September 2019 Recruiting Vent Thread

EDIT: This got out of hand.

Use this thread to complain about recruiting if you so choose.

For substantive posts, please go this way:

https://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2019/september/5/september-2019-football-recruiting-and-transfer-thread-redux

And above all else:

via GIPHY

DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.

Comments

Also, his coach (Asst Coach at Princess Anne, and maybe his dad?) is not particularly happy with Fuente:

Hokies United l Ut Prosim

I guess we need to donate more

Free Hugh

I'm pretty sure this is Grimes' father. Shocking that Fuente hasn't spoken to him given that he's such a big target for us. Looks like the writing is already on the wall with this one.

Yep, that's his dad.

Our Recruiting - peaking at low 20's, nose diving for the 2020 class, is JUSSSSTTT fine.

What absolutely kills me here is that Whit spoke on and on about how much value needed to be put on recruiting when he hired Fuente. And 4 years later, its like we have a staff that has no clue what its doing on that front.

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

I really wonder if Fuente came into this job thinking he could handle P5 recruiting, realized he might be in over his head or may have to change his introverted ways which isn't comfortable, and instead of adapting and growing is just digging in his heels at this point. Almost like just being so overwhelmed and unwilling to change that you just say screw it and whatever happens happens. Kind of a scary $15 mil thought there.

And now compare this to what is happening in basketball, where we have a coach who came in and knew he had deficiencies in recruiting, and instead surrounded himself with a support staff that excels in that area.

The way the two programs are being run right now are night and day different, and its no surprise that one seems to be on a massive upswing, and the other seems to be in a tailspin

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Recruiting N-E-W-S.

Not blues, brother.

Leonard. Duh.

This just makes me sad...

You have got to be kidding me.

I'm just gonna go ahead and beat hokiefireman to it since we know it's coming:

Do you really expect Fuente to talk to every single father of every recruit? He's focused on running our excellent offense. Besides, it's clear this guy doesn't like him so what's the point of even trying? He should focus his attention on this unrated guy who really wants to be here that has a great eval. /s

Actually no it's completely unacceptable that Fuente hasn't talked to the father of a recruit as long as that recruit wants his parents in the room.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Sarcasm aside, upvote for some progress. This may be the first time you've ever agreed that something Fuente did is completely unacceptable.

Then you haven't been paying attention just reading DC Wilson and his fan clubs posts and downvotes. I don't think Fuente does a good job with opening the program to media, don't like not having a few open practices for example. Also not a fan of him keeping some of the support Beamer years, should have shaken things up there. Got plenty of criticism for Whit and the Hokie Club too even though I Support both of them completely.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

My guy!

Free Hugh

The last time a dad with this vocal on social media was Corwin Culter's dad (who was involved in a lot of shady bag-dropping shenanigans with the Thoroughbreds). I remember he was upset that Lefty said his son wasn't good enough to play QB for us.

Costed us a shot at:

5-Star Quin Blanding: Stellar college career, UDFA, on the Panthers' practice squad
5-Star Andrew Brown: Meh college career, 5th round draft pick, never made an barely on a active roster)
5-Star Smoke Mizzel: Solid college career, UDFA, practice squad fodder nondescript NFL career lasting two years, now out of the league)
4-Star Jamil Kamara: Played one season and then transferred, now serving a five year prison sentence
3-Star Corwin Cutler: Rode the bench for two seasons then transferred

The majority of those guys were game changing recruits who didn't really live up to their promise (arguably with the exception of Blanding).

Blanding was the only guy that might have helped us. Brown was soft and wouldn't have fit Wiles's scheme. Ricky Walker was a better college player. Mizzel did nothing against VT, doubt he would have made a difference here either. the other two are just clowns.

that's probably doing Mizell a little bit dirty - he played in 12 games over two years for the Bears, including a start, and scored. Fringe depth guy, but was more than practice squad fodder.

"Why gobble gobble chumps asks such good questions, I will never know." - TheFifthFuller

Fixed, but still sucks, still went to UVa.

Not to nitpick but Andrew Brown is on the Bengals 53 man roster and has had a good preseason. The new coaches are pretty excited about his potential.

Just gotta make sure he doesn't punch any refs

No amount of fundraising is going to fix this kind of fundamental recruiting issue.

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Exactly, this is a five star recruit. We should be bending over backwards to get this kid. Hell, neglecting to talk to the parents of ANY recruit is borderline unacceptable, let alone on multiple accounts (assuming Fuente was actually on campus EVERY time Grimes and his dad were there).

Bingo... Shane wanted to recruit like a big time school and the rest of the staff wouldn't sit with him at dinner. We get 4 star recruits on occasion because of our brand long term- Enter sandman, Vick, BCS games, or they had brothers that played here, etc. more so than the recruiters on the actual staff right now.

Jesus there is so much bullshit to unpack here.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Go on....

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Hudson , Nester, Dax, Turner, Patterson, Conner, Tisdale, Mitchell, Payoute, Walker, King, Pickney

Seems like more than a "few" please tell how any of them came here because of BCS games that happened 7 years ago at best and Tech only had 1 win in. Again recruiting can still suck and need improvement without outright bullshit that DC makes up.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

I mean you're talking about 12 guys over a few recruiting classes where our peers, the teams we want to be, have the ability to get that many in a single class. Nobody is dismissing our ability to land a few solid kids in a class, where we are lacking is volume, and we aren't good at all there.

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

14 in two years for Tech. Again this year sucks no one can say it doesn't but to claim as SC did/does that it's rare, no one on staff can recruit etc isn't based in logic.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

I think this staff has a level of recruiting they are comfortable with, and that's where the line ends regardless of who they are recruiting. We offer loads of really talented guys, and we likely seem to focus on the ones who have significant mutual interest. We don't seem to be adept at going above and beyond for recruits who aren't interested in us initially, but a more personable relationship and attempt at getting to know the recruit could turn the tide. Basically we throw out a net and see what we can catch and move on. Other staffs are sitting back and playing the long game and going for the big fish.

we likely seem to focus on the ones who have significant mutual interest.

Grimes is a 5* player that is very interested in Tech. There is plenty of mutual interest. We need to 100% be going all out to land him, which includes anyone else who may play a role in his decision making process, aka his family.

Step one is for Fuente to personally apologize to Tony's father and promise to keep him in the loop and bring him out to see the program and meet the staff.

Free Hugh

Bear Bryant- yes, him..in the 1960's had his assistants research who the player lived with, who raised him if not his parents, what his grandma's name was, what his mom's name was if she was not married, etc. He got all of this information before he talked to the HS coach- whom he said was much less important than the kid's grandmother- in the south. In 2019, our head coach won't take time to meet the father of a 5 star recruit. Nice.

sounds like we need more support staff

"Why gobble gobble chumps asks such good questions, I will never know." - TheFifthFuller

bear Bryant offered probably 15-20 scholarships a year, VT offers 80-100 a year.

twitter @smithey_daniel
head scout BSP scouting specializing in north florida/ southern GA highschool football scouting

How many dad's of 5 star players interested in VT does Fuente have to reach out to? it's not 80-100

Why is everyone automatically assuming shit on Twitter is accurate? Just because a recruit's dad tweets something, that doesn't make it true. I'm not calling the dad a liar, but until I hear it from a #sauce, I won't take it as gospel. Come on people, not everything on the internet is true.

"Nooooooooooo!"
~What happened?
"James Franklin to Virginia Tech...."
~Fuck me......*sigh*
"Oh my God.... They're gonna take all our recruits... like WTF bro...."
~*squints eyes in disbelief*

Some of it isn't just effort, some of it is simply charisma and the ability to sell.

Free Hugh

I think that attitude extends Beyond Recruiting for this Staff.

Fuente seems to have a level of comfort with conditioning, coaching, scheme, and recruiting. I've seen very little evidence so far that he's willing to go outside of his "comfort zone" in any of these areas.

The problem is, the results both on the field and off the field or not really proving that his tactics are effective. When you're Dabo Swinney at Clemson, you can make the program conform to you because you have results to back it up. So far, Fuente does not.

As far as this situation, I view it as simply another in a long list of red flags that Fuente doesn't have the skills to run a program at this level. It certainly provides some clarity on why are 2020 recruiting class has been so underwhelming.

If you aren't going to go 100% full-bore after one of the best recruits in your home state in the past several years, then what exactly are you focusing on?

I think in my opinion the biggest rub against Fuente right now is his attention to detail.

Conceptually, the offense should work. Conceptually, prioritizing ball security should work, and the schemes we're trying to run should be working. But its all breaking down because of the little things here or there. Like, routes that aren't crisp by WRs, passive blocking schemes on plays we need to be aggressive, a QB who makes the wrong reads on the read option, a QB who forces the ball into the wrong spot, RBs who make cuts into holes that have already closed, receivers who turn into the defender instead of away from the defender on a curl route, all the off the field stuff we heard about in the offseason, and now not taking the time to speak with the parents of our top recruit. I've also heard that we planned to have Michael Vick in town for Devyn Ford's official visit to allow the super prospect to rub shoulders with his football idol, but somehow wires got crossed and we couldn't get MV7 in Blacksburg on time, and to make matters worse, we somehow didn't have Vick's banner flying in Lane that day, either.

Just the little things, the attention to detail we seem to be lacking right now.

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

The anti-Nick Saban

It's weird to hear a criticism that reads exactly like what I'd expect Fuente to say in a press conference when everybody goes ballistic over anything m he says in those. Anyway Ford did in fact meet Vick during a visit so... Β―\_(ツ)_/Β―

Joffrey, Cersei, Ilyn Payne, the Hound, Jeff Jagodzinski, Paul Johnson, Pat Narduzzi.

its not a problem in Year 1

When those same little things are still plaguing the team 3 years later, yeah that's when it becomes a concern with the attention to detail of the staff itself.

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Beat me to it regarding Vick and Ford. Leg.

I've also heard that we planned to have Michael Vick in town for Devyn Ford's official visit to allow the super prospect to rub shoulders with his football idol, but somehow wires got crossed and we couldn't get MV7 in Blacksburg on time, and to make matters worse, we somehow didn't have Vick's banner flying in Lane that day, either.

That's simply not true. Ford met Vick.

This is accurate.

I have no idea why my username is VT_Warthog.

Arkansas blew a 24-0 lead in the Belk Bowl.

Vick's flight was late and the banner was either damaged or stolen. Fuente has zero to do with either of those. Like I keep saying there are plenty of legit reasons to have concerns or questions we don't need to be reaching, don't become DC.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Yeah DC is concerned with poor recruiting and losing a bunch of games. Instead, bury your head in the sand and pretend everything is OK as attendance shrinks and the ACC CG is a pipe dream. Whatever you do, don't criticize fuente though.

Good then bring up real valid points that everyone else is without making up bullshit.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

I bring up valid points all of the time. You ignore them because they don't fit your Fuente is Lombardi worldview. I want VT to win games. I don't want to lose to BC and make a bunch of excuses about turnovers and continued weak play in the secondary and run game. I don't want to hear it. Fuente is the head coach. He is responsible for turnovers, luck, uniforms, recruiting, zombies, record attrition, note being able to develop Patterson and Hunter, Soda lines at the games. EVERYTHING. He is the head coach. If we don't have a pass rush to speak of, he is responsible. If we can't convert a 3rd and 1 for 4 years, he is responsible. Not youth, not Trevon Hill, not Mook Reynolds, not injuries, not anything. Stop the lame excuses. Win games. Elevate the program in under 10 years. Simple.

Sure "valid" like you haven't actually seen a schools campus before you decide it's a "strip mall", or valid when you say Tech only gets a 4 star every once in awhile. Jesus that's just in last two days you have made something out of whole cloth and I've called you out on it. I get it, your idol lies a lot and just ignores his critics when he gets called out on it.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Now i'm definitely never going to be confused for a DCWilson supporter...but it's really seeming like you're going after him no matter what he says. Just thought I'd throw that out there as something I've noticed. Do with it what you will. Leg for both of you.

February..'96...the steak: ribeye, the whiskey:Lagavulin 16, the lady next to me: a bit**.....

I get it, your idol lies a lot and just ignores his critics when he gets called out on it.

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

COMPARED TO OTHER TOP 40 ish P% SCHOOLS... we do only get 4 star players every once in a while. You can ignore that, fine.

Y'all can hate DC and maybe the way he words things sometimes but I honestly like it, he's blunt and tells it how it really is, sometimes people don't like that, but he's absolutely right if we always act like everything will be okay no matter what the result is then we will get no where, we need to improve recruiting and on field results immediately, if we don't then Fuente needs to go. I for one wouldn't be opposed to Shane Beamer being the next head coach he has the prowess for recruiting that we need to improve

Go for it

I for one wouldn't be opposed to Shane Beamer being the next head coach he has the prowess for recruiting...

I was right there with you until this point, at which point I thought....

"Yes I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches, and staff." - JMFF

If Shane gets a coordinator gig in the SEC or B1G, etc.- a real offensive or defensive coordinator job for a few years, why not? If he shows he can coordinate a big time unit at a major school, I would think him being around Frank Beamer, Steve Spurrier, Kirby Smart - he would have learned some "head coach" things. If you take the words Shane Beamer off his resume and just look at it, it is stronger than Justin Fuente's before he got the Memphis job. The thing I like most about Shane, is that he wants VT to win and win big. He wants VT to be an SEC type program, and he loves the school. He is also a super super nice guy and a gentleman- I have spoken with him several times. I would be 100% behind it if he first got a coordinators gig and did well.

I'm shocked we agree on this. Most long term fans aren't fans of Shane.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

he's been nothing but class every time I have spoken with him. And he works his ass off. He would not be out-worked as VTs head coach.

#UnpopularOpinion

We should take a long hard look at Shane to be our next head coach when Fuente is done. Be it 5 years, 10 years, or 3 months down the line I have always thought he would be perfect to get VT back to where it can be. His biggest knock against him when he was here was that he just didn't know how to tow the line in regards to how VT football operates. But when you look into it, half the reason why this is the case is because he wanted VT to step up from small time underdog school who is just happy to be there and to start acting like the regional football power that we had become. Trying to instill that SEC mindset within our psyche is always going to lead to friction up front, but if done right, would pay off in spades later.

Go the Dabo route with him. Give him the head coaching gig, allow him to focus on overhauling recruiting to get us to where we should be in that department, and open the checkbook for him to sign the best coordinators he can find, and I think that would be a giant step in the right direction for the program as a whole.

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Bring back Shane, and then introduce him to the blast furnace if he doesn't have the ship righted in three years?

It would be OK if he's been a successful OC or DC or head coach, but doesn't make any sense at all with his current resume. We wouldn't have hired Fuente without Memphis on his resume.

Edit: I would do it under one set of circumstances, though: If he could immediately bring a pretty good OC, DC, and staff immediately. I think that would be a tall order right now. It would also be a bit of a risky move on his part, when he's had a nice career up until now.

Look, if he could somehow bring a passion for quality football program managment, mature and repeatable recruiting practices and processes, and exquisite execution on the field, I'd be okay with him as head coach.

;^) Nub nu, bud.

"Yes I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches, and staff." - JMFF

Don't hate... Celebrate! Nub Nu

Absolutely celebrating! The words just sorta stuck in my head and, well, impulse and opportunity occurred simultaneously, if you will.

"Yes I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches, and staff." - JMFF

Fuente is the head coach. He is responsible for turnovers, luck, uniforms, recruiting, zombies, record attrition, note being able to develop Patterson and Hunter, Soda lines at the games. EVERYTHING.


Some of these I can (kinda) make a connection (TOs, recruiting, [Hooker & Patterson]), but ya lost me on a number of the others. Care to clarify & specify??

throwing out stupid examples to point out that Fuente is in charge... no excuses. He is in charge of "everything"

So he's the guy we have to talk to about the paper airplanes?

Outspoken team cake advocate. Hates terrapins. Resident Macho Man Gif Poster. Distant cousin to Dork Magic. Frequently misspells words.

"Yes I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches, and staff." - JMFF

Don't forget Proctor- he is a 4 star recruit. Don't forget Fu's highest rated recruit Devon Hunter- who played a snap against BC. What about Dylan Rivers? He is now backing up a RS Freshman. Why are you leaving those guys out? What about Hendon Hooker? You didn't mention him? But you mention guys like Payoute and Pickney who haven't played a snap. Interesting. And Im the bullshitter. Right

OK so now the goalposts are moving to player eval? Get your head on straight man. Future bust or not, Devon was a phenomal recruiting job

The goalpost aren't moving. I answered a cherry pick, with a cherry pick. Simple.

I listed two years and counted all 14 in those two years how in the world is that cherry picked? We are talking about recruiting and then you want to switch to what they do in college. So do we want 4 and 5 stars or 3 stars who turn into great college players make up your mind what's important.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

You listed 12, not 14

By name. Then said this

14 in two years for Tech.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

First I only went back two years but damn thanks for listing even MORE 4 stars. Seems like an awful lot for a school that only gets a few every once in awhile.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Your last statement is 100% true when compared to other P5 schools. We do recruit better than VMI though, I give you that.

I'm listening.... Link our 2020 recruiting board to frame your argument please.

We get 4 star recruits on occasion

Move that goalpost some more. Jesus I should have known after reading your twitter that ever trying to have a rational fact filled conversation with you would be impossible but you suck me in every time with your outright lies.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

What outright lies?

Alright im calling dana white. Y'all need to settle this in the octagon

The taste is so divine
A chemical come alive
Welcome to your vice
Good luck with life
'Cause you can't
You can't
You can't kill me that easily

Shane wanted to recruit like a big time school and the rest of the staff wouldn't sit with him at dinner.

My recollection from #sauces years ago said that Shane was pretty disliked in the RVA and acted like a privileged asshole. First I've heard of this.

Using /s is for cowards.

Apparently, Fuente doesn't say Hi to recruits dads

Came here in case of this comment, not disappointed.

It's weird for as many times as Grimes has talked about meeting with Fuente and how well they get along this has never come up. WTH

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

I am so over this coaching staff

But as a general rule of thumb, how involved is Fuente with defensive recruits to begin with? It's clear that Foster has (relatively) full autonomy on his side of the ball so there maybe a unspoken agreement that Fuente isn't involved with recruiting as well.

That being said, this isn't a good look.

Grimes is quoted in a 247 free article as saying he and Fuente spent time talking and he really enjoyed it. So while I believe the dad maybe there is more here or Fuente just isn't reading the signals correctly or who the hell knows.

https://t.co/sDMNTVtQpW?amp=1

With Justin Fuente, the conversation was much less about football.
"We didn't talk about football. We talked about movies and family. He is a huge movie guy," Grimes explained. "We talked about action movies like the Taken series. We also talked about Kevin Hart and his acting too. [Coach Fuente] is a big fan of scary movies too."

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Maybe this is just twitter code for Fuente not "dropping the bag"

How about we not accuse the father of one of our top targets of asking for money without zero evidence?

Much more likely (given comments by other recruits that VT didn't stay in touch as much as other schoolsβ€”maybe Ford?) that our current staff just isn't doing enough in the recruiting phase.

How about we not accuse the father of one of our top targets of asking for money without zero evidence?

Oh you naive little Hokie. Here's the dirty secret with recruiting: Almost every top flight recruit is getting paid under the table. If Grimes ends up being clean, he's in the minority of five star recruits.

I made that assumption given how talented the kid is. Nothing to do with his or his family's character.

Something that a lot of people of TKP don't think about is Fuente is committed to running a "clean" program and is unwilling to get into recruiting shenanigans. It's really hard to land five stars if the playing field is uneven. People let losing blindside them from the most obvious explanations.

Give me a fucking break. You made an assumption that his father is requesting something illegal (see FBI college basketball convictions for giving money to recruits). Whether you agree with it being illegal or not, your assumption absolutely reflects on his character, and you made it without any evidence but his son's recruiting ranking.

Of course money is exchanged in recruiting. But it's not all the time and it's not every recruit. That just happens to be a convenient excuse that fans of schools who don't get the players they want throw around.

If you think the most "obvious explanation" for why our 2020 class is ranked last in the ACC and 76th in the nation is that we don't pay recruits, you're burying your head in the sand to the most obvious explanation of all: our coaches blow at recruiting and the perception of our program to outsiders is that it's a dumpster fire at the moment.

maybe i'm in the minority for thinking this, but there's a big time difference between "the recruiting game is dirty and there's a ton of under the table money flying around" and "this one specific dad asked us for more money and now is salty that we didn't deliver because the recruiting game is dirty and there's a ton of under the table money flying around".

sure, paint with a broad brush, but i don't think that it's fair to say that this particular dad is out there trying to pimp his son if we don't have evidence for it.

"Why gobble gobble chumps asks such good questions, I will never know." - TheFifthFuller

It is fair to say, in general, that the majority of "adults" that have stewardship over a five star recruit pimp them out for financial/"political" ends? That's all I was insinuating.

I mean I get where you're coming from though. I didn't think my comment was out of bounds but I guess some people don't feel the same way.

There's a difference between "a booster from x program could help make sure grammie edna gets her medical care covered" and the parent or guardian of a recruit saying "you're gonna have to pay up if you want a shot" to a head football coach

shady recruiting is way more former than latter

"Why gobble gobble chumps asks such good questions, I will never know." - TheFifthFuller

And here's exactly why dipshits like you shouldn't make baseless accusations like this. Setting aside whether his son would come to VT or not (I'm not going to pretend we'll ever be in serious contention for a five star again without family ties), now your unfounded shit is floating around the internet.

Edit: I'll add that I'm a 247 subscriber and didn't see any of this kind of shit on their usually incredibly toxic board. So there's not an insignificant chance that your post is what this guy saw. Either way you're a fucking twat.

Edit 2: Since I'm catching downvotes, I'll re-iterate why this is so infuriating to me. In United States v. Gatto and related cases, adidas execs and college coaches were literally convicted of wire fraud for paying college basketball players and then misrepresenting to schools that players were eligible. We should not be accusing parents of prospects (or anyone) of fraudulent behavior just because you're upset their son might not pick our school.

So is he gonna say the same thing when a dipshit Penn St fan says something on the internet? Fake excuses. His mind was made up for whatever reason already. Recruiting is disgusting.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

Accusing people you don't know of criminal and dishonest behavior with no proof just because it makes you feel better about our recruiting is disgusting. There are things that matter more than where a 17 year old is going to school. And believe it or not, seeing your dad get slandered by one fan base but not another is something that would put a bad taste in someone's mouth.

any downvotes you're catching are probably because of "dipshits like you". maybe edit to "exactly why nobody on the internet should make"

"Why gobble gobble chumps asks such good questions, I will never know." - TheFifthFuller

Nah I get it. But, obviously, I feel strongly about this so I'm gonna leave it up unless it gets blurred.

That's not how this place works.

Haha, that's a funny comm-

*sees -100 bomb above*

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

HIS COMMENT WENT ZIMA!!!!

CUE UP THE CAVMAN FALLING OF THE HORSE GIFS!!

Joe Zima'd his seersucker ass out of existence!

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

You should really be rewarded for -100 votes. What's the opposite of plaid? Should it just go brown?

It should go argyle.

I planned to code that up this weekend.

I said it on the Redux but I'll say it here, too

The anonymity of the internet has brought out the worst in people. Going after a recruit and their family for what you perceive is... cowardly. This guy deserves to be called out and he deserves to be publicly shamed for it from here on out. And if Grimes ends up going somewhere else, pin it on this Kenny and don't let him forget it.

And even then, this is a big time overreaction from Coach Glover (yes, I know its his dad). Every fanbase has their dumbasses. Every fanbase has their fair share of internet pricks. Just a few years ago Penn St fans were up in arms about how child molestation and rape in the showers of the football locker room was just an overblown ordeal, and you're going to say that you'd rather send your son there because of the comments of one keyboard dumbass associated with VT?

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

He may have said it aggressively but he is right you know. It is very irresponsible to say what was said above and it is possible that led to the twitter comment. I don't really see why it got downvoted into oblivion. Seemed a little harsh to me.

That wasn't a mass downvote. Joe went zimanuclear on him

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Most underrated comment on the thread.

"Never hate on another programs recruiting tactic"

Goes on to drag VT recruiting.... Somebody has never heard of the play hard to get recruiting tactic /s

Everyone in this thread is blaming Fuente, but I feel for him. It's hard to dial the phone when you are sitting/scowling with your arms folded.

Listen to the Chowder and Grits Podcast for ACC and Hokies football talk.

This would annoy the hell out of me. Don't care what the post after this one says. If there's one sure fire way to get me to stop talking to someone, it's to bug the shit out of me.

Penn St:

Virginia Tech:

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

There were some claims in the thread that VT sent him 97 letters.

No idea if that's accurate, but I'm in agreement - I'd find this very obnoxious.

Hokies United l Ut Prosim

Fortunately for PSU, they're wise enough to read the room and have an idea about what may resonate with their target audience, while our coach's head is in the sand.

Fortunately for you, you're not a 17 yr old 5*, elite CB, so this likely isn't something you've got to worry about.

Fortunately for you, you're not a 17 yr old 5*, elite CB, so this likely isn't something you've got to worry about.

This comment was complete unnecessary and is just a variation on the "stay in your lane" type of attack. Anybody could just as easily say, "fortunately for you, you have zero experience of coaching or recruiting a college football team so your opinion is completely meaningless." Doesn't sound so great, does it?

It's really sad to see how far the level of discourse on TKP has fallen. Does it honestly make people feel better to make petty snipes at any post or opinion that isn't embracing negativity toward the program?

Joffrey, Cersei, Ilyn Payne, the Hound, Jeff Jagodzinski, Paul Johnson, Pat Narduzzi.

It isn't an attack. If "I wouldn't want that" is any sort of justification for the (lets call it what it is) recruiting negligence of this staff, clearly it must be pointed out that we, adults on a message board, aren't the target audience. Clearly his dad was into it, who cares if it would annoy Joe Hokiefan?

Fuente needs to appeal to the kids and their families/guardians, not us. He's not able to do that. You or I, or anyone 'annoyed' by the potential for mail play no part in this equation, and therefore shouldn't be used as any sort of justification for Fuente's recruiting shortcomings.

Look at James Franklin. I think the guy is a middling coach at best, but he gets top recruits because families *like* him. I'll take that over the middling-at-best coach we have who seems to rub just about everyone the wrong way.

Ok but that doesn't have anything to do with part of the comment that was talking down to another fan because he expressed an opinion.

Joffrey, Cersei, Ilyn Payne, the Hound, Jeff Jagodzinski, Paul Johnson, Pat Narduzzi.

Parents: How much playing time will my son get?

James Franklin: He'll start immediately and we'll never bench him, even if he's so hurt our that our team doctor would rather blow the whistle and lose his job.

Parents: Ok great. Now let's talk about how many letters you'll be sending us.

Free Hugh

He didn't even use it to defend the coaching staff and your snipe had nothing to do with Fuente. You've said your peace on the coaching staff but that remark was completely unnecessary. Just own up to it and move on.

Joffrey, Cersei, Ilyn Payne, the Hound, Jeff Jagodzinski, Paul Johnson, Pat Narduzzi.

If there's one sure fire way to get me to stop talking to someone, it's to bug the shit out of me.

Which is why I said that it's a good thing he's not the target. The OP also stated that "he doesn't care what anyone under me says," so I'd assume he's okay about it.

Stop trying to pick a fight.

Who is picking a fight exactly? I haven't said anything aggressive toward you and just pointed out that part of your comment was unnecessary and rude, but you seem determined to defend it to the ends of the earth anyway.

Joffrey, Cersei, Ilyn Payne, the Hound, Jeff Jagodzinski, Paul Johnson, Pat Narduzzi.

No one has said anything aggressive toward anyone. You misconstrued the comment, I offered clarity, and you're doubling down on the dramatic. "The ends of the earth?" Come on man. Time to move on.

Your clarity was literally,

who cares if it would annoy Joe Hokiefan?

So why exactly should anybody care what outoftowner5 thinks either? Everyone can read the original tweet just fine without your commentary.

It's certainly not been unicorns and rainbows watching VT football over the last 12 months, but even that hasn't been nearly as miserable as the snarky and disdainful comments on damn near every single thread these days.

Joffrey, Cersei, Ilyn Payne, the Hound, Jeff Jagodzinski, Paul Johnson, Pat Narduzzi.

I hate to speculate, but could it be possible that Mr. Glover is not very involved in Tony's day-to-day (and therefore recruiting visits and all that come with it?) It's not uncommon for people to come out of the woodwork once their child, neighbor, friend, etc. starts to make some noise for themselves and shows potential to rake in millions down the line. Occasionally those same people are the ones that decide it's smart to take a bag and drop some hints to the teenager that may admire them due to their blood relationship (however stable or strained it may be.)

I don't know the family and I am not stating this as truth. It's very possible that it's not. But if your son was very vocally pro-VT and you had, for whatever reason, not gotten to speak to the coach, whether you were present at every recruiting/in-home trip or just a few here and there, you'd probably be pretty annoyed to not be getting courted along with your son. Now imagine you've got @VTcrootTweeter23 on the line trashing something you posted, it would be an easy time to air your dirty laundry/salt.

There are some parents that want the attention/experience/glory that their child recruit is getting (thinking of the parent that got-up in full pads for that Florida recruit.)

If there is no hidden context, it is wrong and dismissive for Fuente to have not spoken to all guardians and caretakers for a recruit of Tony's caliber.

How is anyone still making excuses for Fuente at this point? He's the head coach and it's year 4. This isn't the first time he's completely botched the recruitment of a highly ranked player who was dying to come to VT. Just accept that he's a garbage G5 coach who is in over his head.

...did I do that right?

Joffrey, Cersei, Ilyn Payne, the Hound, Jeff Jagodzinski, Paul Johnson, Pat Narduzzi.

I don't disagree that he botched it, but I'm just trying to paint a picture of possibility that some may not have considered. My goal is not to paint a rainbow over Fuentes head.

Every day there's good news!

" />

Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it

To think we used to hate coming to recruiting threads to see memes, gifs, and pointless discussions. I mean that's at least better than bad news.

Using /s is for cowards.

Gobble Till You Wobble

are we in the running for any 5-stars?

Also, is there any news on any recent transfers, either incoming or outgoing?

Hokies, Local Soccer, AFC Ajax, Ravens

I do think that Sings, Rudolph, Powell, Bailey, Jenkins and Beasley are way underrated by 247. The first 5 are all in the 6-4 to 6-6 range, multi-position athletes. Class will be rated much higher by spring IMHO

'Its easy to grin, when your ship comes in, and you've got the stock market beat,
but the man worthwhile, is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat'

Any recruiting news? Or just comments from people who like to argue. Damn, get some boxing gloves and finish it for the love of god.

It's ODU week. We're all edgy after last years turd game. Let's rub their faces in the dirt by 60 and start over on Monday.

Tyrod did it Mikey, Tyrod did it!!

"Nooooooooooo!"
~What happened?
"James Franklin to Virginia Tech...."
~Fuck me......*sigh*
"Oh my God.... They're gonna take all our recruits... like WTF bro...."
~*squints eyes in disbelief*

Nope still last in the ACC and pissing off our top targets fathers. Go Hokies!

That's the September recruiting thread right there

Is coronavirus over yet?

That's just the state of VT Fooball Recruting at this point, period.

Edit: football recruiting-basketball is doing just fine.

To be fair, we really don't know about BB recruiting yet. They haven't played a game.

Doesn't matter if it's cake or pie as long as it's chocolate.

Neither has the football team, TBH.

"Yes I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches, and staff." - JMFF

That's the September recruiting thread football program right there

#FIFY

hey now, wasknick and highlander have a thread for that!

"Why gobble gobble chumps asks such good questions, I will never know." - TheFifthFuller

I'm using this gif around here way too much lately...

via GIPHY

Using /s is for cowards.

I know I'm not the only one this is happening to with giphy. I've stopped using them.

"Yes I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches, and staff." - JMFF

Yeah, I always try to get to the actual image link rather than use their code

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

I have (had?) a hard enough time using giphy normally from mobile. I don't have any idea how you get their actual image links from either desktop or mobile.

Could you enlighten us?

"Yes I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches, and staff." - JMFF

Right click - open image in new tab... On mobile, hold pic and open image in new tab.

Giphy is a little tricky because it tries to put a video overlay overtop of the image, but there are gaps in both the overlay and the timing at the beginning/end, so its still possible to do it

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Yea it was showing on my tablet but not on my computer so I wasn't sure how it was showing up for everyone else. Thanks for the heads up.

Using /s is for cowards.

Has to do with the embed link from giphy. The direct link will load. Chrome doesn't load mixed content as it shouldn't. If you use a lesser browser say...internet explorer it will load the gif.

Solution. Use the direct image link rather than using the GIPHY link.

(add if applicable) /s

109 new comments on the September recruiting page already (We gotta have some big news that I missed)!

Opens thread/Closes thread:

via GIPHY

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ #YNWA

Wow! Saw a bunch of unread posts and thought to myself: "there must be some new, hot recruiting news"!!!

Then I began reading....Dudes! We sound like the dungeon and dragons club threw down against the photography club in high school!

This is definitely not gonna help us with the ladies!!!

I'll start a new thread if everyone promises not to let this shitstorm happen again. We can just start over and pretend this never happened.

senjohnblutarsky pls

If you can't handle my shit posts, you don't deserve my memes

I'm putting this thread on probation, or more accurately:

via GIPHY

Hokies United l Ut Prosim

In light of previous "incidents," the Athletic Dept. has made some minor refinements to Lane Stadium to better reinforce current Program Goals.

Yes, this is /s. Yes, I am aware my Photoediting skills are incredibly primitive

Ok I read through his recent tweets. Reads an awful lot like somebody reaching for reasons to hate VT. Smells funny to me.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

https://twitter.com/dhglover/status/1169813095579115520

Is he going to drastically affect his kid's recruitment and a major life decision based on a rando rouge fan on social media? That's the crazy part. If Fu has really never spoken to him (he tweeted later Fu called him), then that's on Fu and he needs to step it the fuck up. However, saying you are never stepping foot on campus because a fan was mean....come on man.

"These people are losing their minds!"

R/insaneparents need a glance at this. mega yikes.

you lost any interest from me with: J.Law > Emma Watson

"Nooooooooooo!"
~What happened?
"James Franklin to Virginia Tech...."
~Fuck me......*sigh*
"Oh my God.... They're gonna take all our recruits... like WTF bro...."
~*squints eyes in disbelief*

Editing this because, well it got uglier than I expected.

via GIPHY

Hokies United l Ut Prosim

Sidenote: Would Anakin have become Darth Vader if Padme lived?

Technically, he became Darth Vader the moment he gave into the dark side and helped kill Mace Windu. He embraced it more when he killed Jedi and Younglings at the Jedi Temple, and then went to Mustafar and killed all the collaborators. Could he have come back to the light sooner had Padme lived? Who knows?

We need a Star Wars thread.... I've seen a lot of referencing in the last few days

"Nooooooooooo!"
~What happened?
"James Franklin to Virginia Tech...."
~Fuck me......*sigh*
"Oh my God.... They're gonna take all our recruits... like WTF bro...."
~*squints eyes in disbelief*

Hokies United l Ut Prosim

Just watched your episode at work πŸ‘

"Nooooooooooo!"
~What happened?
"James Franklin to Virginia Tech...."
~Fuck me......*sigh*
"Oh my God.... They're gonna take all our recruits... like WTF bro...."
~*squints eyes in disbelief*