Discuss and share any recruiting topics from August 2020 that don't warrant their own thread
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link to the 2021 Unofficial Big Board (google sheet)

Comments
Couldn't find a 247 Profile
https://www.hudl.com/profile/11125856/Stephen-Daley
Positions: TE, OLB, DE
Height & Weight: 6'2" 225lbs
Class of: 2022
Honest suggestions for splitting threads:
1. Make sure the names are clearly different, for example - "Hokie Recruiting News" and "Various Discussions on Other Recruits, Recruiting, Coaches, etc"
2. Have a catchall "NOISE and Negativity Thread" - Send all excessive negativity, anger, disingenuous arguments, repetitive obnoxious comments, or otherwise unproductive discussions from any thread to the "Noise" thread once it reaches a certain level - "Take it to the Noise thread, please"
3. The perpetual or repeat offenders who need to meltdown after whatever happens or have to vent about the coaches and the state of the program can have their full say on the "Noise" thread and leave the other threads relatively clean
4. Posters will have to respect the suggestion to "Take it to the Noise Thread", possibly from other users, but definitely from Mods, but people shouldn't over use it or use it to mess with people
This might make it easier for the Mods and more enjoyable for everyone so people have a specific place to vent and other people can avoid the venting if they want.
Save TKP!
Should we have an O&M Glasses Positivity discourse thread as well? It seems only fair.
To avoid derailing the recruiting thread, I'll move my response to the - META: NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE THREAD.
Not sure if they want this to go there, but in my mind it makes more sense to be there than in the recruiting thread.
(See, this is how the negativity thread could work, I move this discussion over to the Noise thread because it's not about recruiting)
I would pay to join TKP (I probably should anyway) if we could lock the negativity board so it isn't used as ammo against us
What's the "negativity board"?
The "Noise and negativity" thread mentioned in #2 above.
But that doesn't even exist...
I think he was saying if you DO create it, you'd have to lock it (paying members?) so it couldn't be used against us in recruiting.
The hypothetical one
is that sheila's ass?
I just hypothetically locked it, bruh. We good now. Join us.
I wanted to update my posts from last month tracking P5 offers for the last two classes. Here's a snapshot of where Tech stands, and the other teams most often associated with Tech commits:
2021 class β 21 commits β111 combined P5 offers not including VT β 5.28 P5 offers/recruit
P5 offers β UVA (8), Duke (6), BC (5), Kansas (5), Miss State (5), Louisville (5), Pitt (4), Vanderbilt (4), West Virginia (4), Syracuse (4), Wake (4), Rutgers (3), Washington State (3), Indiana (3), USCe (3), Nebraska (3), Maryland (2), Auburn (2), NC State (2), Arkansas (2), Georgia (2), Ole Miss (2), Arizona (2), Tennessee (2), Utah (2), Georgia Tech (2), Kansas State (2), Colorado (2), Texas (2), Penn State, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue, Minnesota, Northwestern, UCLA, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Cal, LSU, Notre Dame, Oregon, USCw
2020 class β 14 commits β67 combined P5 offers not including VT β 4.78 P5 offers/recruit
Interesting take away - even with the eight recruits that have jumped on board since my last update, the average only increased from 5.22 to 5.28. The staff is neither gaining or losing ground with the current level of commits. For someone like me that has concerns about being the only P5 offer for a couple of these guys, that's a little reassuring.
Also, LOL at UVA being the team we most often dunk on for these guys.
Do you have this data for any other classes, for reference?
Really unthrilled with the news that Tyliek Williams committed to Ohio State. Hopefully VT can get back in the game there, because he is absolutely a perfect fit for what they need from a nose. I don't know where they turn to otherwise.
Damn. Yeah, that was a great opportunity for TNT to win a battle and make a splash on the trail. Unfortunate outcome for the Hokies.
And I don't know where they turn for another option at this point.
Honest question - if a reasonably complete season happens, and we perform well, are there any targets that might flip to us before NSD?
Is that dude from Illinois State available?
Agreed, it's really too bad on this one, it seems that VT recruited him very hard. Heck, I just read that OSU didn't do the best job communicating to TW that he even had a scholarship and they still ended up getting him.
I'm sure TNT at least made that much clear. It just wasn't enough.
This is also notable since TW is teammates with Shawn Murphy, whose is a highly rated LB for next year.
Hopefully we can get in his ear and do some negative recruiting with the whole covid situation.
Ohio State won't play for an entire year and we'll be on the big stage playing top teams in just a couple of months.
Depending on his/his family's opinions, that could be a good or a bad thing.
Ohio state missed on their top target so they pulled their backup plan
Who big-timed Ohio State? Did he sign with the Chiefs?
Yeah, it's a tough loss, but not unexpected. Every recruit has their dream school or top tier schools that they can't ignore. Ohio St is putting d-line into the NFL every year and that can't be ignored. If Tech starts doing that, the perception will change and guys will see VT as a top tier school for d-line the way the secondary has respect. (You know that already, I'm just putting it out there.)
What I would be saying to him is, "Look, you will get the most attention here at Tech. You will have two NFL minds helping you get there over the next 3-4 years, and you'll get there. At Ohio St, you might be riding the bench the next four years. Think about it."
We can also let kids know B1G ain't even gonna play this calendar year. VT and the ACC took the steps to have a season.
Why would that matter? He's in high school this season.
Why not? Beamer's age was used against him. Our location gets used against us.
We're playing football in 2 weeks, **fuck yeah!**, why not use it as negative recruiting on schools who aren't playing this year? If I was Coach Fu, I'd certainly use it.
Huh?
If I'm not eligible to play until Fall '21, why would I care if a team is playing in Fall '20 or not? Because I'll miss going to a game I can't attend regardless?
May not be a big deal to the individual recruit but it's a huge hit for the program. They're gonna have some mean rust to shake off come fall 2021 with the whole team taking the year off.
There's neither evidence nor logic to support this argument.
What? It's common sense. Relax bud
Take a drink and relax Bud. Common sense for who? A wishful VT fan or the recruit?
Because they'll be committing this year. You say - If COVID doesn't get better, will the Big 10 cancel again next year? Which means you'd probably want to transfer and use up eligibility just to go to a school that will actually play. I'd use it - why not?
This reeks of O&M wishful thinking. What does committing this year have to do with anything? Nobody signs their letter of commitment until after the regular season ends regardless. Why would it matter if the team actually played in the fall or not?
If the pandemic doesn't "get better" next year - which is a very low liklihood - it won't just be the B1G which won't be playing. So again it's irrelevant to a 2021 recruit whether his school of choice is playing during his senior year of high school.
The only thing I see influencing decisions is if it comes out in legal discovery or something that the B1G was basing its decision on pretty much everything but the student-atlhletes (or something like that). Then you could have some angry mama & papa bears...
Big10 coaches can also sit in the recruit's living rooms to watch games on Saturdays this fall.
Edit: clarified my comment that the coaches not playing are going to have a lot of time on their hands to recruit.
So what?
Edited poor wording for clarification
Yeah, i don't get how that is a negative for a kid who at the earliest could play in the following year, and may not actually see the field for 2-3 years.
The only thing I could think of is if some of the current players extend their eligibility, which would mean more stacked rooms. Going to be interesting how that plays out in the scholarships as well.
I read that the kid may still end up not being a take for OSU if they get some other higher rated DTs. I guess that has to be our hope.
Looks like the only higher rated DT they have a shot at is Tywone Malone. We also made his Top 14, I'd be happy with either guy!
These "top" whatever lists are ridiculous. TW supposedly had a top 3 that didn't even include OSU. Meaningless.
I'll take whatever hope we can get. We did flip an OSU 4* two years ago, so there's precedent.
I checked 247 to see who might bump TW. Tywone Malone is the leading candidate it seems. But now I feel grimy for hoping TW doesn't end up a take at OSU and settles for VT. I'd love to cheer for him in O&M, but I can't root for OSU to pull the rug out from under him.
Also aside from a punter, OSU's lowest rated '21 commit has a higher composite than our highest '21 commit. Feels bad man.
Use the negative recruiting with this narrative - back in 2016, VT scored 35 points on Clemson with average talent, Clemson shut out Ohio State in the playoffs with much higher rated talent. So VT does more with the talent they do get. If he recruit says something about Ohio State having a new coach - I'd say "so you have more confidence in them to do something than a guy who was just coaching in the NFL - or is the name brand something that matters that much more to you that you care about the name than whether an NFL coach will be able to develop you into an NFL draftee?"
Because I can only imagine Ohio State sells themselves at the expense of other schools, including us.
Truthfully it's not that simple and I don't know if trying to make a sell of our D-Line coach over OSU's is a great move look at Larry Johnson's history. That's not a battle we will win, heck they've had 3 Top 10 Dlineman taken in just the last 5-10 years. However what we do need to do is capitalize on what we do well which is offer a great family first, truth first environment, and then from there it comes down to on field product and how much money we can raise for our program.
Did some analysis about first round draft picks and their college ratings. I posted it in a new thread (link) because it was a lot and seemed like it warranted more than just a comment here.
Looks like former WVU/JMU receiver Dillon Spalding is out at VT? Wasn't listed in the media guide at first, and now some rumors about a walk-on WR leaving the team. There is a paywalled story on 247 that says in the free preview that it's him (not sure if that is okay to post on here with paywalled content like that), but I'll update with non-paywall content when possible.
Weirdly enough, his transfer never really was confirmed by him - but he did change his twitter profile to say "WR at Virginia Tech" and he was eventually added to the roster - #33. He previously had retired from football at JMU due to a career ending hip injury.
Kenji Christian taking the field:
His running style reminds me of David Wilson.
Need to find out if he can catch bunnies and do backflips in his pads.
He does to me to too, but not as explosive/fast.
Get this kid on campus, and get him the damn rock!
You mean paver
na real teams use rocks
More to be had if he learns to turn it up the field instead of bouncing it.
So is UVA having a lot of players enter the transfer portal? Seen at least 4-5 since summer.
Based on Reddit reactions it doesn't seem like they are important players, but I'm all for someone crafting a negative UVA narrative out of it in functional terms.
With their RB depth not sure how it's not an issue especially if they don't get the waiver appeal approved.
Let's do some crootin
Devin Lee - looking more and more like SEC with Vanderbilt gaining more traction.
Yousef mugharbil - per a solid Hs source UNC has made up a lot of ground and is probably co leader with Florida
Nyke Johnson - NC State remains a huge threat to flip him. Lino needs to play more Madden.
Aren't you a ray of sunshine.
he's just giving us the business
New staff position. Went to UNC where she volunteered then worked in both academic and then athletic recruiting office. Then worked at APP state until hired by Tech.
so you're saying she's qualified
Qualifications abound!
Can confirm
She's the same age as me and I met her a few years ago at an academic weekend thing. By all accounts a super smart and friendly girl. Didn't expect to see her name on these boards of all places.
She looks young and not what I expect for a director level position. Hopefully she does well but this seems like a weird hire for what I would guess to be an extremely important hire
How old do you think someone should be who we want to relate to 16-17 year olds? 40?
So will she become unqualified in 5-10 years?
it's funny because we have no idea how old Rayo actually is lol
Also hopefully she sticks around for the next 15+ years or so (just a guess), then she can hit the fun aunt notes who knows exactly what the moms want to hear when touring campus but also exactly what the athletes want to hear with a twinkle in the eye and a wink and a nudge.
*never mind
There was similar sentiment when Bartlestein was hired and, by all accounts, she knocked it out of the fucking park and got poached away.
Posted against better judgement... my bad.. disregard
good on you for coming to your senses -- that was outta wack
Trying not to go political here, but without some actual evidence, this take is bullshit. Her qualification for the job should be based exclusively on her skills and experience. Her (perceived) age has nothing to do with it.
With all due respect, you should either back up your opinion with facts, or retract it.
I have no idea how this could be considered political, but yes, their post was bad and dumb.
The athletic department has a billion different directors/assistant directors/associate directors of something or another.
Looks like she's gonna have to do some twitter cleanup lol...
Meh. Who your wife marries is more important than who she dated
You have to know your opponent in order to have a strategy to beat them. HUMINT is crucial.
Belichick begs to differ that GEOINT is MORE crucial.
The Astros completely disagree. SIGINT wins* championships.
Ouch
Or could be some Mack-approved COINTELPRO
I don't like the sign, looks out of place for Tech's campus style.
Preach man, VTs campus signage was designed in Cleveland
#TX2VT
Good month upcoming for us, at the moment at least 2 that we should get this month
Davidson put up the Sam Rogers signal on twitter...in state???
He retweets that video weekly
I really don't see anyone close to committing to us right now.
So I will put my surprise pants on and enjoy.
are those pants stain resistant and waterproof?
UV reflective
can it please be jack hollifield already
Are we picking one up on 9/1?
I think that tweet is about how close we are too football season
I thought i saw a target announcing his commitment on 9/1 though? Or did I misread?
Idk I could be wrongπ
It's referencing the dead period being over for '22 recruits. Heard it's supposed to be our year
What happened to the biggest transfer portal news ever? Alluded to a week or two ago? Did it implode? Did the kid wormhole? Did the NCAA just say FU VT and disappear the kid like a Wuhan virologist?
Epic joke alert!
Silent commit for 2022, when it's our year.
/sorta
LA how many spots we have left for the 21 class?