Recent Comments

- If Frank is so concerned about not getting Anthony, or Hughes, or Grant, then why not show up at their schools or houses in an orange-and-maroon-pinstripe-suit with Hokie Bird, Nick Acree, Bud Foster with an ax, a bowl/championship ring on each finger, and most importantly, a highlight film of VT destroying UVA, UNC, and Clemson since they joined the ACC. Why isn't this happening with each kid.

- Rivals and HD can gush all they want over FSU pulling the #1 recruiting class, but they've been landing 5 star players and signing top 10 classes since Tech joined the ACC and only have one championship to show for it.

- Look at the defensive ends we have on the current roster who will see the field this year: Drager, Collins, Gayle, Perez-Means, Mcray, and Wilson (special teams). We only lose Drager at the end of the year and no one else is a rising senior. WHY go after nothing but defensive end prospects in this class? I can't think of anyone outside John Graves who has come in as a defensive end and bulked up enough to play tackle (and even John was a little undersized there). There are FIVE defensive ends in this class, none of whom I think can realistically play tackle. Couldn't these scholarships have been put to better use? After the Orange Bowl whipping, playing undersized defensive lineman is not going to get it done.

- Why not look around and find talent outside of the region? There was no pipeline to Warren HS in Indiana but lo and behold, we found Darren Evans

- If "limited scholarships" prevent us from offering everyone that we want, then take some away. I know JuJu is our back-up QB this season, but I wouldn't trust him to lead us out of a paper bag and don't think that he necessarily deserves a scholarship. What does he add to the team? For crying out loud, he was a 2-star out of high school. Why throw a scholarship at the kicker Journell if he didn't even compete last year, when all other kickers are walk-ons who earn scholarships?

- We may have a nice haul of receivers, but what do you do with them? No room on the depth chart for them to get any real playing time next year. But if you redshirt them all, it's going to be 2008 all over again with a green receiving corps. We have the benefit of Davis/Boyce/Coles the following year, but outside of Davis they haven't contributed much at all.

- So UVA, UNC, and Clemson ate our lunch this year. Signing 5-star players, pulling the best talent out of VA, etc. If you buy into the "momentum" idea for UVA, then what happens next year when UVA starts landing the top-talent in VA again? Even after losing to VT in the regular season? What's your excuse them, coaching staff?

- I realize that not landing the big-ego types who are normally 4 or 5-star players is a benefit to Tech and has kept us out of the NCAA's scope. But what the hell? What good are the "best facilities in college football", ACC championships, and 10-win seasons doing for you if you can't convince the top talent in your STATE, let alone your region, to go with you?

Thus ends my disorganized rant

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As much as I would like to changes to the Hokies staff (Stiney, Newsome) it just isn't going to happen anytime soon. Sure we can all bitch, moan, groan, complain, and everything, but unless some rich alumni walks into Merymann with a fat sack of cash and tells Weaver that he wants changes, (Maryland, Ok State to a lesser degree) nothing is going to happen. Beamer is too comfortable with where he is at and the people surrounding him that he doesn't want to rock the boat. Half of me doesn't blame Beamer, as he build this program from nothing into a perennial conference champions. The other half of me wants serious changes so that last remaining empty trophy case will be filled. As I see it, Beamer has traded elite status (with violations, high staffing turnover) for consistency greatness. Yes we are the only school to have won 10 games for the past 7 years running and gone to a bowl game since 1994 (Thank you Insight and Diamond Walnut bowls), but I don't see us achieving higher. It requires more than a great team to make it to the BCSNCG and even more to win the game.

I also believe that the entire ranking business is some giant pile of manure. Some 5 star recruits pay off (Tyrod), others you grimace at what they do on the field (Marcus). Other lowly recruits and turned out excellent...Danny Coale, David Clowney, DJ Parker, Rock Carmichael were all 2 star recruits. Look at the quarterbacks playing in the Super Bowl in a couple of days. Neither Rodgers nor Roethlisberger were highly recruited candidates and both spend time in lesser divisions before becoming excellent quarterbacks in the NFL. One of the VT beat writers said that only Percy Harvin (class of 2006) has been a successful #1 recruit from VA this decade....(Marcus was another). If recruiting ranking is all that mattered to be successful, USC and ND would be playing in the BCSNCG every season.

Even with the staff that we have, VT will develop the we can get and will going to continue to excel at beating UVA yearly, and constant contenders for the ACC crown; however, until that trophy case is filled, we will have trouble recruiting.

I almost forgot, but to leave things on a happier note, ESPN recently re-ranked the 2007 recruiting classes now that they have all graduated. The Hokies were moved up to the #4 position with USC (then #1) dropping out of the top 10. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=6059178

Seems like every time we slap on a new uniform, we get our asses kicked.

The fact is if the goals of the program are to recruit and sign the best players in Virginia then the coaches absolutely missed on this class. I think it does say something negative about our recruiting philosophy when we aren't among a kid's final selections even though he grew up a Tech fan. I get your and everyone else's frustration.

I still think this is going to end up being a pretty good class. Marshall, Harley and Vandyke all could be special and as always there we be a couple of diamonds in the rough. The problem is it could have been our best ever if we got the players in our own backyard. And that's what's hurting everyone right now, that UNC, the SEC, and to an extent UVA came in and ate our lunch.

I am not worried about the longterm effects of a down class. We are one of the best, if not the best programs in the country at developing talent, furthermore the '08-'10 classes were all very good although we are now without Ryan Williams the best player of the bunch. In my opinion, if we swing and miss in '12 then it is time to get worried about where we are at.

As far as the coaches go they need to be able to both recruit and coach. I think it's pretty well known that of all the coaches Cav and Gray do both of those extremely well. The rest are either stronger in one area and weaker in the other. While Hite hasn't pulled top talent he has utilized it very well. His development of the backs and their success on the field speaks for itself.

But yes it is extremely fair to say everyone needs to step their games up if the ultimate goal is to fill the trophy case with something other than air. If that's not the goal, if the Frankinator is happy and content just winning 10 games, the ACC and doing things the "classy" way then I'm fine with that, but just say it.

im small part "giving tree", because i remember going to the games as a kid in the early-mid 90's and loving it, and we didnt always win. im also a mix of beamer loyalist (he was hired within days of my birth - gotta ride or die with the only coach OF MY LIFE) and thisbudsforyou, but above all else, im a realist. kinda wish i wasnt a realist tho....it would be more fun to say and actually believe shit like "ZOMG AL GROH/MIKE LONDON IS GONNA TAKE OVER THE STATE" or "DUDE IF WE WOULD HAVE STARTED WILLIAMS AT RUNNING BACK AND EVANS AT FULLBACK AND OGLESBY AT OTHER FULLBACK AND THOMAS AT TIGHT END AND WILSON AT REGGIEBUSH FOR EVERY SNAP WE WOULDA WON TEH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP LOLZ" and "DUDE IF WE DONT GET THIS RECRUIT IT WILL BE ALMOST AS BAD AS WHEN WE MISSED OUT ON TIM TEBOW - BEAMER REALLY BLEW IT ON TEBOW WE SHOULDA HAD HIM"

About this recruit until I saw this highlight reel. The music puts it over the top for me. Future AP All American.

pressure from a teammate who is a cornhusker to sign there.

It seems ESPN is weighting the ACC Championships very highly, #4 of 2007 class.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc

Maybe we're just a bunch of whiners :)

oh man, they had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, an omelette station, french toast, tons of different kinds of breads and bagels, fruit, milk, a billion different juices, and thats just off the top of my head. it was the perfect hangover food. also, it was the perfect food to make me want to play football at virginia tech. but, thats just me

Clemson already has verbals in their 2011 classes from three linebackers. And is also one of the two finalists for 5* Tony Steward out of Florida.

VT has NO linebackers (as defined by Rivals, I realize some of those ends might get switched around) in this class.

How can Anthony not look at that as a plus?

Can you give us a rundown of the breakfast?

And yes, it is definitely between VT and Clemson.