Per www.beamerball.com/free/news.htm it doesn't seem like there was all that much height/weight inflation for these guys.. they're coming in all pretty close to advertised sizes on the recruiting sites, and bigger in some cases. Mook needs to add some weight ASAP though.
Austin Clark 6-6 293
Yosuah Nijman 6-7 277
Tyrell Smith 6-3.5 276
Xavier Burke 6-3 265
Carson Lydon 6-2 243
Adonis Alexander 6-3 192
Mook Reynolds 6-0 168
plus it looks like a few walk-ons enrolled early as well:
Jack Click 6-4 215
Chaska Moon 6-0 239
Steven Peoples 5-9 211
What's the story with Click and Moon? I know that Peoples is projected at Rogers, I mean FB.
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Clark vs. Nijman

I hope that's Clark on the right. Because if he's on the left, there's no way he'll work out as an OT with that short wingspan.
If Nijman can stick at DE....
Whoa- Nijman and Burke are awful big to be defensive ends.
I've never put much stock in the idea of Burke at DE, and at that height/weight I REALLY don't think he's a DE. TE all the way. *edit* - reading further down the page on Beamerball.com, Chuck Cantor describes Burke thusly: "he played a lot of DE and did a good job. But, we see him as a tight end and we're excited about that." Now I really really really don't think he's going to play DE for us :)
Nijman on the other hand, is HUGE. If he's got the quicks and the agility to play DE he'll be epic. Otherwise he's built like an OT. Or maybe a supersized Bucky, I mean TE. I wonder how good his hands are...
1) Burke- he looked like Orion Martin as a DE. Not much wasted motion. Great angles. Good solid DE frame. I had no clue he had bulked up that much (I was expecting to see him in the 235-245 range.)
2) Nijiman is really tough to get a read on. His defensive end stance was so extended that he almost had to gather himself after coming out of his stance before he ran to the football, which made him look slower than he likely is. But, I would expect him to be a defensive tackle/offensive tackle. Based on his highlights, if Mihota wasn't a defensive end, no way Nijiman is a defensive end.
I'm just going by what coaches/insiders/recruiting services are saying when it comes to positions for these guys... Burke has consistently been referred to as a TE. Staff has acknolweged he has ability at DE but still say they like him as a TE. Drives me a little crazy that people still comment like his default position is DE. .
As for Nijman, his size and height scream OL but Wiles says we're starting him out at DE. FWIW, of the two I think the chances that Nijman switches sides are much higher than Burke.
He'd make a solid RB as well.
I haven't suggested that it is a better position. Much like Drager, if he can make the two deep at DE he is needed much more there than at tight end. If he plays at end, it is a NEED move by the staff.
I believe that I read that Nijman rejected a college or two, because all they would talk about is OL. I'd wager that they're bringing him in and putting him with the DE's so that he can see that he can't do what's asked of DE's. His willingness to move to OL, would change dramatically if he sees that he won't see the field as a DE.
It seems like the coaching staff may have done something like that with a number of kids. Classic example: Kam isn't an all pro beast in the NFL, if he doesn't move to Safety, but I bet that they gave him a shot at QB 1st, so that he could see that he didn't have what was needed.
But didn't mcmillan say he wanted a shot at qb and that's why he came to tech, and then...
McMillian was told he would get a shot at QB. He wasn't happy that he didn't get much of a chance at the competition last fall, but I don't know how that will factor into the rest of his college career. I just know that he wanted more of a chance than he got.
Not the first and won't be the last.
We have a good track record of converting QBs. Kam, Bucky will be a high draft pick, Marcus Davis would have been if he wasn't lazy.
Joel Caleb ::ducks::
Caleb was a QB in high school but was never planned to be working with the QBs at VT. He was slotted with the WRs from day 1 if I remember.
I saw an interview with Beamer saying that Kam and Ike Whitaker (HS QB from Maryland I believe, another "athlete" recruit) took turns running routes and covering each other the first few days of camp. Kam had better hips and was assigned to the DBs, while Whitaker was assigned to the WRs. The coaches said they knew both were really talented guys and probably could help the team as true freshman. I think that was VT's first year in the ACC.
But just imagine if they actually have the moves and speed to play the position with that size.
Nijmans tape doesn't look good for a de. Very slow getting off the line at that height. I'll be stunned if he isn't a project OT
Lyndon is stud DE size.
more like stud Mike size
Can you imagine Lydon (6-2 250) at Mike with Minor at (6-3 225) at Backer?
Well, you never know, Nijman could be the next Shawn Oakman. :)
Made my day with that one. Fantastic memes.
Most badass name for early enrollees goes to:
Chaska Moon
I did some quick research on Chaska Moon. According to the NCSA recruit page, he is a long snapper.
http://www.ncsasports.org/football-recruiting/nc/wake-forest/wake-forest...
Any relation to...

I can see some resemblance....
Excited to see Steven Peoples, he was really intriguing coming out of high school
http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2013/october/29/steven-people-rb-galax
+1. I don't like bourbon either. I'm more of an Irish whiskey guy. Also, I'm excited to see what Peoples can do.
Guy plays like he has something to prove. Plus, country-skrong, and fast. Would love to see him running the ball in the red zone behind a d-lineman serving as fullback.
Cool Deal, Austin Clark already at 293...nice. With a whole spring and summer, he could be a potential starter...crossing my fingers.
I'm liking Carson Lydon, i read his story...this guy has the drive to be a solid hokie, He has good size too.
I wouldn't put too much into Burke as either DE or TE until the coaches work with him, Nijman will most likely end up at DT.
I thought Mook weighed more but we've have others play at a smaller weight. I'm thinking he has a role in the fall.
Looks like he and Greg Stroman are about the same size
Stunned that Lydon is that big. On film he looks 215, and runs like the wind and hits like a freight train. He played some tailback in HS. Yikes- a Luke Kuechly clone please :-)
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1382728/highlights/163739375
Lydon's film is really impressive to me.
Yeeass.
That was fun to watch.
He looked pretty tough as a back as well.
He could be the Sam Rogers on defense: could play Mike, backer, D-end........even FB?
I'll be excited to see if he gets on 'Pride and Joy' with his punt blocks.
Love the sack at the 2:39 mark of the video.
This guy looks like a killer...plus he is HUGE for an LB.
Replying to my own post...I just read a Q&A with Lydon.
What is the one thing you are most excited about when you report to Virginia Tech?
Getting in the weight room and fine tuning my body to truly make it a WMD, my personal weapon of mass destruction.
Can't wait to watch this WMD absolutely crush somebody.
So he's trying to turn himself into Sam Rogers?
goaline formation with Durkin, Lydon and Rogers? Yes please,
The biggest question, who handles the ball?
Maybe all 3 can line up in the backfield with JCC, do a direct snap to JCC and then they could just throw him through the goalpost for the TD.
Doesn't matter who gets it first. As soon as one receives the snap, the other two latch on to the ball and form an impenetrable, goal-line-busting nexus of pain.
I'm sensing a reincarnation of the flying V formation.

We can call it the Rooster Booster
DUCKS FLY TOGETHER!!...just not so much in the national championship game
I am not sure JCC will be back next year, he tweeted this out earlier today....
It wouldn't be his last semester if he was planning on coming back next year.
He's probably got enough credits to finish a degree in the spring. Most guys pick up a couple of degrees in 4-5 years while on the team.
I saw something on my Bleacher report feed talking about possible attrition coming...hope this isn't it!!
Aye, usually grad school schedules are pretty slim.
This was not my experience.
Varsity athletes usually take a minimum credit load. Quite the opposite for typical grad students trying to finish up ASAP and avoid more debt..
I wonder what the percentage is for student athletes who begin postgrad work to actually earn a postgraduate degree. I've always assumed a lot of the times it's just pursued as a technicality to keep redshirt seniors enrolled.
not mine...
Don't much about Click other than the fact that he played for a terrible high school team so I wouldn't judge him based on his high school W-L record. Deep Run hasn't been that good since Exum left.
didn't he star in an under armor commercial a while back? Him and some guy named "claque" I think it was.
Just learned yesterday that Mook is living in my suite on campus. He is definitely the size that he is listed at on the website.
Future #sources action...
Had pie at West end #sources
Well he is now on the track to all American status, #teampie
#TeamPie wins again
Pie is just liquid cake
pie is everything good about dessert all mixed together and poured into a crust. You know you're on the wrong side when your best contender (cheesecake) is actually a pie going under cover.
3rd rock from the sun was a great show. a leg for Dick!
I know what you Bean
damn, that looks tasty.
From the sounds of it, he can have as much pie as he wants...
Still needs to be good weight. But he's, what, 17 or 18? He probably can eat whatever he wants.
If I tried that now, it would end badly.
The internet has ruined me. I took this as a double entendre.
did someone say double entendre????
leg the league!
haha I actually saw him today at west end. Cannot confirm pie though
If Burke has a little speed and wiggle to go with his 265 lbs then we might have our replacement for Bucky.
Where is Adonis starting at? If safety, 193 is a good starting weight. Around the same height and weight as Chancellor when he started...
Can Nijman suit up and play forward this week?
Bring in Bucky, he is 6'16". We could use Wyatt Teller on the defensive boards as well.
Wyatt teller could be Jeff King 2.0 come in and clear em out. serve pancakes at the concession stand.
Idea for noon kickoff tailgates next year, Wyatt Teller Pancakes. Wash 'em down with some Bud Fosters.
Now I just need to find a way to not feel weird asking for/making a Wyatt Teller pancake mold.
I assume that you are going to use photos of him, not ask him to pose for you.
Maybe make a 57 with bacon
Asking Wyatt to pose won't make TechHokie13 feel weird. The costume request might make Wyatt feel weird, though...
When I posted that I had an image in my head of Wyatt in repose on a fainting couch infront of TechHokie13 saying, "Draw me like one of your French Girls."
I submit this recipe for consideration, since Teller's pancakes have a little extra punch to them.
http://www.shemakesandbakes.com/home/brown-butter-cinnamon-rum-pancakes
So what I'm gathering from this thread... we're loading up on guys who have both size and speed for OL and DL?
Yeah, I'm ok with that
Funny.....
What I gathered from this thread is Pie>cake,
and then something, something about some recruits for VT.