Zohn Burden's name has came out as the first candidate to publicly interview for our vacant WR coach spot. He has been ranked as the #1 recruiter for C-USA in the 2015 recruiting cycle. We are currently looking for players to flip and finish out this cycle on a high note. So I went into his profile on 247 and looked at players he was the main recruiter for. I am going to leave the list of his recruits and please for the sake of conversation tell me if you would take any of them. I know that there are different academic standards for ODU and VT but just for conversation act as if they could get in.
Quincy Watts - 5'11, 165 lbs - 3-Star WR - Virginia Beach, VA - has offers from UVA and Duke and is currently committed to ODU. Can you say Antonio Brown?
Junior Year: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2209973/highlights/129701377
Senior Year: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/4571928/highlights/224170376
Miles Fox - 6'1, 265 lbs - 3-Star DT - Suwanee, GA - We like DT's that are quick off the ball? Watch his film:
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1430943/highlights/205060375
Javonte Lain - 6'3 , 200 lbs - 2/3-Star DE - Tyrone, GA - Listed as a Defensive Weapon sounds familiar right?
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1770298/highlights/65780381
Here is a list of Zohn's top targets:
http://247sports.com/Coach/Zohn-Burden-1873/CurrentTargets?Recruitment.Y...
Here is a list of Zohn's commits ranked by stars:
http://247sports.com/Coach/Zohn-Burden-1873/AllTimeRecruits
Those are the 3 that really stood out to me. But since Andy has reported Virginia Tech wanting to interview 2 more people hopefully those names will come out so we can do the same for those candidates.
Comments
To be honest, I don't have much interest in who he or other candidates are recruiting this year. I just want to know that they excel at recruiting. For Zohn I think the obvious take aways are that he is known for recruiting, he has inroads into the 757 where the Hokies have been butt hurt over for years and he seems genuinely well liked by players and staff. Combine that with being an above average coach and I'm sold... almost.
Still want to see other candidates
This hiring is going to be so close to signing day I'm not expecting any flips from it in the eleventh hour. Having said that, I would welcome a WR recruit in this cycle.
I realize this may seem anathema to the dominant thinking concerning our next WR Coach, but I gotta ask, can the man coach WRs? Its great that he can recruit, but I also want a coach who will continue Moorehead's excellant trend of teaching our WRs to run routes and block the opposing players when called for.
If you want to see what the ODU fans think of it here you go:
http://csnbbs.com/thread-724223.html
Looks like his Wide Receivers did ok:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/stats/_/id/295/old-dominion-mon...
Also not that this is a huge deal but he only made $72,500 last year.
Read first post on the thread, decided I wish to see ODU crushed in all matchups between us from here until the end of time.
It is quite cute how many ODU fans seriously think they are on equal footing as UVa and VT. I like the follow up comment saying how we're soon going to be a farm team to them. Delusions know no bounds.
Well, you have to admit...they are a lot closer to LOLUVA than us.
"Petey Hodge" made me loooool. Hard.
Yea he wears monarch colored glasses, eh.
Dear ODU fans, two things...
One:
Two: The jokes will only improve if you do.
Cliff Clavin will always get a leg from me because he came up with the Buffalo Theory of how drinking beer makes you smarter:
"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells.
"Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine; which is why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
This theory also explais why Hokies are smarter than Hoos in general, since our minds are finely honed with bourbon and beer, while theirs are only minimally culled with zinfandels and zimas. It's science.
Ha! Excellent. Love Cliif, too, but part of what I was going for was that until ODU becomes more than a speed bump...ahh, nevermind...just mark it down as a corkscrew swing and a miss...
read a bit more into the thread and think it's very interesting that Chris Beatty (new RB coach for UVA) was Zohn's head coach at Salem HS according to one of their posters.
Sounds familiar.
Wow, a whole lot of that stuff from the ODU fans sounds really, really familiar.
Oh, and screw that first guy.
Here is a little more on how the fans feel and how he is respected as a recruiter as well as a coach:
http://odubleedblue.com/zohn-burden-interview-virginia-tech-today/
+1 And my thanks for posting relevant material.
Recruiter, coach, you name it. Looks like this guy is pretty much AMO without the NFL experience. I like it.
On rivals he is said to already be a lock as the next WR coach.
lolololololololololololololol
Dang. I didn't see this when I replied to Guitarman.
Edit: And Alum...looks like I'm getting drunk at work.
Love the attitude. Reminds me of us in the late 90s.
They'll get their chance to see how they match up with us soon enough.
Yeah, except for the fact that we were in a position to do something about it. We were in a conference with teams that had football history, who were legitimately good, and provided us the opportunity to build and become a power. Without the likes of Syracuse, Pitt, WVU, and Miami in the Big East during our formative years, we're likely still playing ball in the American as a national who gives a crap program watching the rest of the sports world leave us behind.
ODU is in a conference where the biggest national name in it is Marshall. Only three schools plays in a stadium that seats more than 40k fans (UTEP in the Sun Bowl, UTSA in the Alamodome, and Rice), and none of them come close to reaching those numbers in average attendance. Its a conference that the American raided to bring teams on. Old Dominion may have big plans for how they're going to be this big regional power in the Commonwealth, but unless they find a way to get themselves into a legitimate conference (and I'm talking Power 5 conference) there is absolutely no way they will come close to our level in the next 25 years. And the longer we are in a P5 conference and they aren't, the wider that gap will grow.
You could argue that all they need to do is dominate their conference and then upgrade conferences next time the realignment bug sweeps the nation. Maybe next time they just move up to the AAC, but so long as they can continue to do well in that conference, they position themselves to join a P5 next go round. I know this isn't super likely in the new world order of college football, but they don't need to compete with us right now, just the other teams on their schedule. They do that and it's possible.
And the next time a P5 wants to gain inroads to Virginia and the DC metro area, they have a legitimate target beyond entrenched ACC members VT and UVA. Maintain an ECU-like trajectory and I see it as a matter of when, not if.
just sloppy typing
he meant to say "I am high", which if he was high could be understandable
IllHaveWhatHesHaving.gif
looks good so far
I do like that he found a way to grab a commit over loluva and dook.
ODU fans will get used to the fact that they are a smaller market team than Virginia Tech, just like we have gotten used to the fact that we are a smaller market team than some SEC schools
rabble rabble rabble rabble....
boobie boobie boobie
The Highlights posted above on Quincy Watts were 2013 here are his Senior year highlights:
He gets one hell of a block around the 1:42 mark.
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/4571928/highlights/224170376
Also more stats I have found on him that have been Nike Sparq verified are:
4.47 40 yard dash
4.40 Shuttle
35.2 inch Vertical
Didn't know Jon Gruden was looking for this type of gig.
What are we, Tennessee fans?
"His wife was a cheerleader and they still own land in Dandridge." -Every Tennessee fan when they have a coaching vacancy.
Getting back to his roots as a position coach.
Gruden as our RB/FB coach: "That Sam Rogers, he's a heck of a kid, Mike. I love his intensity and leadership both on and off the field. Plus, he really seems to thrive on the only play that I made sure was put in the playbook: Spider 2 Y Banana. Wish we had 10 more of him on offense."
+1! I read this in his voice and everything. Only modification would be to add "man" at least two times to each sentence.
And "This guy" before every player
Let me try: