This is going to be in order of who I like the most down to who I have seeing the longest road to contributing at VT (*disclaimer, this assumes all injuries are 100% healed, which may not be the case come spring/summer):
1) Tre Turner - STUD. Does everything from a receiving standpoint well. Clean routes, great separation, high points the ball, and makes guys miss in space. Needs to bulk up, but luckily recevier is a position where you can definitely get away with being on the weaker side as a freshman. Kid will have an impact this year. Will be battling for that third receiver spot with Kumah, farley and Patterson (if he's still around). Big, big get for the hokies. Was the reason we were in it with KJ at all
2) Jeremy Webb - Love, love, love. Haven't had a d-backfield with Webb, AA, Rell, Mook, and Reggie/Hunter in a long long long time. Imaging having to attempt a pass in a forrest of 6'2" or taller defenders. Also huge that we can let Watts (who I am very high on) and Tyree marinate for another year in the two deep.
3) QP - Not sure what else to say. Brilliant kid with all the physical measurements you need. Wonderful family. Not an overstatement when someone says he has all of the potential in the world. If Fu can do what we think he can do with a QB, Patterson will be Heisman candidate within the next 3ish years
4) Nadir Thompson - I don' think it's that much of a stretch that he has the most purely athletic potential out of anyone on this list. Unreal hips and fluidity and great close area quickness. If fully healthy, 100% a contributor freshman year.
5) Chamarri Conner - Chamarri is my dude. Add his nameto the swaggy DB group cause kid lays the wood.Good spot at river coming down to fill run assignments but I'm not sure he has the range for free. Would be interested to see him take over mook's spot.
6) Dejuan Ellis - Speed, Speed, Speed. Underrated recruiting job by the staff to keep him on board after that media miscommunication. Dejuan is an E L I T E athlete. Not in the same way that Beck is with his straight ahead speed, but with more the total package. If you watch any of the committed list's highlights, let it by Ellis. Gonna get a shot at QB and I'd be very curious to see what he can do.
7) Walker Culver - Best OL we've signed since Teller. Huge pull with everything going on at OSU today and to get him away from his family school. Great frame, could add some weight, but good mobility and a great mean streak. Should be able to hold down the RT spot for 2-3 years. His recruitment also signified VT's transition into "big boy" recruiting more-so than anyone else in this class.
8) Alan Tisdale - Love at backer. There were some rumblings (from myself included) that end up at Mook's spot, but he showed off a ton of toughness this year and I think he could really be a steal in this class. If he comes in early and tears it up, I could see him starting at backer and pushing Rivers over to Mike.
9) James Mitchell - Elite athleticism/playmaking for his size. The Bucky comparisons could not be more inaccurate. He is a YAC monster, which is something that Bucky most definitely was not. Think Bucky with slightly less height and less straight away speed, but significantly better ball skills and YAC ability. My prediction is that he will have a better career than Bucky from a statistical standpoint.
10) Cam Goode - If he was two inches taller, he would have 25 offers. I hate it when people say this, but great fit for Wiles. We've take numerous undersized DT's here and turned them into all-acc guys. Cam has some elite strength and leverage skills that can help him develop into a good one for us. We better hope he is one because we have some serious depth issues there. Need to hammer the 19 DT's.
11) John Harris - Yes. Yes. Yes. This is the type of guard that we need to sign at least twice a cycle. Mean, Athletic, and not jut a stump in the grass that doesn't just try and not let people through. Absolutely love John Harris. Betweem he, Culver, and Darrisaw, I am very happy with this class. See below on Tenuta for more.
12) Artis - Thumper. Like Dax more, but I will be extremely happy if we only get Artis. Lacks a bit in coverage but I'd prefer that to the alternative. Kid is a mean player that anyone would love to have in your program. Best Mike receruit we have had in a long long time. Turbo charge Tevantte Beckett
13) Waller - Besides Nadir, may be most underrated guy in this class. Incredible length at his speed, and will probably be a day 1 contributor at corner. Needs to be on the hips of AA and Webb for the next year or two cause he will be filling right in their shoes.
14) Chatman - Versatile and athletic, but not sure where we're going to put him. Does he start at DB right now but if Graham goes to GT, do we try him at the slot. Good but not elite athletic, so my concern is that he gets lost in the shuffle a la Joel Calab. If they let him stick to on position then he can be a big contributor one day.
15) Darylle Simmons - Kuma type possession receiver. Honestly didn't watch much of his tape because I know most of what's out there. Assuming he is healthy, he will be a bog body for QP or HH to hit to move the trains. Not a jump off the page athlete but athletic enough to make plays and make some people.
16) DJ Crossen - Bit of a tweener for me. Hope he has the hips to stay at corner because our safety room is slammed right now. Reminds of AA his freshman year when it appear that SS was definitely his better position, but excelled later on at corner. Would love the tradition of fast, thumping safeties and long, rangy corners.
17) Luke Tenuta - I like Tenuta, but hasn't shown me that mean streak. I know the coaches saw it at camp but it's hard to say it without being there. Worried that he's a basketball player on a football field, but he certainly has the quick feet, length, and mobility to prove me wrong and I certainly hope he does.
18) Nasir Peoples-Don't know a ton about him other than he dominated his league on both offense and defense. Obvously a good all-around football player but his film didn't jump off to me at all. Hope he comes to blacksburg and kills it.
19) Coleton Beck- Most know that I was never a huge fan. Has one good skill and he does it at a truly elite level. Would love to see him break a tackle or add some wiggle to his game, but at this time I don't see it. If he scores a TD return on a kickoff once during his career then its worth it.
20) Joe Kane - Has a little bit of twitch and has a good motor, but I'm worried about his lack of athlestiscm which will limit the amount of separation created by spin moves, swims, etc. If he can increase that agility, then I can see him being a contributor
21) Eli Adams - Would love to see Elie drop back to Backer. Plus athleticism in space and knows how to rush the passer, but seems to get swallowed by bigger tacklers. Would thrive in the Dadi role circa Pitt '13, but not sure if he can be a regular player
22) Caleb Steward - Regressed massively in his senior film. Great testing numbers and I know he had a great camp in front of the coahces. We shall see...
23) Oscar Shadley - Just don't fuck up and you'll be a success.
24) Darrisaw - Know nothing about him so this is where he gets stuck.
Remaining Targets-Rankend in most to least likely of us landing him
Grant - FU adores him, and so do I. Think he could be the best back we've signed since Wilson, but more long the lines of Ru. Cant even tell you how much having a real rb threat will help this offense
Dax - We all know where he stands: 50/50. I still think he ends up at VT based on recent intel but wouldn't be surprised either way. He's the next level kind of guy we talk about it
JBB - Monster. Adores and I mean ADORES VT. Would have to get blown away in lincoln for that to change. Just have to hope more blue bloods don't get involved.
If anyone wants to ask me any recruiting questions, I will be available throughout most of tonight and tomorrow all day.
Comments
Awesome post and I agree with almost all of your analysis. I'm a little higher on Beck but that's just me.
Also, leg for using the word marinate not in reference to food. One of my favorite words of all time.
Which of the remaining targets is the most important depth wise at VT? JBB would seem to me. Any DTs that might pop up last minute that we could get in the mix, ala I Ford recruitment a few years back?
Grant for sure. We're about to be pretty deep at DE and LB, and it's hard to overstate how much a next-level RB will help this offense.
I'm getting mixed news on whether we are pursuing Jaevon Becton. Honestly, not sure where he fits though. Doesn't have the body type for OL or the athleticism for DE, so the last remaining place I can think of would be DT. But he's taller than what we usually take for DT so I just don't know. With tightness on numbers, I don't really see us extending anymore offers.
It's going to be fun watching Hooker and Patterson win back to back Heisman trophies.
The Shadley review made me LOL.
Hard to believe they are already being considered for the Texas A and M job...
Nice write up. I think if we land Dax and JJB we've got a monster class on our hands. And it's actually possible.
Any thoughts on the PWO receiver Kaleb Smith?
FYI yesterday it was revealed he has a scholarshop and is not a PWO.
Then they reversed that and said he is a PWO.
That's incredibly weird. I read the post below so I guess I've made as much sense out of it as possible but I'm also somewhat surprised the NCAA allows it, given their draconian tendencies toward largely innocent situations and all.
Also stray downvotes or whatever don't bother me as long as it doesn't become a systemic issue, so carry on. Sorry for providing incorrect info and thanks for the corrections.
FYI, your post actually had negative points when I made my original reply. Normally you only see that for straight up anti-social behavior.
Why did all of you downvote this guy? He was wrong, but for understandable reasons.
Yeah mod's might need to bring back the whip a bit. People downvoting on this site all of a sudden if you don't agree with an opinion.
Looks to me like the community is doing fine on its own. Call out inappropriate behavior and reverse it. Ignore incidental -1's that occur because people are on mobile and do it without knowing (which is what most -1's are, in my experience). Reverse it, don't even comment in that case.
I probably get on TKP about twice a day now due to the workload of my new job; I can't keep up with instant reactions to downvoting, sorry.
Why do y'all care if someone downvotes you?
If you go too low you can't post. To me it's also a respect and being an adult issue. If someone takes issue with my often die on this hill stances then I would hope they have the decency to come out and write a disagreeing post about it, not anonymously down vote it. We want to grow TKP, you can't do that if a new poster gets downvoted so often they don't feel like their views are being taken serially.
I'll be honest, most of the time I see someone do one of those "why did I get down voted, speak up and present your arguments instead of hiding behind a screen" etc., posts, it's on a comment that was at -1, and often gets upvoted shortly after. I still think most of those -1 are just accidental, so it annoys me when I see folks getting worked up about it or saying that it's bad for the community.
I browse TKP on my phone 90% of the time, and there's often times I fat-finger the voting buttons. I try and catch it, but come on. Folks need to have a bit longer leash before they complain about a single downvote.
I agree... people get way worked up about a down vote or two.... usually make it a bigger deal than it is
Also, decorum.
No worries - we all have our day jobs. If the policy is still to only downvote for egregious things and not for differing options then cool. I've just seen posts being downvoted if the opinion differs and i'm wondering if there's a policy change that allows that now.
Don't know a ton about it tbh. Good job by the guys to get him to agree to a PWO offer over ACC scholarships offers.
Who?
Still confused what all happened. Did he sign a letter of intent? I thought walk one didn't do that.
I found this online and in the VT kid's case, I think they might have found him some academic money.
In order to officially "sign" with a D-I and D-II college, you must be provided with some sort of athletic scholarship. National Letters of Intent are only issued if there is a scholarship offered......even a book scholarship.
American College Connection has been encouraging college coaches for the past several years to provide walk-ons with a letter to sign so that they can have a press conference like the scholarship athletes have. Although a letter like this is not binding for either party, it does give the recruit and their parents some sense of commitment from the college coach.
We recently surveyed every college coach in the U.S. and Canada asking them if they provide non-scholarship (athletic) recruits with a Letter of Commitment once they agree to attend the school.
We received great responses from a large number of coaches and here are the results based on the responses we received.
D-I and D-II
Nearly 70% of the D-I and D-II coaches do provide a Letter of Commitment.
12% do not offer any type of letter.
18% may offer one upon request.
D-III
73% of the D-III coaches provide a Celebratory Letter
Why do nonscholarship athletes need a letter commemorating a non-binding committment by both parties? Isn't the letter of acceptance - like every student gets - to the institution good enough? Is it just so non-scholarship athletes can now having press conferences too?
Sorry but this just seems like a conituation of the participation trophy philosophy to me. Call me an old-school curmugeon, but I frankly don't see where this is a positive step.
If a recruit has been communicating with schools and has decided where he's going to go, it's a definitive and efficient way for him to tell everyone else "I'm not coming to your school" while also notifying the school of choice that he is reserving that spot whether it's a scholarship or a PWO position.
Knowing how Fuente looks at commitments, this could also be a signal to the coaches that he's serious about making the team. I won't begrudge a kid some time in the spotlight and it's not a participation trophy IMO. A participation trophy would be me expecting fanfare/recognition when tweeting that I'm gonna try out in the Fall when the coaches have no clue who the hell I am.
Andy and other beat writers were talking about this on Twitter. He also can be mentioned if he has been accepted entry into the school in January and enrolled already. I assume you can sign up for classes prior to January for spring semester?
I watched the signing day that VT put out and the clips of Nasir Peoples is the one that stood out to me. Not for the athleticism but for his spacial awareness. He always seemed to know where he was on the field and how to make sure he made the play count.
Really looking forward to see these guys on the field.
Yeah. It's just a few highlight clips, but he looked good to me too and I wondered why the peanut gallery hasn't been saying more about him. I guess because most people just look at the recruiting stars and not film?
he's a really bright player and frankly, a good running back.
DT in 2019 is looking like an out-of-state venture. Looking at the rivals lists for next year and Ben Smiley and a few kids from NC are really the only high level prospects in our backyard. I hope Wiles has a good travel bag.
Look out for Adarious Jones from (right now) Bishop Sullivan. VT sits very well with him. Smiley and Jones would be a good start.
After watching Becks senior film I am glad we took him he is explosive and was making good cuts .A 6-0 /1 athlete with that kind of speed does not come along very often . I love Tisdale and think he could be a real player guy was impressive his senior year and at the Shrine bowl . I am perplexed by Stewart but he tests as an elite type athlete we shall see . Very solid 2 years recruiting by this staff the only thing we need is and explosive RB and maybe and elite DT and some lenth recruited at DE that would be JJB . Other than that we are looking very good at the other positions .
I will never complain about getting a guy with 10.1 100m speed out of Blacksburg HS
I have said this before about Steward. When I watch him running on tape, I think he can get faster. With the right S&C program, his stride will be quicker. It's already got the length.
I can actually see him as the guy who finds the right hole and breaks the occasional 25 yarder.
I hope you are right. He and Beck are both long athletes that have the measurable's to be really good but whether that translates to the football field is the question. I do think they are solid takes for VT at this point they could blow up and be big time contributors or never see the field. In other words you have to take risks when you're not one of the elite programs and I definitely think they were worth it.
I see Beck as a jet sweep guy.. the problem is that we have a bunch of those. The knock on him as a true WR was his hands IIRC. Point I'm making here is I don't see him as a 20 carry tailback- kind of a tweener, with elite speed. Reminds me of Keith Burnell
From the film I've seen, I see him as a kick returner. Maybe.
He could be our Travis Etienne...he's fast enough, anyway
I'll have what you are drinking.
Any insight on what happens with the Braxton Clark scholarship spot? Will it be filled from a 2018 recruit or would staff set it aside for someone currently playing or even to the jumbled situation yesterday with Kaleb Smith? Insert obligatory numbers always work out.
Clark didn't have a "spot" per se. We're already really bumping the 85 total scholarship limit with the current signees, and will see quite a bit of attrition to make room for them all... so all Clark's de-commit means is slightly less attrition pressure
I thought we had 28 scholarships available. That's the number I was looking at. Fuente and Company signed 23. Still waiting on Goode and Graham to sign or move on. That makes 25 spots and Clark would be 26. I was thinking this left two final spots for Hollifield, KJ, etc.
I was curious if the unused scholarship offer left "open" by Clark would be used to for a 2018 recruit or given to someone already within the program. I was not keeping track of the team total scholarships.
So there's two different numbers. There's the 85 total scholarship limit for the team, and the 25 per year recruits that you can sign per year. That second number is really fluid because you can count early enrollees in the class from the year before. Clark not having a scholarship helps with the 25 recruits per year, but doesn't really have to do with the 85 scholarship players we can have per year. It's not like him not signing with us would let us give a walk-on another scholarship, because it's already really likely that we're going to have to see some attrition just to fit who we already have (and our other targets) in the class under that 85 player limit.
Committed early and got booted when we landed Webb. Probably need to get used to it cause this will be happening more often.
"Patterson (if he's still around)"
Is he thinking about transferring?
I think it's more we are in a spot we've never been before. Fuente is bringing in a lot of guys to compete. If playing time goes down for certain players, don't be shocked if they look for somewhere they can make a splash. Playing time is a lot to kids who have dreamt of being an NFL player their whole life.
Probably shouldn't have said anything but it sounds like he's considering it. With the influx of talent we have coming in at WR, this was his year to make an impact and solidify his role in the rotation. Unfortunately injuries kept him back a bit and he may seek an easier path to the field.
Thanks for the post, glad to hear Baptiste loves VT, I think he would be a great addition to this class. I think he'll be a hot commodity between now and February. Hopefully we can land him.
Here's my main question; what's the plan for DT? That was my biggest worry after the last class with our lack of depth, and while I like Goode, I was hoping for a bigger name to emerge. Looking at next year it seems like Smiley and Adarious Jones are the biggest possible prospects. I think they would both be great additions as well, but is there another Tim Settle in the pipeline that you can see? Anyone we will target before February?
Thoughts about your post:
-I'm also pumped about Turner, but I'm worried he might need a year to bulk up. I know your disclaimer was assuming kids are 100% healthy, but with his shoulder injury I wonder how much he'll be able to hit the weight room this spring/summer, and we know how much Fuente values blocking from the WR position. With Hazleton, Farley, Deuliis (sp?), and maybe even Mitchell stretching the field next year, I wonder if we take our time with Turner.
-I also love Webb, I think he is exactly the guy we needed with the turnover we have coming in the secondary. Excited to see him in our system.
-I think Conner might be the most underrated commit of the class. I think he'll be a multi-year starter when all is said and done.
-I think QP is the real deal. I don't expect him to come in and win the job next year. My hope is that the QB room works out down the line so that we get 2-3 years with him as starter. Might be tricky though with him only 1 year behind Hooker (assuming QP redshirts)
-As you mentioned, I think landing Culver was a huge win for us. Hopefully this class of OL can live up to their potential and maybe our OL can take some steps in the next few years. Excited about Culver, Harris, and Darrisaw. I'm not as high on Tenuta as others. He strikes me as the next Osterloh, has a frame a measurables that make you drool, but not super impressed with his tape.
Quick Hits:
-I wonder if Nadir can be the next Stroman.
-I like Artis. Seems like a physical upgrade from Motu (who I like) but is coming into a crowded LB room, hopefully more crowded with Dax.
-I'm a little higher on Crossen and Adams, I think they will be solid contributors.
-I hope Ellis can make the transition to slot better than Pimpleton did. I was excited about both. While talking about slot receivers, do you think Tiquest Terry gets an offer next year? His tape is really fun to watch, and he's actually a receiver, instead of a QB that we try and move to slot.
BrooklandHokie i think every other question over the past 4 months of recuiting has been about DTs. Fu and the staff dont seeem overly concerned about it and im sure have a plan in place. With Goode and Kane, along with guys like Hewitt, Porcher, Glaze, Burke, I think we will be fine. I get slightly more worries if settle doesnt stay another year.
DT is a huge concern to me as well. I like Porcher but I don't think he and Goode will get us to the next level if they are our starters in 2019. If OL pans out as hoped, that could really be our one major weakness. Jones and Smiley are the two big guys right now, but we need to land at least 3 next cycle, hopefully with at least 1 guy that can provide immediate depth.
I think Terry gets an offer. Better prospect IMO than Beck.
I do think Terry will get an offer as he does have speed and appears to have good football instincts on offense and defense. Terry is also very athletically gifted as a track guy in the sprints and the long jump.
I think the one attribute Beck has is the crazy first step to a very fast top speed. This attribute may translate well into a slot receiver where he gets open on his initial step or as a safety to close ground on the ball.
I've heard that Steward's senior tape is significantly better than his junior. This is the first time that I've heard the opposite.
The highlights that stood out to me:
Turner, Mitchell, Adams, Darrisaw. Adams seriously looked explosive rushing the passer. I know he lacks size, but dang...he looked dominant.
I'm with you on Adams - I love his motor and shiftiness, and I think VT's a great fit for his skills.
Came here to post this. From my watching of their film, Steward's senior tape is fantastic. I was completely underwhelmed with his junior film, but thought this season's was quite impressive. Pretty powerful runner. Don't think he's going to be a Wilson/RW the way Grant could be, but I saw a P5 back for sure.
I'm with LA on Steward. I don't see it. Doesn't break away, doesn't make people miss. I'd take Elijah Davis over Steward. Hope he proves wrong.
Half of his highlights are him blocking. That is something CornFu can work with.
as a N FL homer I like Steward, but his film isn't impressive. Steward's team is awful and they played against several of the best teams in the area. When they played the couple of equally bad teams, he ran all over them. When they played against good teams, he would occasionally have a nice run.
But there are reasons and there are excuses. I'd like to say I know where this one lies with Steward (though he is a Super 24 player http://jacksonville.com/slideshow/slideshows/slides-photos/slides-sports...), but I don't.
That said Davis is a PWO level player, imo...7+ in the 55m and 12.2 in the 100m...and those are 2017 numbers. That's DE/FB speed and a between the tackles runner. He has a very short stride and isn't going to get to the edge or run away from anyone at the P5 level. If he can make the first guy miss and fall forward when hit, great. But that's what a PWO has to show.
LA - two questions:
1. Any timeline on when Grant will commit to a school? I'm itching to see what a stud RB can do in this offense.
2. How would you rate this class of recruits to years prior? Personally, this is one of my favorites of the last 10 years. When I look at the whole package, I see a lot of depth, and a lot of ballers and playmakers that are going to contribute - much more so than usual.
1. Wants to visit UNC, Kentucky, and maybe one more surprise school in January. Will probably decide late January.
2. One of my favorite classes in a while. The only thing that scares me is we seem to have a good amount of tweeners. This can be good if they pan out (AA) but can also be a disaster if they don't (Joel Caleb). Overall, I think this is a very good class with only one major hole at DT.
With tweeners I think it's more about willingness/commitment by the player to play the position (Caleb) and for the coaches to commit to what is best for the player (J Ham). AA is an example of both player and coach being on the same page.
Thanks for the analysis!
I happen to think that Cam Goode is the most underrated player in this class, especially when you think about the scheme he will be working in.
If we land the last 3, is this our best class ever?
I so hope we end up having to calculate that.
If we did add all 3 in the 247 composite we get a score of 230.10.
In the last 5 years that has been good for:
2017-19th
2016-23rd
2015-21st
2014-22nd
2013-19th
Avg: 20.8
247 ranks us 20th in 2005, but the further you go back the less info and fewer different recruiting services there are. So things really aren't equal.
Short answer: its possible, we'd be dang close.
247 also wasn't the best in the 2000's, harder to gauge it's accuracy that far back. It's better to use rivals for 2000's rankings.
Elijah Davis has put up Video Game numbers, what is the knock on him? Could he be a preferred walk on?
He has D1 offers so he'll take those. Waiting on Tech but I don't see him waiting until Grant decides.
Honestly not sure what the hold up is. I would much rather take him over Steward and Beck. If we can give away Clark's spot, then why aren't we willing to do the same with the other guys'? That's why the staff gets paid the big bucks I guess.
Because they are already signed?
His numbers were due to that offensive line and scheme. He is not a power 5 back
speed. yes.
I am still confused on Cam Goode. Did he send in his LOI to VT and VT is being silent about it? You have him included with the signees, but I thought he was waiting until February.
Wants to announce with his teammates.
What I'd read said he signed it, but I didn't read anything about him sending it in.
Any thoughts on Rasheed Walker?
Sounds like we are set with the class we have. Tired of being played with. Much like Gervin over the summer. Culver was a good get.
Couple questions about positions.
1. Nadir at DB or Slot? He looks like obvious PR guy.
2. Will Mitchell play TE, H or WR?
2019 Questions
3. What are the positions of need in this class?
4. What elite targets in those spots do we have a chance with?
5. What in-state guys do we appear in good shape for?
1. Could be lay both but coming in as DB
2. Probably WR but maybe could bulk up some and block a little.
3. DT, DE if we miss on JJB, OL, and RB.
4. Both the DT's I mentioned above, I'd say we're in top 2 for Savion Jackson, guys like Simonds and Beaver (not sure how to feel about Carroll tbh), and Ford.
5. See above.
Beck has some wiggle, he has the shoulder dip fake, executed at the right time, it can stop a defender in his tracks. As for Joe Kane, he could become a 300 pound space eater. Too early at the moment, in our program the D-lineman often progress a little later.
Our defense doesn't use space eaters. If you can't beat your guy and get in the backfield quick you won't see the field
Valid point. Kane's athleticism is a concern.
was looking at 247 player rankings, and Joe Kane recently dropped from the 45th spot to the 69th defensive tackle. Goode moved from 50 to 49. Anyone know why? That is a big jump.
.
*** edit: *** now he has dropped another 22 to the 81st spot. 36 DTs have jumped in front of him since I started looking. None of the other recruits seem to be moving much.
Picked the Hokies.
they must think Kane is the Nicest DT in this class
Been curious how Kane will be used, DE or DT.... Rivals and ESPN have him at DE, but 247 has him as a DT... I have seen others with your same concern about his athleticism, and I agree it would be a concern as a DE, but I think it's pretty solid for a DT. He does appear to have pretty good twitch on film and uses his weight well to get into the backfield. IMO, if Hilgart can add some more beef while improving his quickness, he could be a solid next guy up when Settle and Walker are gone.
Maybe they beef him up and move him to OL? You know the Lefty OL recruitment strategy.
That was long before Lefty... That was more Beamer and it worked better than the "real OL" that Newsome brought in. You could argue the 2 best VT OL of all time- Duane Brown and Wyatt Teller - neither were HS O Lineman.
True. I should have been more specific. Beamer's strategy was to bring in TEs and move them to OL. Lefty's was to go OL shopping in the DL meeting room.
How many TEs that were ever going to see the field as a TE were converted to OL?
And how many DLs that were ever going to see the field as a DL were converted to OL under Loeffler? Anyone who watched film of Teller and especially Nijman would know they were destined to end up in the DL.
Position shifts happens at every program because recruiting services don't have a clue for the most part in projecting at what position a player will realistically end up. There's nothing unique about VT doing it.
But it makes an excellent category on the wheel of complaints.
DT all the way
Watch his film. He is twitchier than given credit for. Too many folks are not looking past the photo of him to bury him. He has been incredibly productive the last two years. You remember another guy who was incredibly productive and didn't look the part? Woody Baron. Derrick Hopkins.
What are your thoughts now on the early signing period?
I am concerned that some blue bloods that missed on some of their top recruits (like Ohio State with OL), could start showing interest in some guys that they haven't paid attention to previously.
For example, with JBB, suppose Alabama/USC/Ohio State, or someone like that, missed on a few DE prospects...if they start calling JBB, it makes it that much more difficult for us. Is that a concern?
Urban Meyer hates the early signing period because he doesn't want ANYONE off the table in Feb. So every VT fan should like it.
When it all shakes out, I see the early period benefiting the blue bloods - just in different way by stealing most of the top kids smart enough to wait until February - and deluding the fans of 2nd tier programs into thinking they have a near blue blood class until February.
Respectfully disagree
Hokies held all the CB's for Ameer Speed in Dec last year. Ga got their fist CB on Jan 22. Longer signing period benefits those with the most to sell and the most time to do it.
How does that differ from what I said - except that the pool of available blue chipers will get much easier to target in January and the blue bloods can focus all of their resources on them.
You watch, blue chip players or players on the rise will figure out it doesn't pay to commit early.
The early siging day will become the day the girls with the great personality and sense of humor lock up their prom date early with the co-capt of the Spanish Club - and the hot girls and the starting QBs will wait it out because they can.
I see it differently. I see it as an advantage in that you can wrap up the recruits you've been focusing attention on, and they then can't be swiped.
VT can also compete for the people who don't commit early, and any get there is a bonus.
The one thing I really hated was the last minute swipe by a program who wasn't even calling on one of our top recruits. I don't mind taking some recruits off the table early.
Maybe you're right and it will ultimately not be an advantage, but it's certainly not worse.
the pool of blue chippers will never be easier to target than they were before. anything that takes a portion of that talent off the table early is good for the next level teams. the VT's of the world are now able to go for broke on a few recruits knowing their base needs have already been met.
in your example, any hot girl with self esteem will make the star QB commit early or they will lock up a date with the star WR, rather than risk staying at home or going with their cousin.
This assumes that kids will wait and I just don't think that will change. Most recruits who wait are really highly-sought after guys who we already have a lot of competition for, so I don't think the early period affects our chances with them at all. December is too early for the "blue bloods" to commit to 3 and 4 star kids when they're waiting on 5-stars who drag the process out, and none of those kids like hearing "we might have room for you but we might not."
Look how many guys we just signed - none of them had to sign or commit before February, they all could have waited if they wanted to. I'm sure guys like Tre Turner and Quincy Patterson would have started getting A LOT more attention from the big time programs in January or February under the old system, but they were ready to commit to a school that was ready to commit to them now.
I think this is really how I see ESD benefitting many programs. It prevents Bama, LSU, Clemson, ect from picking off 3 and 4 star guys in late January and February to fill their classes.
In many cases, they already have higher-rated Guys 3 or 4 deep in front of them. Speed is a good example, we were in good standing with him until 2 weeks before Signing Day when Bama and UGA came swooping in with last-minute offers. It remains to be seen whether he becomes a contributor at UGA, but they just signed two 4-star CB this week in addition to taking 5 in 2017...
hes already a contributor (not a major but) no less than devon hunter was for us. speed played on special teams mostly this year but is 2nd on the depth chart but for a true fresh any time you don't redshirt and you get some burn at any capacity is a good start for your career.and id say hes got a leg up.
None of them had to sign early? Huh? Did you miss the part where Fuente said if you don't sign early, we don't consider you committed?
If 2/3rds of this class had said "no thanks, I'll wait until Feb", they'd have been cut loose to sign with ODU or Indiana or whoever if anything comparable came along.
VT doesn't hold all of the cards, but it holds some cards.
They had to sign if they committed, but they didn't have to commit either. There was never an ultimatum that they had to make a decision by December, just that if you made a decision you were expected to stick to it.
You are speaking of our Recruits, he is speaking of recruits in general. And no, not one single prospect had to sign on ESD, Fuente (and I'm sure most other coaches) made it clear that those who committed were expected to sign Day 1.
Ultimately, if you are valuable enough to a Program, they are going to hold a spot for you. If you are a legit 5-star guy just about every program will make room for you whether you sign in February or in December. Signing in February allows you to have more time to see who's declaring for the Draft, the stability of the coaching situation, ect.
And I promise you had some of our more prized recruits decided they wanted to wait until Feburary, we would have welcomed them back. For borderline guys, probably not so much.
Most of the top recruits in the country signed though. I think this helps schools just outside the top tier like Tech and REALLY helps schools on the low end who have made waves in last year like UCF this year. Kids are signing on the dotted line earlier and you have less scramble for fillers by the top teams.
I agree...this is the part of ESD that I couldn't understand this year. Really highly-rated guys like Fields, KJ Henry, ect...most of them signed.
It would seem clear that for the elite recruits it makes little sense to sign before February because no one is going to "fill up" and leave you hanging. This is especially true with all the coaching turnover this time of the year. I guess there is always the risk of injury because many guys play multiple sports, but schools would (and should) get hammered for pulling offers for injury.
I think as this goes forward, you will see less elite recruits sign on ESD, it will become more for the 3-star type guys to get locked in.
Those guys signed because they're sick of being recruited. Fielding calls and texts and visits is exhausting I'm sure, they'd much rather get it over with and focus on their school
Plus when your GF is alreading accepted to Virginia Tech, why wait until February? 👍
I'm surprised we don't have a study of 5 Star recruits and if they go to school where their high school girlfriend ends up going.
This. Their cell phones stay lit up with texts and calls from coaches. Zion told me some of those guys would call him up at 1030 at night and he'd have to tell them he was ready to go to bed, or that he had 2 more hours of homework before he could go to bed.
bird dogging chicks.
FTFY
That's always a concern, but I don't know that the Early Signing Period has changed that scenario much.
The "Blue Bloods" commonly would "cherrypick" during the last few weeks of the signing period when they missed on whatever 5* they were going after. A guy like JBB is definitely going to garner some interest and very possibly offers from bigger programs, but likely would have in any scenario.
The difference is the ESD has now "locked in" others so that they don't have a full "pool" to pick from. For instance, say ALA misses on a WR, then decides that Tre Turner is a good 2nd option...not gonna happen anymore.
I think that is largely why you see guys like Saban and Meyer criticizing the ESD because it limits their ability to drop late offers on already-committed guys.
Also limits the less-than-scrupulous practice of using vague language in a "non-committable" offer to a player and drop the news on him just before NSD. At least now a player would find out in December that he only had a conditional offer and still has two months to find another place to play. The "blue bloods" seemed to apply this practice more often and I am sure they are mad as hell that it will lose its effectiveness.
I like the part where Alabama and OSU can't try to steal our truly-committed 'cruits in January, after they lose one to each other.
They can now do it in December, so they will adjust. Prospect doesn't sign on first LOI day, they can real quick call another guy to stop him sending in his LOI until they talk to him. In the old system, there actually would be more of a time crunch to make a decision by the recruit.
In today's system, a coach can tell a recruit to hold off and take the time to visit their school etc... and the recruit has three months to keep looking. I believe after the first couple of years, this will become more normal than everyone rushing to sign early.
definitely...gives a little bit of leverage to the recruit, e.g., McFadden this year. Clemson had to put up or shut up.
IMO that actually benefits schools like us that don't have the luxury of stringing kids along. Last cycle clemson would've been able to hold off on taking mcfadden until Jan/Feb but instead it allowed us to push harder on Culver and sign him early rather than letting the big boys get more heavily involved. If this was last year, there would've been a much higher chance of us losing those guys.
Hopefully we all one day begin to lament the ESD.
Not as entertaining, but it is better for the program.
Honestly, it doesn't feel much different compared to the normal signing period. Just a month early. Eventually they will make an early early signing period in November.
Enjoyed La's write up today so I had to search last years. Just kinda of a bump to see others thoughts. Will be a better bump 4 yrs down the road but appreciate the time he puts into this.
His number 1 is pretty good
Look at where Derrisaw is
What's your point?
This is depressing.
I know everyone deals with attrition but tat level of attrition is pretty extreme.
Haha noticed that too. About cried in my Cheerios this morning.
This was a good catch, it's crazy to read a sentence like that and realize only one of those guys played significantly this year or was even available to the team at all.
Webb - has torn both achilles
AA - academically ineligible, Redskins active roster
Rell - 1st rd draft pick, plays significant snaps for Steelers (I haven't watched many games so he may have won job/replaced injured starter, but it's clear he plays a lot)
Mook - dismissed from school, likely will attempt to make NFL this offseason
Hunter - redshirting
Reggie - starting Rover.
Came here to comment on that as well.