STATEMENT FROM COACH FUENTE pic.twitter.com/LSh7iOkxIj— Virginia Tech Football (@VT_Football) July 31, 2018
It me this offseason:
pic.twitter.com/h66zpNbybA— #STICKTOSPROTS (@OhHerro) July 20, 2018
Forums:
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Comments
What the hell is going on?
My question exactly. Dammit to hell.
Meeting Hilgart out of shape is not fun, apparently.
that's plausible, but no real indication as of yet that it's what happened in this case
It's what happened.
If he can't handle summer workouts, he can't play DT for us. good to get that out of the way early.
did you mean goode to get that out of the way early?
It's not like we aren't stacked at that position... /s
Well that's not good
no, but then it would be goode
No, but it would be good if it wasn't Goode.
I hate this offseason.
I agree but it would make it that much better if the boys rallied to win 10-11 games. All this young talent has me excited
Can we get this down to one thread? There are 3 different ones going right now....
There are three threads but this one is the only one going.
There is no way to delete posts, unless the mods do it on the backend. I would delete mine if I could. Sorry ya'll!
Liberated from your post:
Apparently this is accurate, as it was deleted. ;^)
haha - I actually waited 10 minutes because I thought someone else would post it. But then when no one did, I went ahead and suddenly 3 threads.
I posted because I got the BR notification and saw none had been posted yet. yours was the only one with traction
He beat both the other threads by like 50 seconds.
I think mine was first but i edited to embed the tweet, doesn't matter though
Apparently he didn't do well in the off-season conditioning. Hilgart broke him. Go figure.
my personal opinion - if you can't but the off-season work outs, then you aren't going to cut it in the team. More importantly if you want to quit the team (because of this as the reason) then I'm not much for your personality and perhaps this is addition by subtraction.
I won't character-assassinate the kid because I don't know the story, but that's what it's sounding like
This happened my senior year on the team. We lost 1 DT like maybe 2 to 3 days in. He got home sick. It happens, many times its the persons first time being far away from home and then add in the coaches aren't as nice when they are selling you the world.
Did the guy never play football before?
Coaches yelling at you and pushing you doesn't mean they aren't nice.
You said...
But you'd previously said...
Hmmm. Not character assassinating...
Just sayin'.
Saying our S&C coach broke a player isn't character assassination. Heck Hilgart would easily break me.
I would argue that saying he didn't do well isn't character assassination, but saying that he was broken would be.
And yes, Hilgart would break me as well, but I haven't accepted a scholarship to play Div 1 football.
You could argue, but you can do that with someone other than me.
Eh. You also aren't expected to be a high level D1 athlete for a big time FBS football team.
If this is true it's better he leave now. No reason to drag this out. If he couldn't cut it because of the conditioning system, he won't cut it anywhere else. Hopefully Goode learns something from this experience.
Slightly OT, but I wish I had someone like Hilgart to break me. I would be in much better shape. Or dead.
Hmm, is conditioning a systemic plan, or can they be tailored to the individual?
I wonder what broke first though... his spirit, or his body?
Wow.
This is essentially the worst offseason imaginable.
The 1970 Marshall Thundering Herd would probably beg to differ.
This is in pretty poor taste. A Hokie Football Hall of Famer was on that plane that crashed.
I don't see it as poor taste, but rather a reminder that there are more important and far worse things in life than having to rebuild your football team due to attrition.
It was not in poor taste. Using humor on something that happened in the 70's isn't "too soon" or anything else.
I don't actually think it was intended as humor.
I think the humor was that the tragedy was that a Hokie was on board, as opposed to, you know, the entire Marshall football team lol.
I don't think there was any intended humor, just perspective.
I agree. If there is any fan base that relates to that Marshall team, it's the one from Virginia Tech.
Seems like the prior comment had that intent.
Well even unintended humor can be funny too.
... I mean technically, that happened during the season...
*ducks*
After playing... *checks records*
Oh no... ECU
How about when September begins?
yea but you got the message...
The numbers always work?
LOL- that's basketball only I think!
Can the season start already? Have we ever had an offseason see this many important players transfer, dismissed, or injured?
Remember we haven't even gotten to summer practice where there will likely be more injuries
Speaking of practice, when does that begin?
Judging this team that we'll be fielding...feels like it should've started 3 wks ago.
Offseason be like:
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Aww, I just watched that episode last night. So sad :(
That's funny, because me an my wife have been binge watching it for the last few weeks. Never realized how anti-PC the show was in the first 3 seasons. Felt bad for laughing at some of the jokes, which made me laugh harder.
Totally. And you can see such a difference in how characters change. For example, to start with Ryan is just this wide-eyed temp and then be becomes this manipulative asshole. And Kelly initially is just a normal young woman with reasonable insecurities and then becomes this over the top drama queen.
I know about flanderization, but for some characters there is an actual change in character.
I've been told by more than one player that if you are cool with Hilgart, you are cool with Fuente.. AND vis versa..
Well shit. That is not what I was expecting to happen. I really hope we snag a DT or 2 in the remainder of the 2019 class
Well it's a good thing we are stocked with a deep pool of defensive tackle talent.
Can we just run an all-end and linebacker front 7?
We might just have to grin and Bear it.
Bear in mind, we still have Bud Foster:
I was thinking the same thing.... 3-4 mod, but we might need a few more linebackers
BEAR IN MIND
I assumed this was a "Bear Defense" pun
LOL. Can I please use this as my avatar?
Wasn't Cam one of the players yall were super excited about? I don't really follow recruiting much but I remember a lot of hype around this guy on here.
Yes, hence the deluge of "this offseason sucks" sentiment.
Hype being the operative word apparently.
THIS IS SUB-OPTIMAL.
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Me this offseason:
I love this gif. He gets this look between drinks like he's thinking, "Nope, things aren't better yet. Better take another swig."
Leg for you.
So minor ant hill upside since he was a freshmen it's a scholarship they know they can offer right now.
um what?
You know what they say, dozens and dozens that may be in the bush is worth way more than one in hand. Especially when you desperately need someone at that position.
Yeah, but "knowing they can offer right now" doesn't help immediately
You lose a junior or senior in the summer and his scholarship is only good to give out for a year or two after. A kid leaving his freshmen year means you have a scholarship open for 3-5 years. I'd rather have them leave now than after the season.
This may give more legs to the rumor about DeBose to DT. He told me he'd do whatever the team needed him to do.
I'll say this for the umpteenth time:
DeBose moving inside would be an 'awkward-at-best' fit.
I'll say this for the first time:
Welcome to the DT room, Zion! Sit anywhere you like. Hell, just push several chairs together and lie down if you want! Incidentally, you don't have any relatively healthy 275-lb friends, do you? We'd love to meet them hahaaaahahahaaha
Told y'all to look out for that. Won't happen this year, but if we aren't able to get an immediate impact JUCO or transfer (or two) then really don't be surprised to see this.
I know he's a team first player, but it's my uneducated opinion that this is going to torpedo his NFL chances. Hopefully I'm wrong. Hopefully we get depth and he can shine at DE.
Current DT's on the roster. Strike-through for those players leaving after this year. Compounding our lack of depth is that I'm not even 100% Taylor and Porcher are DTs.
8 Ricky Walker DL 6-2 300 R-Sr. Hampton, Va.99 Vinny Mihota DL 6-5 297 R-Sr. Fredericksburg, Va.
43 Xavier Burke DL 6-3 285 R-Jr. Lawrenceville, Va.
47 Darius Fullwood DL 6-3 274 R-Jr. College Park, Md.
55 Jarrod Hewitt DL 6-1 282 R-So. Venice, Fla.
96 Jimmie Taylor DL 6-2 265 R-So. Jacksonville, N.C.
98 Robert Porcher IV DL 6-1 272 R-Fr. Orlando, Fla.
90 Jaevon Becton DL 6-4 250 Fr. Virginia Beach, Va.
Silver lining: We get to bring in another player for the 2019 class.
Players like Fullwood and Taylor with 3 and 4 years in the program and not playing any real minutes is a huge concern. DT recruiting has been awful, lets be honest. We really need to step up recruiting this position.
Our system ain't for everyone. Recruiting has been good. Getting guys that fit is hard. Especially when our name doesn't start with Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson...
Disagree... recruiting has been medicore to bad at DT... not overall- but DT? yes. Xavier Burke was a TE for 2.5 years and has not played much in meaningful game time and he is our 4th DT this season, with a significant drop off after him. Yeah, recruiting has been an issue there the past 2 years.
Please re-read my comment. Recruiting has been good. Signing has been the problem. It's not like we aren't targeting the right guys. We just aren't landing them. This is way different from when we were taking plan z players a few years back.
Our system depends on quick twitch guys who can shoot gaps. Most DT croots don't fit that bill. They are the size of Settle and just clog things up. The big, quick ones we would like to have signed went elsewhere because the programs I mentioned have had success getting those guys in the NFL. If there's a knock on our DT recruiting, it's that, not that the staff isn't recruiting them.
I think you meant to say:
If the second sentence is true, it makes the first sentence false.
This is like walking into work and announcing "I went Maserati shopping this weekend!!" And when your co-worker says "Wow!! Which one did you get?", you reply "None of them - they're way too expensive."
All this is to say: programs get no credit - and win no games - for making offers, doing evals, wanting the right guys. When we were signing "plan z" players, it was because we were missing on Plans A through Y. Knowing who good players are and asking them to come to your school is just "recruiting". Having them commit, sign an LOI, and buy into a culture is what constitutes "good recruiting" imo.
I get where you're coming from, but I meant what I typed. We recruited the hell out of some players, we just didn't land them. Take Devyn Ford for example. We didn't just scout him, we recruited him. Same thing with Alim McNeill last year.
To add my own example: Scouting is like looking at houses (location, number of bedrooms, etc.). Recruiting is like putting in an offer, doing the paperwork, trying to close the deal. Just because you don't get to buy the house doesn't mean you didn't do all the work. Somebody else may have had a better offer, or the buyer decided to sell to someone else for whatever reason. It happens.
For me, scouting is looking at film, throwing out an offer, and seeing if they nibble. That usually gets you the backup backup backup guys. Recruiting takes effort and lots of it. Sometimes it pays off, like with Dylan and Dax. Sometimes it doesn't, like Sweat and McNeill. It's like that with 17/18 year old guys.
When I - and ESPN, rivals, scout refer to a "recruiting" grade or success it is based on players that sign letters of intent. That should be pretty clear? Recruiting rankings aren't based on trying hard to get a guy like Devyn Ford. Every school tries hard in recruiting. My point was that at DT, the players that have actually signed and made it to campus the past 3 years, we have been mediocre to poor in that area- bottom line. I'm sure we recruited some players very hard, but who cares?
But....he married the prom queen....
You're absolutely right. Hell, let's just fire the whole coaching staff because we only got the 81st and 84th rated DTs in 2016, 93rd in 2017, and 40th and 71st in 2018. And 2 of those guys walked out the door. Hell, we signed the 1st and 13th rated DTs in 2015, and one of them got drafted. (Guess which one was 1st) That's 7 guys to play 2 positions in the last 4 years.
The fact that LSU signed 5 freaking DTs ranked higher than 40th last year is a clear indication that our staff sucks big fat blue balls while other teams are stacking them up like cord wood.
I get the frustration from some folks. I do. But our D doesn't rely on big fat sumbitches clogging up the middle. Those guys have to MOVE. And apparently, when we do get a decent recruit, not all of them think they have to get in shape and MOVE. That crap might work in HS when the kid across from you is 230 pounds and you're 300+, but it damn sure ain't working at this level.
It cracks me up how we complain when we don't get blue chip prospects on the D-line, but those same people love it when we are ranked top 10 in D.
We don't have a D like everybody else. And we aren't OSU, Bama, LSU, Clemson, etc. "If we only had Joey Bosa..." His ass would have been a DT, not a DE for us. Think about that.
Our guys have to find the chicken salad in the chicken shit sometimes. And they usually do a pretty good job of it. Not always, but usually. Do we need more help at DT? Hell yes. But ratings and rankings don't get the job done on the field. And screaming about not having 4 lines of 5* recruits playing DL doesn't get the job done either.
You, me, anybody on this board, the coaches, support staff, none of us can make a kid want it. That's something they have to find. We've got 101 guys listed on hokiesports, and at most 85 of them can be on scholly. That means 16 guys are out there busting their asses because they want it. Most will never take a snap in a game, but they still want it. And if a player is on the team that doesn't want it, I definitely will not be bitching about the coaches.
Who on here said to fire the coaches??? nobody. Posts like this are so annoying ANY criticism of the VT program- especially recruiting is met with this response.. "well FIRE everyone, sky is falling", cmon man. Seriously. Be objective. Are we trying to win the ACC? Are we trying to beat FSU and Clemson? I am asking a serious question? If the answer is yes, Xavier Burke being your 3rd or 4th DT and nobody in the pipeline with any significant playing time is a CLEAR and OBJECTIVE indication that we have not recruited that position well. That is a fact. Now, if you don't think we are competing for ACC championships and to try to beat FSU and Clemson, then sure- a murky thin DT depth chart is fine, and "recruiting" that position is going great. Meanwhile nobody in this thread has even close to called for anyone to be fired.
I get the HokieHounds frustration, because some of the comments are coming across as complaints, which is different from constructive criticism.
Cam Goode didn't work out. It's not the end of the world, and it doesn't mean VT's recruiting is crap. HokieHound is pointing out that VT needs some talent at DT, and not just any talent, but talent that fits the system.
It doesn't mean recruiting is bad. It just means that there is a weakness that needs to be addressed at that one position. Seems to me the two of you might even agree about that.
NOBODY said "Recruiting is bad"..nobody. People stated- correctly- that DT recruiting has been mediocre to bad the past few years- Again, for a team trying to win the ACC and compete with FSU, Clemson, Miami, and Notre Dame. Our DT depth chart and recruiting is fine for UVA or Syracuse I suppose. Any objective analysis shows a lack of bodies, fit for system, and rare attrition at one position the past 3 years.- Fact. And if god forbid Ricky Walker misses any games, the bowl streak could be in jeopardy. Having said that, like we did on the OL- in terms of recruiting and signing enough bodies, I trust that Fuente will correct this issue in short order.
There is no debating the lack of depth at that position. Is someone arguing that's not the case? I haven't seen anyone make that argument.
Looks like to me they took a chance on Cam Goode, and unfortunately that didn't work out. To be critical of that, we'd have to have a lot better insight into the discussions that took place. Looks like to me they took a calculated risk on a highly-rated guy committing to a certain course of action that was required for success. It didn't work out.
As for "DT recruiting has been bad", are you suggesting that DT recruiting is so much different than recruiting for the rest of the positions on the team? I'm guessing it's the same recruiting approach, in general. Or are you not saying that the recruiting approach is bad, but that the results for that position haven't been optimal. Which is fairly clear, and doesn't even really need to be debated.
Maybe we're agreeing on everything, because I think the lack of depth at DT is because of attrition, and not the result of some unique flaw in the approach to recruiting DTs.
Exactly. Numbers and rankings don't solve our problems. The right numbers will help. Not everybody pans out.
There is more to it than 'not everybody pans out.' We're not even signing DTs.
We were in pretty dire need of DTs last year, and signed 1 - Cam, who is already out. (Joe Kane was always moving to OL) The year before we signed only J'bril Glaze, who we really had no business giving an offer to - he was always going to be a project and it didn't take a season before the coaches realized that and cut bait
Behind Rick there's not a lot of talent at all on the roster, and for next year, we're going to be left hoping that some DEs we signed can bulk up enough to move inside by necessity.
So I would argue numbers and rankings DO solve problems. We haven't signed enough DTs, and haven't signed enough talented ones. That's why we're in the situation we're in (even prior to Cam)
So are you saying they should have kept Cam as a project?
What are you saying they should do differently, other than "Succeed, already!"
3 years of very lackluster DT recruiting and it's me saying "Succeed, already" [rollseyes]
Some of you guys are so unnecessarily dramatic. Everything isn't binary.
I didn't say we should have kept Cam. I think when we've got paper thin depth, and are taking only one at the position, especially when they're projects, we shouldn't be shocked when some don't pan out and we're in a pretty terrible situation. Roster management and recruiting are parts of the job of the coaching staff. It is fair to say they're not doing a good job when it comes to DTs right now, because they aren't. I'm not sure why that is so offensive to you.
I find that you are the one being unnecessarily dramatic. I have a lot of faith in Fuente. I think he is probably pretty good with numbers, so I'm guessing he's aware of the depth issues at certain positions on the team.
You can't really say "Oh, I like that recruit, so the recruiting in that case was good, but they whiffed on that recruit, so the recruiting there was bad. It's all the same recruiting. One instance worked out, another didn't.
I think we all agree they need more traction with RBs and DTs, but I also don't think the coaches would disagree, or are trying less hard with those positions. I do think both of those will be areas of focus.
'Kept Cam'?
This is me officially complaining about the state of our DT recruiting. It has sucked for the last few years. There really is no way around it.
Isn't that our usual complaint about position groups every few years? The staff tries to build up depth and quality at one position and somewhere else starts lagging?
I really think the plan was for Porcher to move inside, which hasn't happened yet that I'm aware of. Between him and Goode, we should have had two serviceable reserve lines behind Walker and
SettleMihota.Geez. Overreact much?
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I think that's exactly what he's saying.
That we shouldn't flip out because one position isn't as deep as we'd like.
Nobody is "flipping out". We are pointing out an issue and trying to have a discussion. Its like running back. Is anybody going to argue our talent/depth there is a concern? Not fire Burden, not fire Coreelson, not shut the stadium down- but a concern? Is that fair or not? Our QB has led the team in rushing the past 2 seasons, and the Head Coach says that's not the plan or ideal. We have not signed a "blue chip" RB since David Wilson. It's a concern- as is DT. Nobody on here has said or will say to fire Wiles though.
I think everyone here (and the coaching staff) probably agrees that we critically need more depth at RB and DT.
Yeah, that's not what was said... it was replying to criticism of the staff (DT recruiting isn't what it should be) with an overreaction (why don't we just fire everyone) to move the goalposts in an effort to make any criticism unfair.
Not moving the goalposts at all. I thought the typical reaction was to overreact with people not actually paying attention to what you post.
We need better DTs that fit our system. How many times do I have to say that?
Agreed, Let's hope they attack it like they did OL- bodies, bodies, bodies. Not 1 signee every 2 years. Since there are 20 OL and 20 WRs on the roster now, maybe its time to stock up on DL/DT?
DT and RB, with a steady 1-2 a year at each position group. We got way behind a few years ago and are still trying to catch up.
Could be why we have 3 DT commits in what looks to be a class of ~15 players.
So our only two options are fire the staff or believe our DTs haven't dropped in talent since 2016?
Sorry. After seeing
and
I figured I needed to wax hyperbolic to get the point across that we can't just have a bunch of guys or somehow having highly rated guys will solve our problems. We have to have the right ones.
Scouting is a projection, which can be a crap shoot. Recruiting is as much up to the recruited as the recruiter.
I think not getting DTs consistently in the league hurts our perception with a lot of recruiting targets.
Settle leaving early really put us in a bind this year, then this thing with Goode...
Our DT recruiting has been awful. That isn't hyperbolic. There are quantitative numbers that will agree.
Ask all knowing French if he is comfortable with our DT situation going into 2019. Taking 1 DT in 2018 is why people are frustrated.
I've got to believe that the coaches are well aware of the DT situation.
The hyperbole was about firing the whole staff...
I don't think anyone is comfortable with our DT situation. Especially since two guys left.
Since I can't tell who you're replying to, I'm going to assume it was me, and say...
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They were meant to be DE's coming in. Fullwood was never very highly rated. Also if I remember correctly Taylor pretty small coming in?
Your point stands though, the DT recruiting has been bad to almost nonexistent the past few years. Harry Lewis and Eric Whitehead in 2015 were the last true DT's with decent ratings, Whitehead didn't qualify, and Lewis transferred after half a year.
Besides that we've been converting DE's which supposedly is a better fit for our system. Honestly I'm not sold on it. Besides Corey Marshall (who was definitely a tweener) we haven't really had a DE successfully make the move to tackle
Wasn't Tim Settle class of 2015?
Tru Chainz but how long did he last? I should've said last true DT's that would still be on the roster.
He lasted long enough to make enough of an impression on NFL scouts and get drafted. Yes, DT is thin and recruiting the position hasn't been great as a whole, but I can't be the only one who sees Settle leaving after his r-So year as a somewhat extenuating circumstance for why the position is as thin as it is besides "we can't recruit true DTs".
Even if Settle had stayed one more year, that would still have nothing to do with how poor our DT recruiting since 2016 will leave our 2019 2 deep
I really don't want to take away from that staff (at least they recruited some true DT's), but the Settle get was in large part due to his low test scores causing big teams to back off at the last second. If I remember correctly his only other big offer that stood when we got him was Oklahoma State.
I'm glad we were able to real him in but it doesn't really show we were able evaluate a true DT among the pack and sign him. He was a 5 Star in VA so it was an automatic offer.
Now we did get two true DT's since 2016 in Glaze and Goode, but neither are around anymore both casualties of Hilgart. Word is Glaze probably wouldn't have made it on the field either way.
I suspect the coaching staff is going to look hard at any JUCO or grad transfers available in the 2019 class. The upside is we should return 9 starters on defense for 2019.
Unless someone else (besides our dynamic duo of seniors up front) balls out of control and declares for the draft. Which I'd be ok with.
Tim Settle accepted the challenge of our conditioning program a couple of years and had two very fine years at VT before going pro. Cam Goode apparently did not accept the challenge. Wish him the best of luck, but next man up...
Goode was never going to be the unique physical talent Settle was either. Settle should have been a 5 star recruit.
But if the conditioning program was the deal breaker, Settle was massively over weight when he arrived and stuck it out and is now in the NFL. Cam had the potential to reach that same goal.
He was....
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/news/_/id/...
Maybe we need to start recruiting really muscular girls to play DT...The opposing OL wouldn't know where to put their hands to block and we'd get sacks every play! #YouGotSackedByAGirl
The Icebox retired in 1994.
Sigh...
Well, Infinity War came out today and I'm watching that at work. So I got that going for me, which is nice.
"With no restrictions" should tell you how the coaching staff feels about this after one summer of workouts. If conditioning was the issue, then I don't want him in on a goal line stand in the 4th.
Exactly. If Fuente thought he was the next Tim Settle, he would not let him transfer to any team we would have to play.
I think this is absolutely true.
What was the name of that competition they used to run back in the day that Browning Wynn would win every year. I remember they used to show them on WDBJ7 flipping tires. Was it the Iron Hokie Contest? I think quite a few of our players today would benefit that.
There's got to be a "Blue Chipper" out there that we can sell immediate playing time to and steal from someone else.
Paging D'Von Ellies.
Dr. Ellies to triage. Dr. Ellies to triage.
Maybe we'll get lucky and get a response.
He bought what we sold already. Not so much the other way around.
Waaaait a second. Unpack that a bit for us.
Are you saying that he visited and was into it, and WE lost interest?
If you have #saucy info, bring it - the only readily available scuttlebutt on his recruitment of late has been "we're in the top 4 but it all depends on whether he's a take at OSU".
My info isn't as up-to-date or as prevalent as it used to be but last I heard is that he tried to commit to VT, but we turned him away. Same story with OSU.
Doesn't matter though because we'll get Dorlus soon.
Our you high on Dorlus as a DT? He seems raw but talented, hopeful he can contribute early at DT.
I'm not crazy about him but honestly I don't know much. I think one of the guys mentioned on 247 that he's up to 270ish now and still seems like he can keep his athletiscism and still add more weight. His film does not impress me though. There's one clip around the 1:20 mark (if I remember correctly) where he shows very good closing speed when he's going for a sack, but other than that I did not see much to inspire confidence. With that said, I know he's only played organized football for a couple of years, so I could really see him improving this year. Clemson and Auburn has legit interest in him. Not sure if they would take his commitment but they were definitely in contact.
I'm shocked by that. Did I miss where you (or anyone else) mentioned this before? I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that this info is definitely not common knowledge among folks who follow recruiting on the sites I read. Several still speculate he could fall to us (if OSU doesn't want him). And, if the same info holds true for OSU, why are they still widely considered the leader for him?
To be clear - I'm not questioning the efficacy of your intel. It's just that I'm pretty bullish on Ellies and have done a fair bit of digging on him on several sites. This is the first I've heard of an issue. (And it must be some sort of issue because he's got prototype size, a nice offer list and plays a position of severe need (at least in VT's case).
If you'd care to elaborate, I'd be all ears. And thanks for being #saucy
Yeah no worries. I haven't been getting as much intel recently after my move to NOVA and I'm no longer hanging out with my Blacksburg friends a couple times a week, so I don't believe I've shared that on here. With that said, it's been on different sites and boards.
I don't know where Ellies recruitment is at right now. He just got offers from PSU and Florida, but who knows how commutable those are. Of his top 4, I think only Rutgers and WVU would've taken him. I believe he was also trying to make a commitment rather than just release a top 4, but OSU and VT wouldn't accept it.
The thing I don't understand about our recruitment of him is that he seems like the kind of DT that we've been successful with. He's extremely athletic and has a low center of gravity. His film is decent, but better than Dorlus's to me.
Yeah no offense to Dorlus but to my eye Ellies has a better frame, better first step, more football-ready. Checks a bunch of boxes that Dorlus (imo) does not check - at least not yet.
Any notion on why we soured on him? (I imagine OSU is just preoccupied with their higher-rated recruits. We don't have that luxury.) Or, if you're not comfortable divulging, can you direct me to some of the sites where it's been mentioned? Thanks in advance.
I don't think we soured on him so much as he was just never as high as Dorlus was on our board. He's a more highly rated recruit so fans assumed he was a high priority.
And obviously I love TKP, but if you're looking for recruiting news and intel, 247 is the best place to be. All three of the main sites (TKP, 247, and TSL) have their strengths, and recruiting intel is definitely the one thing they do well.
If DT is such a position of need and we just opened the Cam Kelly and Goode spots, why don't we take both of them?? Surely Ellies can at least provide some depth.
I would normally say because that's how you get roster imbalance but it might be necessary here.
Sounds like he didn't want to leave
Tweeting from Gainesville. 🤔
Today was the last day of conditioning I believe, based on Hewitts tweet. Possible Cam just didn't show for the last workout? #speculation
Not if he is in Gainesville FL.
Maybe they told him to run and he just kept running and that's where he ended up? I'd be pissed too.
That 600 mile run would really get after ya.
If he was willing to run that much, would we have asked him to run (away)?
You've watched Forrest Gump too many times.
Oh boy, I just found this comment thread... doesn't sound good.
I don't know why you would tweet that out. I would want to keep that under wraps if I'm Cam. Just makes it look like you really did something messed up within the first few days of showing up to camp.
On the flip side, I really can't see us begging to keep someone, even if they signed a letter of intent. Why keep someone you know doesn't want to be there?
Kids these days...
Totally agree. Seems like his former teammate does too.
Got to wonder whether that's a frustration tweet by Cam.
We actually did him a solid by saying he asked for his release. He kind of messed that up.
I find it ironic that this is the same former teammate who publicly banned VT Football from his high school. Now he wants to be the voice of reason?
I typically have a soft spot for directional midwest teams. This guy's attitude has me rooting for woomoo to go OH fer 2018.
The only way I (as Cam) would tweet that out is if it wasn't mutual in that I (Cam) wanted to leave and they wanted me to stay. Doesn't look like that was the case, though.
Or if they just ran him off for talent or conditioning reasons. If he feels like he did his job and still got the boot it's pretty understandable
YIKES- fortunately a Fr at Western Mich and not a coach
Meh, some kid that graduated and it in the mid-west now. When reality hits, this will be blowing in the breeze.
I'm guessing he's not the decision maker.
As quick as this happened, it's clear that Cam didn't do what he said he was going to do, and it wasn't even close.
I guess I'm out of the loop... What does this mean exactly?
Former player pissed about his boy leaving VT, and saying don't even think about recruiting any more players from our high school because you aren't welcome.
Twitter = touring the sausage factory.
Ahh leadership at its finest.
Edit: I can how how this will could be seen as sarcasm, but it's not. I hope others rally to back our coach and our team.
Sometimes people need to be called out. I have no problem with this from a veteran player to a freshman
Absolutely what I'm saying. This dude has put in the work.
I think Coastie read some sarc in your initial comment. I didn't, but I thought about it.
Noted and edited for clarity. Thanks.
Indeed. Legs all 'round.
And when you put in the work...good things happen
Tyrell Smith retweeted as well:
https://twitter.com/TyrellSmith79/status/1024390467755102210?s=19
So far I have counted no fewer than 5 current players who have retweeted or liked this teeet, at least three VT staff members, four former players and multiple current players parents.
Aaaand @TsunamiFord .... 👀
I saw that retweet.
Does this mean we have still have a chance???
No
Annnnnd now that tweet is gone.
Probably for the best.
There is no need to get into a twitter war with a recruit who just left the program, regardless of what happened there.
never mind. here's a gif
Subtweet?
Uh oh
I haven't seen anybody mention this yet on any of the forums - and...I'm sure there was a good reason to do so but does anyone know why Joe Kane was moved from DL to OL? His film, to me, looked more exciting that Goode's. I assume, maybe the staff is worried about the future at C and Kane had experience there but it is just something I've been wondering. It just seems that with the uptick in OL recruiting and development, the need is greater at DL. Like I said, I'm sure the coaches have their reasons - I was just wondering if anyone on here had any insight on it. I would've loved to have seen Wyatt Teller be a wrecking ball on the D-Line. I know he was a road grader at guard but I've always just wondered - what if.