The Blacksburg Bash, Virginia Tech's marquee summer BBQ recruiting event, got off to a sizzling start Saturday. In short order, the Hokies added running back Keshawn King to their 2019 recruiting class. The 6-1, 185 pound Oakleaf HS (Orange Park, FL) product picked Tech over a potpourri of Power Five offers. The 247Sports Composite rates King as a 3-star (0.8777) RB. ESPN tabs him as a 4-star recruit, and ranks him as the 20th running back in the nation.
According to Jacksonville.com, King rushed for 1,427 yards on 201 carries during his junior campaign. He also accounted for 20 total touchdowns.
Even though the Hokies offered him in May, King's commitment, during his first unofficial visit to Virginia Tech, seemingly came out of nowhere. Unexpected news can be the best kind of news, especially on the recruiting trail.
Comments
Shortly after King's commitment I received an unsolicited note from longtime Navy blogger and Xs and Os aficionado Michael James of TheMidReport.com.
That's high praise from a knowledge football mind who has watched King play first-hand.
I wonder where I've seen that before...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTNoSsI7jfg
OT: But that video brought back so many memories, first game in Lane for me was 09 Marshall, the Miami game was the 31-7 smackdown in the rain with the premature (shocking) "DA U IS BACK" and Jacorry for Heisman, DANNY COALE! ALL THE WAY! TO THE 3!
Also, I think Ryan Williams had more highlights in that video than all of UVA football has had since 2009
When ever I see video of Ryan Williams I feel bad for the dude. So much talent, and then having his career derailed by injuries as soon as he gets to the league.
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David Wilson, same boat.
I mean you can throw in Kevin Jones and Lee Suggs while we're at it...
I also quickly notice his speed (long stride in open space, and definitely gets his knees up for power). This (James' comment) is good to hear from someone who had seen him on more than selected highlights.
Great news!
He has wheels. When someone is that fast and the first thing scouts talk about is their vision...
I really like this. His film is impressive.
Good Vision, reminds me of Ryan Williams.
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Higher rated recruit than Knight, Griffin, and Houston and plays against better high school talent than Laborne, Slade, and Ford did. I am extremely happy!
This is an awesome get for us! He definitely has great vision. Anybody else notice that pitch play at 3:20? I haven't seen anything like that in a while.
Hopefully he will play at one of the high schools near me and I can catch a game.
not sure what side of town you are on but looks like most of the games are on the westside of town for them. im going to try and check them out during our bye week. kinda wish we played them now. but kinda glad we don't. they play 2 teams that played for the state championship last year. Raines won the state. honestly id like to go to the oakleaf vs trinity game. as trinity has a couple guys with hokie offers on their team. they have a VARY tough schedule this year.
Orange Park High School Fri. 24th August, 2018 7:00pm
@Glades Central High School Fri. 31st August, 2018 7:00pm
Bartram Trail High School Fri. 14th September, 2018 7:00pm
Clay High School Fri. 21st September, 2018 7:00pm
@Fleming Island High School Fri. 28th September, 2018 7:00pm
Trinity Christian Academy Thu. 4th October, 2018 7:00pm
@Raines High School Fri. 12th October, 2018 7:00pm
@ Buchholz High School Fri. 19th October, 2018 7:00pm
Creekside High School Fri. 26th October, 2018 7:00pm
@Vanguard High School Fri. 2nd November, 2018 7:00pm
Was hoping they were playing PV or Neese this year.
FIHS is closest. I may try to go to that one. Our kids went there ('06 and '10) and one of our friends has a son there.
FIHS is just west of US 17 about a mile south of the Hwy 220 intersection. Take 95 north - 295 across the river and then 17 south
There may be faster RB's, but it doesn't look like there would be many that are significantly faster. At 6'-1", 185#, he's got a frame that can add some muscle. He finds open ground quickly, sticks his foot in the ground and gets upfield. Color me impressed.
I'm guessing a big plus to Fuente is how he holds the rock. Both hands on the ball through the line of scrimmage, than high and tight in the open field.
Sidenote: The more I see the new unis on actual players the more and more I like them.
This is great. He'll make a great 1-2 punch with Drew Harris.
DH better hurry up and enroll. His eligibility runs out at 30.
Running style and vision on cuts reminds me of Matt Dayes.
I'm very excited about this, but can honestly say I had no idea this was even on the radar. I'm sure our insider guys knew but for me this was excellent unexpected news.
It feels like everything's coming together. I think the next few years are going to be a lot of fun for Hokie Nation.
Welcome to Hokie Nation Keshawn!
One of the things that stood out on film to me regarding his vision was his cutback. That part of his game reminds me a lot of Clinton Portis and the way he used to cut back when running in a zone blocking scheme.
Let's see:
▪️Run with authority and make defenders miss in space - ✔️
▪️Catch the ball out of the backfield - ✔️
▪️ Block in pass protection - ✔️
▪️ Throw a pass - ✔️
I may not be a smart man Jenny, but it would appear that CJF may have found his player who does everything he says he wants out of an every down running back. Great pick up for the home team!
After 2 days on the lake away from sports news in general, this is a perfect way to start my Sunday! Kudos to the staff for pulling this one off, welcome HOME, Keshawn!!
This guys film is impressive. He looks like a perfect match for what Fuente wants, someone with speed, vision and the ability to make the first guy miss. If he went to HS in VA he would be a mid level 4*. Welcome Home!
You're gonna have to explain that one to me....
lesser competition means gaudier stats. As much as rating services try to account for strength of competition, crazy stats are hard to ignore.
Not hating on you... But that is the furthest thing from reality. Va kids (among others) are regularly underrated/undervalued because the fact that they don't see quality competition on a weekly basis.
Are they really? In my observation, Virginia has underperformed, not over performed with regard to player rankings in recent years.
This is admittedly anecdotal and not backed by hard evidence.
Disagree. Unless the average 3 star kids in Virginia start to produce consistently (key word), then I'll gladly take a 3 star from Florida or Georgia who fell off the radar of other top teams. Maddy, Hosley, come to mind. 90s VT teams were loaded with them. Virginia talent has gotten better, but it's still top heavy. It's key for us to get the best in state players because they are really good, and likely deserving of ranking. But a 3 star from Florida or Georgia would fit that hole too.
Actually I started looking back through VA recruiting rankings and what stuck out to me was the number of top ranked busts.
2010 - Phillip Sims (5*, #1) was a bust. Justin Hunter (4*, #2) was the only player to do much of anything.
2011 - Curtis Grant (5*, #1) was mediocre and Demitrious Nicholson (4*, #2) was a bust. Landon Turner (4*, #4) and Anthony Harris (3*, #13) had a few years in the NFL.
2012 - Eli Harold (4*, #1) had a mediocre NCAA career but at least played in the NFL. Alex Carter (4*, #2) has never played in the NFL. Trey Edmunds (4*, #8) and CJ Prosise (4*, #9) are perhaps the two most successful players.
2013 - Christian Hackenberg (5*, #1) has basically always sucked but he still made it to the NFL... where he continues to suck yet still hangs around. Jonathan Allen (5*, #2) was good at Alabama and could have a NFL career if he can stay healthy. Wyatt Teller (4*, #7) has a chance to play in the NFL and Chuck Clark (3*, #22) was a success story since he was drafted.
2014 - This was billed as the most talented VA class ever with Da'Shawn Hand (5*, #1), Quin Blanding (5*, #2), Andrew Brown (5*, #3), Jalyn Holmes (4*, #4), and Derrick Nnadi (4*, #5) at the top. All of these guys will have a chance in the NFL but I'm not sure a single one of them lived up to expectations in college except for Nnadi. MJ Stewart (3*, #19) and Terrell Edmunds (3*, #29) were drafted earlier (2nd and 1st rounds, respectively). Greg Stroman (3*, #36) had a solid career was drafted.
2015 - Josh Sweat (5*, #1) had a mediocre career at FSU but was still drafted in the 4th round. This class is still playing out their eligibility but Clelin Ferrell (4*, #5) and Tremaine Edmunds (3*, #16) look to be the best of the class as many other top recruits haven't seen the field or have transferred now.
So yeah there are certainly good players from VA but the top ranked player has essentially never lived up to his potential and the top 10, despite usually consisting of all 4* recruits, hasn't consistently produced even at the collegiate level.
Leg for the analysis. I'd say 06-10 was some top talent. 6 starting QBs in the ACC were from Virginia. That only rivaled Texas, California and..... Florida. Right now, if I see a QB from VA, it's a testament to the growth of talent here.
Busts happen, I'd say with the few 4-5 star players, you need more not to be a bust, than for so many to do so.
Busts definitely happen more often than fans like to think and I'm not sure what the typical rate is for 4* and higher players but it appears that easily more than half of 4* from Virginia since 2010 have been busts.
I wouldn't single out VA for this. My guess is that this is standard across the country. Rating high school players is like throwing darts while blindfolded. So much can change after they leave high school and that doesn't even consider the completely different teams they play against and teammates they play with while in high school. Generally speaking, I think we can all agree that it is more likely a highly rated player will be more successful than a lower rated player regardless of which state they come from.
I specified that I don't know how performance of VA recruits compares nationally and was simply providing some rough data on VA recruits since 2010. This was in response to previous posts, which I would say more strongly contradict your position that it's standard across the country:
When the notification came up on my phone that he committed, I literally said out loud, "Cool - who in the fuck is Keshawn King?"
I've (we've) been focused on Gary, Knight, can we flip Griffin, Houston (until recently) etc. I follow recruiting pretty closely and I'd never heard King's name.
He could end up being the jewel of this class.
Pretty darned fast, with a great ability to accelerate out of cuts. Def has several gears, and uses them to great effect - he lets plays develop in front of him and seems to adjust accordingly, then has the wheels to beat guys. He'll have to learn early to keep a lower pad level. Seems to like contact - hopefully that translates to being a willing blocker. Can't wait to see what he looks like in a year - he has a frame that Hilgart & Co must be salivating over.
One big question: is he 6'1"/185 or is he 5'11"/170? I'd prefer the former (but he looks more the latter on his junior tape). I know the smaller numbers may just be outdated - anyone got #size #sauce?
And: name pronunciation? KEE-shawn? kuh-SHAWN? KAY-shawn? KEH-vin?
Great get.
Yes.
By the way, King beats a Knight.
K2 or TD King. Either will work nicely.
You had it right, it's pronounced Keh-Vin
"So Keshawn can you play DT?" —Bud Foster probably