. Now I hope the next two big recruits commit to the good guys today and tomorrow!
Settle looks like the perfect cog to destroy GT's rushing attack for the next 4 years.
I bet Hill and Gaines are excited. They will be able to showcase their talents pretty well here, as teams will have to respect everyone on the DL. Since we landed Settle, they have a guy to take some pressure off, and will not be on an island all game every game.
Do we have any news about him getting into school this year or is he going to have to prep?