It looks like the announcement has been confirmed by multiple sources. 3 star OT prospect Brady Taylor has verbally committed to Virginia Tech. Taylor is a 6'5 276 pound offensive line prospect from Ohio who also had scholarship offers from Kentucky and West Virginia, and there has been rumblings that Ohio State had interest.
View Brady Taylor's Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1273317/#highlights/25503376
Again, Taylor fits the Jeff Grimes mold for an offensive lineman. He is a legitimate 6'5 270 pounder as a high school junior with an incredibly quick first step. He gets on top of linebackers before they even take a step towards the play. When he arrives, he delivers a sharp blow, which is critical to getting the pads turned to seal the edge on a stretch play. He also finishes blocks with a nasty edge. You don't want to be a defender trailing a play and not be paying attention when Taylor comes into your space. He will make you pay. With his length, I expect him to be a tackle prospect.
From the film, it is difficult to guage what kind of pass blocker Taylor will be, but he has the athletic ability to become a good pass blocker (length and footwork.) He does play with a higher pad level than I feel comfortable with, but that is a pretty typical weakness for big kids coming out of high school.
This now makes five offensive line recruits that have verbally committed in this class to go with Braxton Pfaff, who will not enroll until January due to a shoulder injury. All five 2014 verbal commits fit the Grimes prototype. As we have discussed, the Loeffler/Grimes/Moorehead hires are about 2016. The #FabFive as they are calling themselves are the foundation blocks of that future success.
Comments
Don't forget we have McLaughlin already on the roster who is making all sort of noise.
I don't think I have been this excited since...McLaughlin committed to the Hokies.
Coach grimey has been working his ass off on the trail. Making this hire looking better and better. The future is bright for the hokies
I have no idea how these guys will pan out, but I think we all trust Grimes' ability to gauge talent. He seems to have snagged more quality O-line prospects in 1 year than the previous crew could do in 2-3. That's why we're all excited. Based upon the film, they look like terrific pick-up, and I'm excited to see them contribute.
why the Miami avi?
Look closely and I think you'll see it's not in support of the Hurricanes from FL...
Probably the icon Shapiro has on his stationary, though.
This is surprising . I had a guy at my high school that I have been friends with since elementary school. He was a 3 star LT and said he didn't like how VT went about recruiting him. He flip flopped schools for awhile and ended up a Cavalier.Seeing this haul of OL is impressive and should set the foundation for a long time. Go Hokies
Was this current or past? What issues did he have?
You can't just drop a bomb like that and then walk away. Ask KennyHokie about doing that on here...
It was recent. He didn't like how he was treated all around. It was weird he grew up a VT fan, but he said he didn't like the offensive line coach/coaches. I wish I knew more, but maybe he was never one of their big targets. Recruiting is a strange world and I don't know what VT did to turn him away so much.
Was this pre or post Grimes?
I'd say it's either pre-Grimes or it's a kid we wouldn't have wanted anyways. If that guy's talking about Grimes, he's in a very small minority of linemen who don't like him.
He was part of the recruit class of 2013
So does the Fab 5 line up like this:
LT: Brady Taylor
LG: Billy Ray Mitchell
C: Eric Gallo
RG: Colt Petit
RT: Tyrel Smith
Are Smith and Taylor the likely tackles? Is Gallo the likely center?
Of everything I think Gallo plays center. I think Brady Taylor is a tackle, and Smith could develop into one, but I wouldn't go as far to peg their sides yet. Also, if Ford is QB1, he's a lefty, so they might but the best pass protector to the right side.
Not to mention McLaughlin and Pfaff. The "Fab Five" sounds cool, but this ain't Webber, Rose, Howard, King and Jackson here. Pretty...pretty...pretty good chance that all five of them don't play as a unit......
And Osterloh/Monsterloh as well. Maybe French can provide some insight as to how he would fit in the scheme.
Gallo is defintely a center if he is good enough to see the field.
Billy Ray Mitchell is the most ready to step on the field player in this class, and his best position is right tackle.
Tyrell Smith is a left tackle IF he can add the bulk he needs to add without losing speed.
Both Petit and Taylor could play either tackle or guard position. In order to play left tackle, both would need more experience pass blocking. At least based on their highlight videos, both play in run-first offenses.
I like different things about all five kids, but if I had to rank my excitement level about their potential upside, it would be:
1) Mitchell
2) Petit
3) Taylor
4) Smith
5) Gallo
You have to assume that McLaughlin is your left tackle for awhile, but only maybe a third of OL recruits will become starters, so competition and numbers are a good thing.
French - with this "haul" of OLs, does this change your thoughts on Teller? I still think his best position is OT, but im beginning to believe there may not be a spot for him...if he plays D this year, he would be coming in next with one less year of eligibility and into a pretty crowded room (who is recruited for Grimes system).
Not to mention what #manlove could bring in next year. I can only imagine what he could do with a full year to recruit (and being able to sell his story for this recruiting cycle).
Uh, did you see him twerk in that Vine that Kyle Chung posted last night on Twitter?
oh yes...oh yes I sure did
look at all that aggression. I can see why French wants that ferocity on the o-line.
Explosion, quick feet. Great first step. Reach. And he would crush D'Brickashaw Ferguson in a dance off.
I'm more excited about teller than I've been another recruit in a while. Kid is gonna be a monster. Appears to have a great motor and long arms to block the passing lanes if he can't get to the qb
I think we should keep Teller on D. The defensive line is just as important as the OL to me. If we have a deep stud packed DL, we end up forcing turnovers and 3 & outs which puts the offense in better positions.
Totally agree. I hope he stays on the defensive side of the ball too.
Not only that, but I hope we give him a fair shot at defensive end before trying to slide him inside to DT. To me, he just looks like a prototype "End" in our system (i.e.: the larger DE that plays on the short side of the field.) It's the position that James Gayle is playing now. Conversely, he really doesn't look to have the thick legs and butt that we typically like to see in our DTs.
Of course, I trust Charley Wiles 100% to make the smartest decision on where he plays. But at the same time, I hope it winds up being defensive end.
Love the recruits, but I truly believe that Teller would be a first team All-ACC and potential top 10 pick at left tackle. He could be an outstanding defensive lineman as well, but when I look at his upside, it is higher at OL AND you have a ton of young DL depth right now.
It isn't going to happen, and I will be very happy if he is an All ACC defensive end/tackle as well.
Any discussion regarding Wyatt Teller is incomplete until the obligatory French reminder that Teller has higher upside on the Offensive side of the ball.
Carry on.
Brady Taylor will more then likely end up at RT, McLaughlin is a freshman starting at LT. But who knows