Virginia Tech held its first junior day recruiting event of the 2016 cycle yesterday. The Hokies drew a bevy of both Virginia and out of state talent to Blacksburg, earned the verbal commitment of 2016 defensive back Kareem Felder and as any good host should, served Carol Lee donuts. The high school prospects in attendance shared insights about their visits on Twitter. This is a social media recap.
2016 Stonewall Jackson athlete Reggie Floyd was in attendance. Floyd was 2015 Virginia Tech signee Tim Settle's teammate at the Manassas, VA high school.
Finally at Tech
— Reggie Floyd (@_ImThatDude20) February 7, 2015
Speaking of Settle, he was in Blacksburg too, with his friend and 2016 wide receiver prospect Eric Kumah.
Vetch with @Eric_Kumah11 this weekend
— Tim Settle (@tim_settle) February 6, 2015
Tech showing love
— EK3 (@Eric_Kumah11) February 7, 2015
The Hokies are recruiting Kumah hard. Kumah has visits planned to Wake Forest, NC State and Maryland in subsequent weeks, and this time he's eyeing an April decision date.
Wide receiver Steven Smothers was also in Blacksburg. The 4-star Franklin (Reisterstown, MD) product is a name I hadn't heard before yesterday, but it seems like he is friends with 2016 commit Kareem Felder, and both train with Next Level Nation (5 UP football).
Blue chip wideout Tino Ellis gave his Virginia Tech visit a passing grade.
Virginia Tech was by far my best visit so far!
— Tino Ellis (@IamTinoEllis) February 7, 2015
Ellis and Virginia Tech wideout Cam Phillips were teammates at DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD).
Me and my bro Cam Philips with me on my V Tech visit pic.twitter.com/8GCySLzqSV
— Tino Ellis (@IamTinoEllis) February 7, 2015
As of right now, Ellis' recruitment is a Virginia Tech–Maryland race.
Hanahan Hi (Charleston, SC) wideout Samuel Denmark was also on-hand in Blacksburg and enjoyed his visit.
VT visit was fun today pic.twitter.com/IvdTDq1bwg
— Samuel Denmark #2 (@Sammyboy_33) February 8, 2015
Paramus Catholic wide receiver Donald Stewart made the trip from New Jersey with his teammates (more on that below). As of right now, neither 247Sports or Rivals report a Virginia Tech offer for Stewart.
Virginia Tech visit was great #Hokies #VT pic.twitter.com/16rPiD0Aq1
— Donald Stewart (@Donald_Stewart8) February 7, 2015
Wide receiver will be a focus of Tech's 2016 class. The Hokies didn't sign a wideout in 2015 and it's encouraging to see Tech get after some talented targets early in the process.
The Hokies left a lasting impression on running back C.J. Freeman.
Might be making my decision sooner then I thought
— CJ Freeman (@WhoThat_CJ) February 7, 2015
Freeman was 2015 Virginia Tech signee Mook Reynolds former teammate at Northern Guilford (Greensboro, NC).
Lloyd C. Bird (Chesterfield, VA) standout athlete Jalen Elliot appreciated the simple things.
Can't beat free donuts... Thanks
— STATECHAMPUNO (@Jae_Uno_) February 8, 2015
Virginia Tech signed five offensive linemen in 2015 and will again try to stock the cupboard along the trenches this cycle. Josh Ball and Jay Jay McCargo, two big, in terms of size and importance, in-state targets made the trip to Blacksburg.
Ending to my day with coach Beamer! with the Ring. #Sandman16 #HokieNation pic.twitter.com/hojawrQ3TB
— Josh (@joshball515) February 7, 2015
I had a good time at Virginia Tech's Junior Day yesterday! #Sandman16 pic.twitter.com/c3iKvBzDi1
— Jay Jay McCargo (@jjmccargo72) February 8, 2015
Kareem Felder's commitment gave DBU its second verbal of the 2016 cycle (Myles Wolfolk), and even though the scholarship numbers indicate the 2016 class will be small (around 20), I still anticipate Tech to sign about 4 defensive backs.
Cornerback Troy Pride Jr. (Greer, SC) and his mom left Blacksburg impressed.
Great Day at Tech pic.twitter.com/xD0gY7zCyS
— Troy Pride 5 (@GHSIsland5) February 7, 2015
All of the VT coaches were AWESOME and transparent today! #aparentsdream
— Angela P (@arstp4) February 8, 2015
Lake Taylor (Norfolk, VA) cornerback Wayne Davis was in Blacksburg and received a scholarship offer to DBU.
If yall already didnt know #VirginiaTech offered this morning #DBU #12 #blessed
— Wayne Davis (@Waynedavis1_) February 7, 2015
According to 247Sports, Clemson, Michigan, Ohio State and Tennessee among other schools have previously offered.
Jovonn Quillen, who recently stated Tech was his "dream school", upped his towel game in Blacksburg.
#HokieNation do yAll like my new towel pic.twitter.com/RIAzZouZaf
— JoVonn Quillen Jr 1 (@JovonnQuillenJr) February 7, 2015
Quillen, who is also Marshawn Williams' cousin, plays quarterback for Hampton and projects to be either a cornerback or free safety at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech also hosted some stud defensive linemen. The marquee name on campus was 5-star defensive tackle Rashan Gary, another Paramus Catholic player. Paramus Catholic is where 2014 Virginia Tech signee Billy Ray Mitchell played high school football.
Interviewing the nation's top DL for 2016 Rashan Gary of Paramus Catholic. I'm the one on the right. 10:30 AM CBSSN pic.twitter.com/enH2i4PIk0
— Tom Lemming (@LemmingReport) November 20, 2014
Gary isn't a small dude and has offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Florida State, Florida and Michigan among other schools. In fact, Michigan recently hired Chris Partridge, the former Paramus Catholic football coach, as its recruiting operations coordinator.
Defensive end Nick Coe picked up a Hokies offer on his visit. The Asheboro rising senior is rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals.
4-star Camden defensive end Ron Johnson considered the trip a success.
According to 247Sports, Johnson has offers from Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Miami among other schools.
Comments
this is awesome. Thanks Joe.
A few things I really liked to hear:
1) Reloading on skill position players every cycle
2) Ensuring you have the cupboard full of big uglies (OL)
3) Going after a top ranked (and out of state at that!) DL in Gary
I'm loving the program's new recruiting mindset.
Hokie coaches pulling out the stops for Junior Day.
Is Burden on campus yet? That's a lot of wide receivers!
Yeah, he started before NSD.
I think we take as many as 4 WR this year. Most of them were mentioned in this post.
This gif has to be up there for post of the day.
Sometime in the '90s:
"Mrs. Fuller? These are from Mr. Fuller. It says, 'Are you ready to start working on the 2012-13 recruiting cycle?'"
..............................
We are going to sign all of them!
Free Carol Lee? I'm surprised no one committed on the spot.
Seriously. Donuts of the gods at that place.
no joke. In some ways I'm glad it wasn't still downtown when I was at school. Would've been the freshman 50 if I had Carol Lee's in walking distance...
I'm alive today because of Carol Lee. My mom used to work at the front desk in Squires in the late 70's when my dad was in school and working for WUVT. He thought she was cute and brought her donuts when he was there doing his radio show. Then they fell in love, got married, and now I'm around to knock down liquor piatas at TKP tailgates with pops.
That's beautiful.
Great story! I was in the class of '79, and knew a couple of the DJ's at WUVT pretty well. I even did a show or two in the mid-70's sitting in for an old roommate who was sick, or too hung over. Is WUVT still housed in Squires?
WUVT is still there in Squires.
My dad was '79 as well I believe (Tim Hogan)...trying to remember some of the others he worked with (may not have all been WUVT, because he broadcasted sports as well) - any of these ring a bell? Dave Scarangella, Ernie Kyger, Gary Saunders, John Castleberry.
Strangely, all of them sound at least a bit familiar, but that was a long time ago. Johnny Castleberry was a friend and played on all of our intramural teams from Miles, and his brother Tod who at least used to work on the Redskins broadcasts...producer maybe? I played softball for a bit with Tod up in Reston-Herndon after graduation.
The guys I knew were on the music side. A friend and roommate for a bit was Gary Hewitt, but he left VT in what would have been his senior year. Bruce Grimes (may have gone as Bruce Kelly on air...he ended up being a pretty popular AM DJ up in D.C) and a guy named Marc, whose last name escapes me now.
Johnny and Tod both did very well for themselves in the broadcasting world. Will ask my dad if he knew any of those guys too!
A better love story has never been told
Tino Ellis & Cam look like brothers. Rashan & Billy RAy are brothers from another mother. . It would be great if they could keep the family growing at Tech in 2016 & beyond.
Well, actually, Billy Ray's younger brother Jackson attended Junior Day as well. Next brother duo?
impressive summation, Joe. Thanks for putting that together.
Great write up! Im excited to see what recruits we end up with! I'm now extremely pumped to see how the new found recruiting effort goes
I usually don't like reading about recruiting, but this was pretty sweet. The game has definitely been elevated.
We in the Zohn
AutoZohn
Impressive they've already opened up the #7 after a simple DIP charge. /s
Any word on how Rashan Gary's trip was? Was he impressed by VT? (how could he not be?) etc.
Billy Ray will be our biggest ally here.
Although he currently attends the same high school as Billy Ray, they were never teammates. Gary transferred in there last year, after spending the beginning of his high school career at Scotch Plains HS in NJ. That being said, the fact that he is teammates with all those other kids from Paramus Catholic, including Billy Ray's brother Jackson, who attended Jr Day and seemed to really enjoy it, that can't hurt.
Although I think he's still pretty good friends with BRM. He'll definitely be a great asset for us in that recruitment.
Their families are very close and the two are friends. Gary was at the military bowl with BRM's family and was apparently decked out in VT gear. It is an uphill battle with so many teams recruiting him hard but there is an in here and supposedly he enjoyed the visit and likes what he sees.
I like the sounds of that.
Per an interview with Evan Watkins, he liked it, especially the family atmosphere and academics. We've got an uphill battle, but we're in it.
Besides J-Quillen, any other TE recruits?
This gif will be recycled daily if he commits
We've got to build on the momentum that AMO started at DeMatha and the DC area. There's a ton of talent at the private catholic schools around here and snagging Cam in 2014 was a huge start.
I work a block away from Gonzaga. Will do my best to get some momentum there.
My recruiting plan:
1) Buy 6 dozen Carol Lee donuts every time I'm in Blacksburg
2) Leave them in the Gonzaga weight room
3) ??????
4) Commitments
5) Profit
3) Hardee's coupons
3) Lacrosse girl
If #3 is anything like what happened in your family's history, you may want to run.
Steven Smothers just about single handedly won the MD 3A state title this year with a 4TD performance . Alabama is all over him. Will be interesting to hear what he thought of the JR Day event and whether VT can get any traction with him.
Welcome to TKP!
So you're saying we should keep.... smothering... him with attention?
We keep swinging for the fences, eventually we're going to hit some home runs. Getting them on campus is huge!
Exactly!!!!
I just noticed Cam is rockng a Bullets hat. Love it!
Didn't want to start a new thread to ask this question, seeing how it relates to recruiting I though I would ask it here. Just saw VT football say they have a "snapchat" account. What the hell is "snapchat" why do all the recruits seem to have it?
Take a picture, caption it, send it to a friend. They do the same in kind. But, only they see it and it only sticks around for an amount of time you determine (max of 10 seconds I believe).
Basically, it's the new hip thing that's going to die in about 2 years.
But it stays on your phone forever just like a picture! Fireman you know what I mean!
Are kids not smart enough to know people can take a screen grab?
Snapchat reports to the other user when someone screen grabs. So, essentially, if you screen grab, nobody will snapchat with you.
The bigger issue is the CIA and FBI wiretapping snapchat. Snapchat originally didn't save the messages. Now, they must keep a database for Government Surveillance.
Buzz got a snapchat today too. I'm guessing this may have been a move by Whit if more than one program implemented this on the same day.
This is pretty hilarious given that snapchat's original purpose was to make it easier for boys and girls to send pictures of their no-no bits to each other without getting caught.