Saw this on the Sabre. Apparently the vultures (Saban etc.) are now circling http://chat.virginia.sportswar.com/message_board/football/2013/October/1...
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Saw this on the Sabre. Apparently the vultures (Saban etc.) are now circling http://chat.virginia.sportswar.com/message_board/football/2013/October/1...
Comments
Man I'd love to have him, but I don't think Beamer will go after a committed recruit like Saban will (and rightfully so, Beamer is class). Then again I'm positive Saban would club baby seals if it mean he had a slightly better chance to land even a 3 star recruit.
I don't know that I would want him after he had all of ZERO interest in us during his recruitment. He may be a great talent, but I'd rather have a CJ Reavis.
Fairly sure it's in his contract with the devil to club 5 baby seals daily, and 10 on gameday.
clubbing with baby seals...
You monster!
Spit take! This is hysterical - +1.
I just realized Bruce Smith and Seal are twins
Except for the whole face and body size thing
How can you notice anything but how hot Heidi Klum is? Is is really possible for a pregnant woman to be that hot? My wife is pregnant right now, and more beautiful that ever I might add, but that right there is unbelievable.
I couldn't help but notice your signature line and how funny it is given the picture immediately above it. It only gets funnier when you know that they're divorced now.
In June of this year Blanding said, "I feel with Virginia, we're going to be on the upside of things. Not saying we're going to right away go win the national championship. Not saying we're going to right away in the ACC championship, but we're going to go compete for those."
The fact that they have verbal commitments from two of the top 10 players in the high school class of 2014 makes want to throw glass bottles at a wall.
I honestly don't know what Mike London promises these kids.
**EDIT**
I also found a quote from when Brown committed to UVA. Blanding said, "We really sat down and looked at the school. We feel like we're building a dynasty."
I just don't get it. They are going to win two games this season.
Hookers & blow?
Must be some darn good blow. You seen the girls at UVA? There's a reason they only talk about the campus being nice to look at.
Zing.
They won't sign both (or either) of those two guys.
Its not what is being said or sold to the kids its what being sold to the people in these kids inner circles.....
Bingo
I wonder if the Hoos are seeing the same banner on their site that I am. It would be hilarious if they did.
Hokies live rent-free in the minds of everyone that follows Cavalier Football.
Let me also say, The Sabre's format and interface is just turrible. The Key Play is far easier on the eyes and more enjoyable.

Agreed. Seriously, who wants to go through and click to read someone's response. Following a conversation on there is impossible.
First time I saw it I thought I was doing something wrong, then I realized....
I can't like it, but I like it.
They are, and I've seen them complain about it. It make me happy.
London is good at one thing I see, selling Sh*t
I don't know. I bet he's got the foot-beat on absolute lockdown between The Pretzel Twister and Finish Line at Richmond Square Mall.
mcjVT: Like so?
Ladies and gentlemen, Mike London's recruiting plan.
I particularly liked this comment from the Land of the Delhoosional -
"Doesnt matter... 0% chance of London going anywhere after this year ** -- chwvhoo 10/15/2013 1:06 PM.
Let's see, UVA has already lost two in-conference games to Pitt and Maryland, and they have yet to play Duke, GT, Clemson, UNC, Miami, and The Real Tech. I'm not seeing to many Ws in that group, if any. I think Mikey's on his way out, probably within a couple of weeks after Signing Day.
I personally don't think it's delusional that London is staying regardless of the rest of the season. UVA just brought in all those new coaches on 2 year contracts and London's buyout is still very high because of the contract extension he was given a couple years ago. Yeah they aren't bowling again and won't finish with more than 4 wins (and I realize that's probably optimistic) again either, but he's still somehow put together UVA's best recruiting class yet. They really have nothing to lose by giving him another year other than another embarrassing season, which they have gotten quite accustomed to at this point, and possibly gain two national top 10 players, finish out the contracts of the assistant coaches, and significantly reduce the buyout on London's deal.
I can almost guarantee you that UVA will lose at least one of those two Top 10 players before Signing Day rolls around. Way too much negativity around that program to want to commit to playing 4-5 years for anyone's guess at this point in time.
Additionally, UVA has the money to do whatever they want to do in regards to the coaching situation.
Said it on twitter will say it again. I don't want any of these decommits to be Hokies. I want winners, and they are obviously picking a school for the wrong reasons.
I wouldn't say they are picking a school for the "wrong reason", but they certainly arn't picking a school because they want to win. There are a lot of reasons why kids pick certain schools, and like it or not UVA is a pretty damn good place to have a degree from.
Let's hope so because after their eligibility is up, they'll need to use it.
"I don't get it..."
-- UVA affiliates
I said something to this effect about Andrew Brown if he was to decommit on another board and got downvoted, but I wholeheartedly agree with you
Brown at least showed some interest in us during recruitment, as we were in his Top 3. I would possibly take a look at Brown, but I agree Blanding is not going to happen no matter what goes on in C-Ville
Does that mean you wouldn't accept any transfers either? And I don't think you can judge an 18 year old from a far and say he is picking a school for the wrong reason, if thats where he feels comfortable with that staff then fine, but if he has a come to Jesus moment and sees the light why not accept him? If he is fully committed to Tech and being the best he can be then we should accept him with open arms.
Transfers are an interesting dynamic. I can't remember the last time we got a transfer that didn't come from a substantially smaller school that we actually recruited the first time around. Maybe I'm forgetting someone but someone like Benedict we didn't offer out of HS.
This may be an exception, but Corey Fuller went to Kansas for Track before transferring to Tech. Couldn't find any information regarding his football recruitment, but sort of fits the bill.
Kyshoen Jarrett flipped his commitment after Pitt fired their coach. Should VT have told him no thanks? VT's current starting left tackle was an ECU commit a year ago. Should Beamer have told him to go away?
Pitt is a better program in my opinion than UVA, and he was a PA kid. Also, I don't believe we offered McLaughlin until he prepped at FUMA, could be wrong about that.
Comparing apples and oranges.
Pitt being a better program than UVA is a) a low bar to clear and b) irrelevant, since VT is a better program than Pitt as well. I'm not sure how Jarrett bailing on Pitt because they fired the coach for a more stable program is different than Blanding flipping for a more stable program should UVA fire London. I really don't see a difference.
The way I see it is these are Virginia kids that want to stay in state, but choose to go to the far inferior program to do what? Get a good education? I can't fault the kids for that one bit, but if I'm a blue chip athlete my dreams end with me in the NFL, and I'm picking a school that will help me get there.
I think a PA kid committing to a school that at the time had been ranked 6 of the previous 9 seasons is a lot different than Blanding, who never even gave Tech the time of day flipping (hypothetically) to come there almost a year after he originally committed to UVA.
Maybe I don't give enough credit to these recruiting ranking websites but I think they are very overrated.
This one has been discussed here and elsewhere: " but if I'm a blue chip athlete my dreams end with me in the NFL, and I'm picking a school that will help me get there."
Somehow there is the notion that playing at VT (especially on D) is not going to get many into the NFL. I don't know how or why it originated, but I think it is true that there are not enough VT players on the rosters these days (except for a Vick or Chancellor or D Brown). I think it was French who discussed this at length in an earlier thread. I hope that changes with time.
I think it's because of Fosters defensive scheme. It's not one that really preps a player for the NFL. I've heard that somewhere before but I'm not sure how true that is. I'm pretty sure that it doesn't matter what system you're in if you're picking off passes 2 times per game and sacking the QB 3-4 times per game
Yeah I actually had this conversation with a coworker yesterday and he brought up a good point about our DB's. What other college team plays as much man as we do and leaves our guys on an island? Corners that can play zone in the NFL are a dime a dozen compared to how many can play man. That may be why so many of our DB guys get a shot in the league. Bud and Torrian are basically showcasing them for the NFL during their careers.
On the same note Whip is such a tweener position it doesn't really translate to the NFL game. Although, if Dadi can prove to cover at that spot he could be one hell of a 3-4 LB in the NFL.
Since Cornell Brown, the following Hokies defensive front six (ends, tackles, mikes, and backers) have started a game in the NFL
John Engleberger
Darryl Tapp
Jason Worilds (different position)
Jonathan Lewis.
Guys who were terrific at VT like David Pugh, JC Price, and Corey Moore never got a sniff in the NFL because Foster's scheme is so dependent on DL to slant and for the inside backers to play straight ahead instead of flowing sideline to sideline. It is a Georgia Tech wishbone of defenses.
Other coaches in the ACC use that track record against VT (Stephone Anthony to Clemson, Travis Hughes to UNC.) most of the chatter I heard about Butch Davis was that the first thing he pulled when he was going head to head with VT on a recruit was to show an infographic on VT's lack of successful NFL front seven players.
It is a major testament to the entire staff that the defensive recruiting has improved so much over how dreadful it was around 2009.
Don't forget Xavier Adibi. Started 8 games for the Texans.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/AdibXa99.htm
Minor errata: Moore started 4 games. Chris Ellis started a game. There's also James Anderson. Overall though your point is correct.
Anderson was a whip, which in that era was more of an extra free safety than an OLB. He was one of the bigger ones though.
I had no clue that Adibi had received any starts. I thought he was an exclusive special teams guy. Who did Ellis play for? Kid had NFL talent, but it took forever to get him to win a job in Blacksburg.
Ellis was drafted by the Bills.
I can't speak for all of the recruiting sites, but generally Rivals 5 star guys end up getting drafted. Obviously they miss on people here and there but there's going to be misses when dealing with 18 year olds. Just looking at last year: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/2013/2013-nfl-draft-first-round-recruits/
17 of the 32 1st rounders were 4 or 5 star guys. It's fun to say that the recruiting sites just look at who SEC teams recruit and make them 5 star guys (and there is some of that, no doubt) but they aren't throwing darts at the wall.
I can't speak to why athletes choose the schools they choose. Some kids want to get on the field as soon as possible, and that's easier to do at UVA than VT. Some kids may not feel they fit Bud Foster's scheme. Some may not want to go to Blacksburg. Some may want to go be with their friends. There's also nothing to keep them from changing their mind as circumstances change. It's annoying but that's how it goes. At one point VT was the inferior program and Beamer was the one selling hope. It would have made all the sense in the world for Mike Vick to go to Syracuse (where he originally committed) and follow McNabb but Beamer was able to convince him otherwise.
And if Blanding flips he probably leaves the state just based on the schools he liked prior to committing. By all accounts he's a talented player so I hope he ends up somewhere other than UVA.
When he was coaching at USC-East, I think Shane knew about McLaughlin.
When he was originally being recruited out of high school, McLaughlin had offers from ECU, Marshall, FIU, and Wake. Additionally, Clemson, GT, USC-E, UNC, and VT were also interested in him but did not make an offer.
While I have no idea of what his (or any other recruits) decision process is/was I do have to wonder about his.
He likely has the skills to play professionally and if I were in that position I'd head to the school that would give me the best chance to learn the position and get national exposure.
Compare where he could be after 3yrs @DBU vs #LOLUVA. 1-2nd round vs ???
Why he would want to get caught up in the drama at #LOLUVA is beyond me.
Call me arrogant, call me idealistic, but I'm okay with top recruits not jumping ship if the team they committed to isn't doing too well. I don't want athletes who wind up at Virginia Tech because their first choice sucks. I want athletes who want to be in Blacksburg and play for us regardless of how many stars ESPN and Scouts.com slapped on their profiles.
by that logic, then you don't like Kyshoen Jarrett, who jumped ship on Pitt to play for us.
Look people, it's nice and all to have kids that WANT to come play for your team, but it's also nice to have kids that also don't want to play for your team. If they come here and play to win, they'll leave with nothing but love for their alma mater.
You recruit to win games. You don't recruit for feel good, future Tom Rinaldi stories.
I get your very valid argument. And I never said I don't like them, I just prefer when they pick us first. I'm just not so sure we need big name recruits. We've done well turning 2 and 3 star guys into great teams (yes, I know we get four and five stars, too).
While I am very proud of the way VT has been built under beamer getting these 2 and 3 star guys, I have come to terms it may be necessary to start moving more into the 3,4 and 5 star guys so we can get a better shot at this elusive national title.
I have always wondered what beamer and his guys could do with those type of players. And it sucks high school players don't realize how well CFB and crew coach up their players to become the best they can be.
Ah yes, Bud and Beamer have done great with 2 and 3 star guys. But think what they can do with 4-5 star guys! The truth is some of them don't pan out, but that's gonna be the case with the lesser star guys as well. Just from seeing Facyson and KF11, the higher ranked guys are more likely to contribute right away, esp. the ones that play "further away from the ball."
Faycson was a 3-star right?
Yes, though a highly ranked 3-Star. I think he was just a point short of being a 4-Star.
Edit: 247 Sports ranked him at 89, with a composite score of 0.8737. Their re-rank article has moved him up to the number 10 player of the class. (For comparison, Kendall checks in at #15)
http://247sports.com/Player/Brandon-Facyson-14540?Institution=9579
http://247sports.com/Article/247Sports-re-ranks-the-top-prospects-in-201...
Maybe Bud and Beamer believed those players ranked as a 3* by the recruiting services were actually very high on Tech's board.
If we are to believe Rivals, for instance, our 2-deep defense should be pretty mediocre - but they're not, are they?
DE - 3* - James Gayle / 2* - Tyrel Wilson
DT - 3* - Derrick Hopkins / 3* - Woody Baron
DT - 2* - Luther Maddy / 3* - Nigel Williams
DE - 3* - J. R. Collins / 3* - Dadi Nicholas
LB - NR - Jack Tyler (walkon) / 3* - Chase Williams
LB - 3* - Tariq Edwards / 4* - Deon Clarke
OLB - NR - Josh Trimble / NR - Derek Dinardo
Nickel - 5* - Kendall Fuller
Rover - 4* - Kyshoen Jarrett
CB - 3* - Antone Exum / 5* - CB - Kendall Fuller / 3* - Brandon Facyson
FS - 3* - Detrick Bonner / 3* - Der'Woun Greene
CB - 3* - Kyle Fuller / 3* - Donovan Riley
That is truly the genius (or any other adjective you'd like) of recruiting. It is not just a matter of how many stars a kid has and what his height/weight/40 time are/were. Yes, Rivals and other recruiting sites tend to get it close to right, but at the end of the day, there are so many factors that can make or break a recruit. Hindsight would say that half these players would get at least one star bump, but that is now and not when they were recruited (*obviously the then and now changes for some depending on how long they have been in the program).
He he he, now they are freaking out about Brown. They are really scared because Brown had us way up on his list. Oh how I love to see them cry. http://chat.virginia.sportswar.com/message_board/football/2013/October/1...
Come on meme people, this was the perfect opportunity for some 'scumbag saban' pics. I'm disappointed...
He speaks the truth

It's quite possible some of these guys may not have the confidence they'd get any playing time.
If they come around and get some confidence their senior year and realize they'd be able to actually get on the field, maybe they change their mind.
Thinking you may not be good enough to actually play for a Bud Foster, would be an easy thing to do.
Timecop's sell might be "Hey, at VT, you'd never get any playing time. I'm telling you right now. Here, you'd get on the field Freshman year and we'd just have a good time playing DIV I football."
**we'd just have a good time playing high school football**
was it chase minnifield that frank said grew up a vt fan but knew he'd get more playing time at uva so he chose them? yet another factor for these kids. i dont think chase couldnt have played for bud, he just knew he'd see the field much sooner in cville.
I remember Coach Cav saying that about Demetrious Nicholson a couple of years ago at a recruiting night.
I wonder if this is a set strategy at some schools?
Blue chip verbals to crappy team, good team says 'wish you luck';
then waits until mid-season and then returns with 'Hey, just checking in. We still have a spot for you.'
Blue chip thinks 'What the hell was I thinking?'
Blue chip breaks crappy school's heart.
not proficient enough to photoshop a coach's head in (like saban) but you get the idea
Rebuttal:
All he can offer is a lesson in toughness and a quick and painless demise
Now they are all freaking out that Andrew Brown will decommit from them and commit to Tech. Interesting.
Here's the thing. I think a lot of these guys are looking at the situation like "I'm not concerned with what they're doing on the field right now, I'm concerned with what we're doing on the field 2-3 years from now". They look at UVA as an unfinished product, THEY KNOW THEY SUCK RIGHT NOW but they firmly believe they won't suck when they play there. That's the kool-aid London is selling to these high schoolers.
I think Andrew Brown and Quin Blanding look at it from this standpoint: We've got a 3/4 star QB in the wings with Corwin Cutler. We have an electric 5-star RB in Mizzel who's only a true freshman. Then you have Eli Harold who's admittedly a great football player. Then when you actually watch UVA play right now...they do suck, but there are flashes there. Those flashes are enough to conjure up visions of grandeur. That hope is enough to keep them committed...for now.
It sucks that they're going to Hooville, but luckily the Hokies have made a living on turning 2 and 3 stars into All-Americans. We're a program that doesn't need 5 stars to be successful.
And, just one more point: UVA wants to recruit great football players, Virginia Tech wants to create great football players. Big difference.
Couldn't agree more.
I get what you are saying, and these are just kids,
BUT.......a glimpse at UVA's history doesn't back up any of these claims.
Look at the last 10 years and each year they are just as likely to have a losing season as they are to have a CHANCE at a bowl! Their BEST record in that time was 2007 when they went 9-4.
When was the last time they were nationally relevant?
They have won THREE conference championships in their entire existence; the last being in 1995 which was co-champion with FSU.
Yes, it is a good school, and they have had some talent go there, but Good Lord, there is 'Hope' and there is bull$#^*.
Fully agreed. But that didn't work out for the previous 3-4 recruiting classes, did it? People can believe in the future all they want, but eventually if TimeCop's program isn't competing for
nationalconferencedivision championship, something will have to give.The downvote is an accident. Someone balance out my blunder.
Gotcha
Thanks bro.
We don't need 5 star guys to be successful but I do believe we need more 4 and a few 5 star guys to win a national championship.
I believe we would get an initial bump on pre-season rankings if our roster was loaded with 4 & 5 star recruits. While I think that VT is a strong regional contender, to make it over the hump to a national contender we will have to have a 'buzz' (for lack of a better word) going on pre-season and come in ranked in the upper half of the polls. It is hard to play for a national championship when you come in at the lower half of the polls (or unranked) and your schedule is so-so. Especially if the schedule is perceived as soft with only a couple of (lower) ranked opponents....
I say that understanding that the other school has 4 & 5 star athletes on their roster and still suck, but our coaches have proven that they can coach what comes into the program, so loading up with ranked personnel will help our pre-season rankings.
We were ranked #13 in the 1999 preseason AP poll with a so-so schedule, but ended up playing for the NC against FSU. We finished the year ranked #2.
Except for possibly Mike Vick, that team was filled with players very few of the Big Boys wanted.
I know that Jamil Kamara hasn't commited to UVA yet, but looks like he is now high on Wisconsin. Wonder if current situation is an influence.