On Wednesday we are set to welcome 20 signees into the 2013 recruiting class. Beat writer Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) had a chance to talk with 247Sports National Recruiting Director J.C. Shurburtt (@jcshurburtt) about our newest stock here:
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/02/247sports-jc-shurburtt-talks-about-virgi...
I won't paraphrase the article as it is a pretty quick read but wanted your thoughts on the question posed ever year in "which players could start right away?" Most will probably gravitate toward 5* and 4th generation Hokie, Kendall Fuller. However, with names like Wyatt Teller, Holland Fisher and Parker Osterloh this is set to be one of our best efforts in the BCS era.
Which names, then, do you hope to see vying for a spot this Spring with possible playing time in the fall?
Your thoughts below.
Comments
With Exum's injury, I'd say Kendall is a good bet. I'm VERY excited to see Teller (his hs film looks awesome) and Fisher looks like he'll be a very good player. Time will tell, I guess, but this spring, fall, and summer should be exciting to watch.
I am very excited to see Teller play as well. One of my concerns is that most of the competition he went up against in HS was AA, though. The guys is built, though. I'm excited to watch.
He'll be fine
DJ Coles, Logan Thomas, David Wilson were all AA guys.
I know safety is a difficult position to step right into, given the "quarterbacking" role involved and the importance on truly being a leader back there, but I will be interested to see how Holland Fisher plays from the start of Summer Practice. I'm very curious to see if he forces the issue somewhat to make Bud/Torian explore shifting Kyshoen or Bonner back to corner with Fisher playing safety. Unlikely? Yes, but anything is possible, especially when you consider how often we've heard Fisher's ability to push for early playing time.
On the whole, the depth of this class makes me excited for the future.
I would love to see Fisher beat out Bonner in 2013.
If Bonner had hands, he could have made a bigger difference in the second half of the season. But just like Exum had his troubles in the first half of the season and came back to be one of our strongest defensive players, Bonner made strides at the end of the season. The problem is that what we remember are the bonehead mistakes (like 2 missed INTs in the bowl game). IMO, Bonner is a liability at corner due to his coverage skills (or lack thereof). Keep him at safety where he can lay a hit and play the deep ball.
Yes
My dislike for Bonner definitely came about when he was getting burned at corner, and I'll admit that he made some solid strides at safety.
VT's, or strong safety
VT's rover, or strong safety position, is kinda-sorta like an outside linebacker. The free safety position is the brains of the operation who makes the calls on alignments and coverages. With that, I think Holland is more of a Rover and looks physically ready to play. Looking forward to watching him play.
Teller + Grimes
I'm just imagining Teller working with Grimes destroying dudes. Trey Edmunds running behind Wyatt Teller... Yes please.
DE
I think he is better suited to be a defensive end. I want him to destroy other teams running backs
Definitely more likely
Either way he is a beast already.
Teller
A lot of the recruiting evals say that Teller lacks the elite speed to be a top DE. Could be a very disruptive DT or end up pancaking D-lineman as an OT. Time will tell, though I think he ends up on the O line side.
Teller may be more in the mold of....
...what Grimes prefers for OT's than anyone else we have.
good luck getting him to buy into that
Agreed. He seems set on the D-Line. It will be interesting to see if Grimes makes an attempt to woo him though.
DL would be great!
Is JG overrated?
Amen!
4th Generation. Awesome. I didn't realize each Fuller was a spawn off of the previous Fuller. Let's hope Fuller 4.0 is the best version yet.
Wait, really?
I just assumed the 4th generation of Hokie would have to be some sort of spawning. I don't know how else Vincent II could generate Corey, Corey generate Kyle, and Kyle generate Kendall.
Maybe I should clarify. I do biology research for a living, so I take the word generation at face value (great-grandparent > grandparent > parent > child).
That definitely went over my head. I was too busy at being shocked that someone on the site didn't realize they were brothers since it has been mentioned a billion times. I understand what you're saying now and I'll let you get back to engineering our next-generation of football player.
I mentioned it to my friend
the day he committed, but I though Cequan Jefferson's tape was incredibly impressive. He has great speed, fluid hips, and plays the ball extremely well (which has been our current roster's biggest flaw, in my opinion). He kind of reminds me of Jayron, just because he is a smaller guy with great ball skills. I know we are really loaded at CB and DBs in general, but I really think he could be a good player for us.
Drew Harris is going to get a shot to earn some playing time, I think, and I would love it if he could beat out Edmunds so Trey could become a monster at linebacker.
A few of the O-line kids we got are really going to have to step up and mature into good players, because we are relatively bare in that department, unfortunately.
Carlis Parker is a physical specimen. He is long and lean but built pretty solid. I think he gets moved to WR which is a good fit, because he looked dangerous with the ball in his hands. He runs like a gazelle but had some nasty moves in his highlights (as a sophomore no less).
The Edmunds-linebacker option is long gone. He just spent his redshirt year at RB, and will spend next year there too. Linebacker in Foster's scheme isn't a position that you can just step into and excel.
It's RB or bust for him now.
Fisher is a higher upside version of Jarrett. Defintely more of a rover than a free safety, so I think Bonner, with the injury to Exum, is safe at his position. I don't think it will be long before Fisher gets an opportunity to contribute.
I need to watch film on Jefferson. That is high praise from Shurburt.
Drew Harris
Just watched a bit of film on Drew Harris. Love how he hit the hole hard, great hip in changing direction, and has pure speed on the edge (like David Wilson), but more like Ryan Williams.
It's going to be an interesting battle in the summer between Harris and Edmunds.
This class is one of the first classes I can remember that has less "projects" Usually a Tech recruiting class is full of "projects" and guys with "raw" ability that need plenty of time to develop.
Carlis Parker
I think he might be the sleeper here. From the film I watched (disclaimer: I'm no expert like French, just making observations), he can break ankles when he get out in the open.
His strengths: excel in playing read-options, great speed, fluid in space, and not afraid of contact. His delivery to target is ridiculous.
His weakness: takes too much risk when scrambling, doesn't slide to avoid potential injuries, bolt at the first sign of trouble (a la Tyrod in his first and second years), and has a weird wind up motion before releasing.
I think with Loeffler coaching him, Parker might turn out into a stud, more so than Hodges, but I think that is going to be a quarterback competition to watch next fall when Logan leaves.
I'm sure French might counter any of my points, which are fine, that is how I learn!
I doubt he beats Bucky, therefor I'd like to see him develop into a receiver instead of riding the pine. A 6'4" 190 lbs fast guy that can cut makes me think he could be an incredible target down field.
Carlis Parker reminds me of
Shoelace.
Shoelance reminds me
IT WAS A CATCH!
Wonder how he'd do at WR?
To the best of my knowledge, only FSU has a better class in the ACC. With the way we traditionally develop talent, I'm very optimistic about what these dude will do in the future.
Also, with the way FSU traditionally wastes talent, I'm also very optimistic about what these dudes will do in the future.
FSU, where 4 and 5 star players go to wither and die.
Ineligible
Anyone else starting to hear the rumors of players being ineligible? Harris, Reid, Jefferson and Fisher. That's four already anyone else heard of any other players falling into this category? I'm starting to get depressed. Really hope these are just rumors although we have been hearing of Harris and Fisher, this is the first I have heard of the other two.
From what I understand....
Reid is an almost certainty to need prep school. Fisher is on the bubble and we won't know until June. I hadn't heard about Jefferson, but it would make sense since he didn't get any other offers (schools didn't have to offer him since he will theoretically be back on the market next year).
Harris' deal is between his HS and the NCAA. That (likely) means he will either play for VT or JUCO this year. If there is a HS transcript issue, Miami or Kent State or Marshall couldn't get you in.
Remember, when it comes to HS qualifying issues, it will be underreported. There won't be a press conference or really any official announcement. At the bottom of some mid-summer Doug Doughty article, he'll mention that Reid will go to Hargraves next year and that's it.
FWIW
I read that Holland Fisher signed his LOI from his home because he's serving a ten day suspension. Not a good sign for somebody already dealing with academic troubles.