Todderick Hunt of NJ.com had an informative update on Pope John XXIII (Sparta, N.J.) wide receiver, Noah Brown. As you probably know, Brown is a 4-star recruit, and a top priority on Virginia Tech's recruiting board.
Ohio State, Rutgers, and Virginia Tech appear to be the 3 schools recruiting him the hardest. This is what he said about each school.
Rutgers: "Rutgers is the home-state school. They are going to the Big Ten, so that's huge to be able to compete on a national level close to home. They run a great offense and have a good wide receivers coach in coach (Matt) Simon. That's what I like about them."
Virginia Tech: "They are also relatively close to home and are always a competitive team in the ACC. They are running a new offense under coach (Scot) Loeffler. So, they like to get the ball out to their play-makers in space, and let them work; which is what I like to do. So, I definitely would fit into their offense."
Ohio State: "They are a national powerhouse with coach (Urban) Meyer. They told me I'm their No. 1 receiver on their board, right now. I'm a priority for them and I can flourish in their offense."
Austin Proehl, son of former NFLer Ricky Proehl, impressed the coaches enough this past weekend to earn a scholarship offer.
Offer from #VirginiaTech
— Austin Proehl (@AustinProehl11) July 13, 2013
According to 247Sports Proehl's, 5-10, 160-pounds, and holds other offers from Ohio and Wake Forest. Chris Horne had a good summary on Proehl.
The 5'10", 165-pound Proehl is a do-everything player at Providence High School (Charlotte N.C.), where he was an all-conference performer last season as a junior. Proehl played wide receiver, defensive back, returned kicks and punts, and he also played quarterback. Proehl total 505 yards receiving with five scores, 503 yards passing with two scores, and 183 yards rushing and four touchdowns. He added two returns for touchdowns and an interception return for a touchdown.
Proehl's highlights are here: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1726087/highlights/25049422, and are embedded below for those of you using a modern browser like Chrome.
With Javon Harrison, Jaylen Bradshaw, and a couple of tweeners already committed, I would be surprised if Tech took both of these players in this class (unless one was a grey shirt deal).
Comments
Brown....me like! Great speed, good power, goes up to get the ball at its highest point....good stuff!
Proehl....video didn't work so I can't comment one way or the other....nice to see we're finding some talent, though.
Most of Proehl's highlights just showed him being the fastest kid on the field (not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that a lot of times the WR's with BCS aspirations are the fastest kid on their team). But, the few times it showed him making catches in traffic, he seemed to have pretty good awareness of who was around him and consistently made the moves to make the first guy miss, and sometimes the second.
His QB highlights pretty much showed a decent arm, no real long passes, but when he either scrambled or ran what looked like the zone read he showed the ability to find holes and follow his blockers.
Oh, and towards the end there was a play that showed him blocking his CB pretty well on an outside run when he lined up as WR.
Wide receivers blocking???....what a concept!
In all fairness to Proehl, the league he plays in here in Charlotte is fairly big time and produces a lot of D1 talent. So being the fastest kid on the field in that setting is saying a little more than usual.
Thanks for that. It helps to have some background on the general talent level on the field when comparing prospects, and I think pretty much noone has that unless you follow high school football very closely and on a state or national level. I mean, I could list off the schools in the 757 that are pretty good, but outside of that I only hear of the teams that end up in the Virginia D5 state tournament, and then only if one of my local teams makes it.
Also, I guess that'll change this fall, what with Phoebus being downgraded to D4, where they're liable to either own everything or have all the good kids go back to Hampton because of the higher prestige.
Had no idea Phoebus went down to D4. Feel bad for the Bay Rivers District.. not going to be much chance for most all of those teams!
Bay Rivers whaddup!
I'm pretty sure they're staying in the PD, but come playoff time they'll be going up against Grafton or Bruton (or whoever is good from the BRD...), instead of Hampton and Maury, etc.
And the reason they're dropping a division is because they're making state-wide changes to the system, so that now there are 6 divisions with clear splits in enrollment, and all essentially the same size in terms of number of teams. The system we had before was somewhat based on enrollment rankings per region, and division sizes were all over the place. From what I remember, schools also had a bit of say in which division they were in if they were on the edge.
Grafton is not one of the better football programs in the BRD, I went there. Baseball and soccer yea, but not football. Honestly there isnt a football power in the BRD other than Poquoson, but Pheobus will still dominate.
I'm pretty sure Poquoson is D3. I just checked the playoff teams from last year, and the only D4 teams from the BRD that made the playoffs were Grafton and Warhill, and Warhill is Warhill, so I listed Grafton.
Phoebus moving to D4 will do nothing to prevent Poquoson or any of the other D3 teams from competing, since they won't even have a chance to play each other.
In case anyone is curious, here is a PDF showing the districts and each team's new division, which only matters come playoff time (and possibly when scheduling non-district games): http://www.vhsl.org/doc/upload/rr-2013-14%20and%202014-15-final-alignmen...
Some of those enrollments are mind boggling to me. Can't imagine what Texas' districting looks like.
Its nice to see so much love (more to the point not calling them terrible) for Poquoson. Played there back in the day when we made the playoffs for the 2nd time in probably about 30 or 40 years. Crazy that they are actually decent in football nowadays!
VHSL scheduling is a mess. You have D5, D4, and D3 schools in the same district??? Makes me long for the days of A, AA, and AAA. Life was easy then.
My understanding is that its set up like that so that schools can stay in the same district for historical and travel purposes, but still compete against similar sized schools in the playoffs.
Exactly. Through 2012, each district only had 2 divisions worth of teams, but the divisions were very disparate in terms of enrollments. They made the districts a long time ago, based on a combination of geography and enrollment, and the landscape of high schools across the state has changed dramatically in that time.
During this redistribution of the divisions, they maintained the districts because they are very geographically sound, and there have also been a number of rivalries spawned. If they redid the districts again to match the divisions, Hampton and Phoebus would end up in separate districts and would never play each other. (I'm sure there are other rivalries that would be affected, but I went to Hampton so this one hits close to home).
That seems crazy to me. What if a Peninsula District School, lets call them Shmebus were to play against the big boys and lose enough games that they don't qualify for playoffs and thus never get to play a school that is similar in size? Fortunately in the real world Phoebus is always stout, or at least they were until I moved away and no longer have any idea how anyone does, and will likely make the playoffs and dominate against the smaller schools because they've been exposed to way better teams prior to playoff time...
They also expanded the playoffs, to the point that a lot of people on my local district's forum were complaining about how everyone gets in now. I think the teams strength of schedule, both the oponents' division and W-L record included, is used in determining which teams go to the playoffs.
Power Points are so heavily weighted they would be fine. It may have changed now but I remember a loss to a team a division up was better than a win a division down. We had Warren County in our district, but not Region and they would go like 5-5 every year but always be in the playoffs, and sometimes win them.
Noah Brown looks filthy... we need to land him
I like Noah, he's stated that he wants to win every award possible, the heisman and all that good stuff, that's the type of guy we need, someone who is hungry and wants it all
If they can get Brown, Brown and Harrison would be the two guys looked upon to be contributors early on. We have not talked about Harrison much because he gave his verbal commitment to VT so early, but his 2012 film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umkzQSVPAOw shows me that he could be a legitimate big play home run threat. I really hope he stays in the fold.
Don't count your Javon Harrison's before they hatch. Recruiting season doesn't even start in Florida until next January.
Man, I really like Javon Harrison. Boy likes to hit. He blocks the mess out of some fools in that tape. Also, good nose for big plays because he doesn't quit.
Gotta love the Florida boys!
I love that he has a blocked punt in his highlights.....how many receivers have pancake blocks in their film?! Has some D.J. Coles-like blocks. Add speed and the ability to catch the ball and you have impressive highlights indeed!
Brown is essentially a tailback playing wide receiver, which if he can get blocking makes those bubble screens look mighty dangerous. Then you have Harrison stretching the defense ala a Cordarrelle Patterson (Harrison looks just like him with the size, speed, and way he catches the ball) on the other side, and Proehl working the slot just like his dad?
POUND THE ROCK, POUND THE ROCK, STICK ROUTE FOR 3 AND A 1ST. POUND THE ROCK. SCREEN FOR 5 AND A 1ST. POUND THE ROCK. HARRISON GETS IN ON THE SKINNY POST. SHAKES A TACKLE. TOUCHDOWN TECH.
Has there been anything out of Harrison since he even committed way back when? Haven't heard anything in awhile...just get a feeling that he may be another one of those Florida wideouts who decommits (looking at you Rob Lockheart)
I don't have any update on Harrison, and I certainly hope he signs the dotted line come February. But let's remember, when Lockhart de-committed, we got Josh Stanford (hope I'm right on my history there, that's what my memory serves, anyway...). And, Stanford will probably lead the team in receptions this year (my guess, anyway). So, while recruiting can be exciting/heartbreaking, let's remember that for every super-star recruit we lose, there is a Grimm/Tyler/Chancellor waiting in the wings, ready to come in and over-achieve.
I think Coles will lead the team in Receptions but I hear ya
In my opinion, if Stanford doesn't, then Coles will. So I think we are probably not so far off in our thoughts. It just felt like LT3 was finding Stanford a lot in the Spring (similar to the relationship he developed with Fuller last year), and he will get a lot of looks. I don't, however, think he will lead in yards or TD's necessarily. I think he's just going to soak up a bunch of receptions...
I don't think it's a Proehl or Brown situation, they are very different players. I anticipate we would take them both if we could.
They are different players, but the numbers are starting to get tight. Grimes wants another lineman. We have to hold spots for Nnadi, Walker, Minor, Shai, and anyone else I'm forgetting. I'd be surprised if we took 4 WRs, not considering the tweeners, in this class.
Ehhh, attrition. We got kids who aren't qualifying from last years class, we've got greyshirt candidates galore in this class and we've got a whole flock of current players on the team that are now coached by new guys...I foresee a bunch of transfers and "no longer with the team" guys before signing day.
Noah Brown's got a slot, just as much as Nnadi, Walker and Minor. And they better take Proehl if they can get him, because Brown is far from a sure thing at this point and we could use some momentum, any momentum.
Is getting a 2/3* really momentum?
No offense to the kid (I like his tape and lineage) but I don't think committing is a launching point.
It's not Ricky Walker or Noah Brown momentum, but we have had such a disappointing recruiting year. We have heard that July would be the month for a while now.
Very disappointing to be 3 days after camp now and no commits. We desperately need a guy like Minor to commit.
I guess I feel differently. Sure we've had some bad news along the way, but Grimey is recruiting the hell out of the OL, which historically we suck at, and we've have some solid guys already commit (Reavis, Ford, Harrison, Williams, Mihota). I think desperate is a strong word and comes more from a fan standpoint than a coaching/recruit standpoint. I think we are well positioned for some guys and when its all said and done we will have a solid class.
Don't get me wrong, I would love nothing more than Nnadi, Walker, Brown, et al. to do the right thing and commit right now, but unfortunately I think we are going to be waiting for a bit on that.
I agree.
I think the early burns from some of the top recruits got us down (including myself), but when you look at the list of athletes we are still in the hunt for, this could still end up being one of our best, if not the best, recruiting years. February is a long way away.
+2, we just moved up 9 spots in the recruiting list and are 17 now. I don't think this has been a bad year at all, and if we get some of these last questions, I think it will be a great year. Not to mention, we are picking up momentum for the 2015 kids it sounds like.
Sorry to be a debbie downer, but I believe most of that 9 spot jump was due to Holland Fisher, C. Jefferson, and DJ Reid being re-classified as 2014 recruits, since they didn't qualify.
Having said that, I am pretty optimistic about the outlook of the rest of this class. As mentioned above, we are in good position with a lot of 4* recruits. Even with our misses, this could end up being one of our better classes in the last decade.
While we missed out on a couple players and it left a bad taste in our mouths, I would definitely not call this a disappointing recruiting year.
I agree, we just started with 'what could be' giving us high expectations. I still think it'll be one of our best classes as some have already said.
It's disappointing in the context of what it could have been. This was the year, the year with the top 10 class and the #1 best player in the country and the year we finally put UVA away.
Instead, we will end up with a class on par with most of our other classes. Which, in itself, is obviously not a disappointment.
Hasn't UVA been put away for awhile now?
Not yet, but soon #decadeofdominance
From a recruiting perspective? No.
Attrition is a fair point. I do foresee a few of guys either finishing their careers with a degree in hand in the bleachers or at smaller school. I also agree about Brown, French and I were talking about this last night. His upside is through the roof, but he's raw. If Proehl had more size, he'd be 3- or 4-star kid.
Yeah, I heard Proehl stole the show at the camp and I looked him up and was......underwhelmed...by his measurables.
Even his film, you see a guy who just lit up a major camp and is undersized, you hope to be wowed by his film.
But, like I've said about the OL guys, taking players who aren't high ranking recruits or great measurables should not be a red flag since our entire offensive staff is reworking our plan. And, our new coaches...well...they know what they're doing.
If Moorehead saw the kid in person and liked him, then take him. That probably says more than the 10 WR players we have on the depth chart that Moorehead didn't recruit.
I'm currently at Tech for summer school and watched the whole camp this past Saturday. I have to say, Proehl was outstanding.
After the camp was over, Loeffler and Moorehead took their favorites (about 5 QB's, 3 WR's, and 2 TE's) over to run some extra drills. He made several diving catches. One was comparable to Santonio Holmes catch in the SB. His cuts were razor sharp. Moorehead was celebratory towards Proehl the most. They would joke around a lot. Moorehead even went 1v1 on him one play and got burned. He is undersized but this kid can really play.
Quote me on this: If he commits, this kid will be greater than Danny Coale.
Lies, lies, lies. No one can be more open than Danny Coale.
1. Welcome to the site!
2. I appreciate the update, very informative.
BLASPHEMY!
Is Baby Proehl open right now???
Why you ask? Because Danny Coale is...
I almost downvoted you for even thinking about the possibility of someone being greater than Danny Coale. You've been warned. Welcome to TKP :)
They are specifically targetting 4 receivers to my understanding.
If Tech gets Proehl then the announcers can lazily compare him to Danny Coale on every catch.
A "poor mans" Danny Coale.
"I tell you what, this kid's got heart"
"He's a real fan favorite."
Speaking of WRs, another 4-star has nice things to say today...
If Brown, Harrison, and Proehl don't commit you have 4 star Cameron Phillips, 3 star Jonathan Duhart, and under the radar B.J. Farrow that are very interested in VT. B.J. Farrow had the same coach as Demitri Knowles, but Coach Rocco says B.J. is the best receiver he has ever coached. Also check out Jonathan Duhart's video from 247 sports. Pretty sweet.
http://247sports.com/Player/Jonathan-Duhart-23111?Institution=22065
I thought Phillips was a huge UVA lean.
After this visit I wouldnt be surprised if VT made up a bunch of ground on that.
I didn't see that tweet. Seems we are better off...
I'd love to see us actually have elite level talent outside. We've always had that level of talent in the backfield it'll be nice to see it across the board on offense
Well, we did go through the middle of the decade with four NFL draft picks at receiver (Royal, Clowney, Morgan, Harper) for a couple seasons, or the four the next cyle (Coale, Boykin, Fuller, Davis). Just because the coaching by Kevin Sherman was absymal doesn't mean that VT has not had talent at the receiver position.
True true. We simply aren't associated with that level of talent. Outside of tailback
I think that the receivers that VT has put into the NFL have had better careers than the RBs. And you can take that back a LONG way!
Very true. Antonio Freeman, Andre Davis, Ernest Wilford and Eddie Royal have all enjoyed longer-than-average careers in the NFL.
KJ had some success in the NFL, whenever he wasn't hurt. But none of our other running backs in my time have had any real staying power, but that might change with DW4, and RMFW if he can stay on the field this year. And Ken Oxendine apparently married a Playmate, so there's that.
Keeping this SFW:
Good for him. Her name is Mei-Ling Lam for anyone who wants to do their own research.
Talk about out-kicking your coverage...geesh!
Since I saw that tweet from Shane Beamer, that has now become my favorite term for a guy who ends up with a girl who's way out of his league. Love it.
They didn't call Oxendine "The Diesel" for his bone-jarring runs.
Going way, way back....Carrol Dale, from my hometown....#84, number retired.
I was more referring to the talent perception on the college level. For some reason as talented as our receivers have been no one talks about them. So we are perceived as always having the talent at tailback instead
Nobody ever talks about our receivers because we rarely have a QB that's capable of getting them the ball consistently, and we also have a run-first offense, except for when O'Cainspring calls the play-action sack, which I'm pretty sure still goes into the "rushing" column on the stat sheet. Hopefully this will change a little with our new offensive staff.
Don't forget about #DeathByBubbleScreens
Phillips mom LOVES VT. Hokies are her favorite.
He also is friends with Kendall Fuller. We are in good shape with him.
Looks like Brown had a good visit at OSU, lots of predictions have him heading to play for Meyer. We may have lost him.
Looks like Stroman may be in at UVA.