http://virginiatech.247sports.com/Sport/Football/AllTimeRecruits
247sports has used their Composite rankings to list the top 247 recruits in the 247sports era.
I have no memory of a lot of these players.
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A lot of wasted talent in that top 10
wasted talent and no-shows everywhere
It's pretty much that way for every team. Sure...stars matter over time in the aggregate, but on the individual level they aren't particularly accurate. Too many variables -- injuries, bad behavior, lack of football IQ, poor scholastic ability, lack of drive, etc. And maybe most important of all...bad talent evaluation.
Roughly 92% of 3* don't drafted; 85% of 4* don't get drafted; and 50% of 5* don't get drafted. That's a lot of misses.
Eh, Fisher and Lee the only real missed in top 10. At least that I saw
I think we did ok in the top 10, probably better than most schools. Fred Lee wasnt that highly ranked on Rivals. Marcus being Marcus and Kendall being injured we did miss out on some there. DJ Coles definitely wasnt our second best recruit.
DJ Coles was number 52 one year, then number 2 the next? That's quite a jump!
Um how so? I see a ton of Hokie greats in that list
Apparently that goes double for Holland Fisher (#8 and #16 on the list).
Amazing that there were 2 Zack McCrays both recruited in 2010 but slightly different sizes and rankings.
According to this DJ Coles was the number one rated recruit in the country and a 5 star?
From prep school rankings. His real numbers from HS are lower down the list. This seems to be the case for a number of guys.
Because stars are looking at several things among which are your ability to contribute right way and your future collegiate & professional prospects. And the grading curve for older prep school kids is the same as for a kid coming out of HS. They don't adjust for the extra year or two of physical and mental maturity.
So naturally the same talented kid coming out of prep school or JUCO is more likely to being able to contribute right away and their future prospects are clearer than when they were in HS.
Jerod Evans is a perfect example of this. Lightly recruited out of HS and unlikely to contribute immediately, but after a couple seasons of JUCO he is now judged to be a strong candidate to make an immediate contribution.
No D Hall or did I overlook him? I was also shocked that my boy Jimmy Williams(Hampton, Va.) was that low on the list.
Why isn't Mike Vick on the list? I thought he was a high 4* out of HS?
The list is 2000-present
And he wasn't a high four star. He was a three star
No, he was a four star. Super Prep AA, rated in the top 5 dual threat QBs. I have no idea where this 3 star myth came from but I've heard it before.
I'll agree with this. I can't say I ever saw any rankings above a 3*. My recruiting site of choice at the time was Rivals, but would also cruise the others with curiosity. As I recall, the story (locally) was that he was such an under the radar get. I remember him having plenty local hype due to the Ron Curry rivalry, but not nearly the national attention that Curry (a 4-5* as I remember) was getting or a 4*(+) would have gotten.
This article from Rivals says that Vick and Curry played before rankings started but -
edit: To be fair, I was 8 years old when Vick was recruited so i could be wrong. I do recall in my limited research that I've seen him listed as 4* though. Maybe those were retrospective rankings though? (if that's even a thing)
He wasn't under the radar. He was well regarded. The weird thing about his recruitment is that Tommy Reamon (high school coach) told programs not to recruit Vick if they were recruiting Curry. Thus, he didn't have the major offers his talent deserved as practically everyone targeted Curry.
Fair enough...
Ah, yea I see where it says that now.
edit: not sure why it didn't reply where I meant to.. that was supposed to be in reply to 07Hokie
I'm questioning my fandom, going through that list there were a lot of names I didn't know.
Mandatory "Stars Aren't Everything" Comment:
Neither Kam Chancellor nor Russell Wilson are on lists for their respective schools
Kam was a 2 star QB recruit I believe.
When looking at recruiting rankings should of course be looked at more of a macro level on a roster. There will always be instances of guys that outperform or under perform their rankings but overall macro view of the roster it's a big determinate (not end all be all) of which teams are usually the best.
Some long-forgotten names there. Carl Howard and Leon Mackey were 2 that jumped out at me.
Jason Adjepong changed his name to? And made the NFL
Worlds?
Worilds
Why is Isaiah Ford not a 5*? Revisiting the ranking only shows how ridiculous ratings can be!
Deveon Simmons. I remember watching his highlights and thinking that he was going to be one of the greatest linebackers in Tech history.
Also, why is Jimmy Williams listed as a 6'4", 305-pound defensive tackle from California? One, he was a DB. Two, I can only think of one player Tech has ever had on their roster since 2000 from California (Jordan Trott).
There was another Jimmy Williams, I think they were both in the same class. This one either never made it to school or didnt stay long.
He played a decent amount (but didn't start) as a true frosh in the 2nd half of the 2002 season. I'm not sure why he didn't return for the 2003 season.
He was a junior college guy. So was James Griffin, a JuCo teammatewho did stick around and played a lot at rover.
Because...one, there was a 6'4" 305 lb DT from California named Jimmy Williams who played for VT in 2002. Two, there have been at least two players on the Tech roster since 2000 from California.
He was one of if not the last JUCO that Coach Beamer recruited, IIRC
I read a 'best that never was' article on him a few years back. I remember thinking he was going to be the best Mike ever at VT. Just too many bad choices and demons at work.
I think it is important to note that Drew Harris appears not once, but TWICE, on that list.
Just a matter of time before he appears in Blacksburg.
I've never seen DJ Coles rated as a 5*, or Macho rated as 4*? I thought it was the opposite?
They are using their composite ratings. Macho was a 5 Star and DJ a 4 star on rivals.
I wonder what data they draw upon prior to 2002.
The good news is there is a lot of current and future Hokies on the list. Not way at the top, but if they can perform like some players after them, we will be ok.
I thought the same thing
This just shows that our recruiting has really slipped
Duane Brown is tied for two hundred and twenty first.
They should make a list that measures the highest achieving players instead of the highest ranked players.
The biggest impact that would have is to spur a bunch of 'stars don't matter' discussions as people misinterpret the results.
Several duplicates on that list. Makes it hard to take it seriously when it's that poorly edited.
If I'm reading it right, those are all players who prepped. One ranking is for straight out of high school, the other is for after their prep year(s).
Thanks, I didn't consider that it might be a reading comprehension issue on my end. I should know better by now! A leg for you, sir!
They were quite bullish on DJ Coles. I almost exclusively followed Rivals at that juncture in my life and he was like a fringe 4-star. And as stated above Macho was a 5 star on rivals, and for the most part he lived up to it, wish he would have done better in the NFL though.
Who the heck is Kevin Jones?
Some designer in Blacksburg /s
Just scrolling through that list shows why recruiting rankings are silly.
Look at the bottom (200 and below): Duane Brown, Darryl Tapp, Aaron Rouse, Jimmy Williams, Jarret Boykin.
Heck, Kam Chancellor isn't even on the list.
Man I miss Tyrod... what a player he was... :(
What I found most interesting is how far down the list some of our guys who made it to the NFL are on this list.
Kyle Fuller - 177
Josh Morgan, Sergio Render - 182(t)
Jarrett Boykin - 207
Duane Brown, Darryl Tapp, Aaron Rouse, Jimmy Williams- 221(t)
EDIT: Missed Antone Exum at 115
It just goes to show, I think, how much of a crapshoot those recruiting rankings can be.
I agree with this for the most part, and have always been impressed with our ability to develop talent. But even when your job is to scout high school players, it's hard to get a great read on the thousands and thousands of kids playing football. Some guys just slip through the cracks, somewhat surprised by a few of those though. Fuller had pedigree to bring attention to him and Boykin played at a somewhat notable NC high school if I'm not mistaken.
Is no one going to mention Dyrell being at the top of this list being pretty bizarre? Seems to be a computer error since his rating is >1 but his ranking 382 nationally...
Also, it's a shame they don't have prep and high school in two different lists because it really skews the results.
Dyrell is pretty high on my list of underutilized offensive weapons with Eddie Royal and others.