2017 defensive lineman Eric Crosby announced his decision date and finalists Monday evening. The 4-star Ocean Lakes product will decide from Virginia Tech, Clemson, North Carolina State, Alabama and Tennessee on April 22.
32 days!!!! #Hokies #Tigers #Wolfpack #RollTide #Volunteers pic.twitter.com/i4MYBGB5Pa— yeti27 (@ekm2781) March 21, 2016
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Landing him would be a huge statement for this VT staff. Let's get him!
What's with the pensive emoji for us... hmmmmm... I think we should spend the next month completely over thinking his use of that smiley face.
Three pensive faces, two question marks.
In poker, 3 and 2 is a full house.
Full...Fuller...
He admires the Hokie tradition.
It's a lock.
The Fifth Fuller?
...Fuller House...
Have Mercy!
Damn chicken emoji.
Yeah, no turkey emoji. Wrap it up boys. He's going somewhere else.
I thought that was the "smell my finger" emoji.
Eric fits Bud Foster's D perfectly. Lets hope he decides to stay close to home in Blacksburg so his close friends and family can come watch him play.
Burnt orange is so much better than that wussy barley shade of orange UT sports
You mean UT Yellow? I've always thought that color was closer to yellow than orange.
It is the color of kid puke after eating a creamcicle.
I always referred to it as Prison Orange... but maybe that's just because of the old joke about vols' fans being able to leave the game and go back to picking up trash along side the highway without having to change...
Much more appropriate that the players wear that color lately.
OK seriously, what is it about Tennessee's jerseys that make the players look fat? Look at the difference in his midsection. He looks fucking beast mode in our jersey and like he just put a Golden Corrall out of business in the Vols jersey.
Adidas.
I wonder when his visit was because they started wearing Nike last year.
He's even got a bigger smile in the pic of him in the hokie jersey
Hoping to bring this young man home!
...
...
...phrasing
Excellent!
Boy, he sure looks better in VT colors!
Getting the last visit is helpful! Let's hope he goes with the good guys.
Just thought I would put this here:
WHERE CAN I FIND THAT THROWBACK THO
I saw one on eBay awhile back, IIRC. It wasn't a Bruce jersey, but one from the same era. Not sure if it was game worn.
I'd check the Hall of Fame.
Tiedman and Formby used to advertise one, but I've never seen it for sale. I got their Beamer one, good stuff.
It's not a throwback it's an original
Evan Watkins put a crystal ball in for him to the good guys tonight over on 247. Obviously doesn't mean much, especially with Crosby closing himself off from the media recently, but not a bad sign given Evan's connections.
I like our chances in this 2 horse race.
Per his tweet, he's being recruited by the Detroit Tigers. I hope this means that "defense" in baseball is about to get a lot more physical.
It would have to be first base or pitcher unless he went on a diet.
Crosby has narrowed his field to two, and it's good news for the Hokies.
Take a drink good sir.
http://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/411237#comment-411237
can we sweep UT?! first with crosby then at bristol.
Man, that Tennessee uniform is not flattering at all. Just sayin, if he has any desire to get laid in college, wearing a uniform that highlights a gut like those do can't help.
Just out of curiosity, is there reasoning behind only putting our orange jerseys on recruits?
They typically get to select which one they want to wear. Our equipment guys have their spot on the facilities tour and they show all the uniforms, helmets, and gear we use. They then have the players number available in many different colors for them to try on
It's like they don't even realize that wearing orange jerseys is 100% the reason we have lost every game we have lost with orange jerseys!!!!
/s
Glad FSU is not in his top 2.
I'll be glad when Tennessee isn't.
Just once I'd like to see a big time recruit post his top two as "Virgina Tech and Anchorage State"
I guess Mook sort of did this
What's your read on this Joe?
He posted one for UT about an hour later. Just having fun with the process.
I meant on the whole his recruitment. Where do we stand with him? Etc.
I think we have the slightest of edges right now. Could really go either way.
The VT post has more likes and retweets....
Yea I'm petty like that :)
Dude this kid is a Hokie! He just looks happier in the Orange and Maroon!
So he's a DT who wears #27? That's awesome.
So does anyone know what UT's DT depth is like? I'm too lazy to do the research. My biggest fear here is that UT may offer a quicker route to the field than through our sea of crazy talented DTs.
Well they have Khalil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle, a 5 and 4 star recruit respectively. McKenzie the 6th overall recruit and Tuttle the 53rd. Both are True sophomores.
Also an early enrollee in Alexis Johnson. 4 star JuCo. (Currently suspended due to odd arrest.)
Standard SEC procedure it seems like to have one of these on every team
I don't know if "odd" is the word that I would use to describe the arrest:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/02/18/university-of-tennessee-police-say-dt-alexis-johnson-choked-punched-woman/
The new recruiting tactics by Jones seems to be paying off.
via GIPHY
Hope this guy gets what he deserves though.
Well that story is much more detailed and probably accurate than the video I watched on the arrest. I used odd because the video emphasized the "play fighting" portion.
Oh but all he has to do is "stay out of trouble" for six months and all charges will be dropped.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2634690-alexis-johnson-false-imprisonment-charge-dropped-assault-charge-reduced
Tennessee: Be good for half a year and rack up all the felonies you want.
We're really not that deep after this year. Nigel and Woody are both seniors, assuming we roll 5 deep this year, that leaves only three defensive tackles with any game experience next year, and none as highly regarded as Crosby (Settle's probably tied).
That's a good point. Although going into a season with 2 starters with game experience and a backup with game experience really isn't that bad. Also one of those guys is a r-Fr this year and one is a r-So. However even if DT depth will be average next year the talent level of the DT's will be well above average as compared to the rest of the positions on the field. Then again it looks like UT isn't exactly hurting for talent at the DT spot either.
Does anyone else find it a little strange that on his Crosby to VT twitter post he spells his last name right, but on the one he did for UT he spells his name Crobsy? I'm sure I'm reading too much into it being a sign but at the very least its pretty funny
It's because Eric Crosby is coming to VT but Deric Crobsy is going to UT. Duh.
I'll take the non-dyslexic version to VT.
He's announcing the day before our Spring Game. That's got to be a good sign.
Honorary Skipper Firer before the Spring Game?
Actually.... that would be a pretty cool thing to have... a well known alumni back for each home game to fire off Skipper to start off the Enter Sandman procedure? (kind of like the beating of the drum at Carolina Panthers games)
I'd imagine the Corp would take exception to anyone else even touching Skipper at a game.
Agreed... but at the rate Babcock is trying to completely revamp the gameday experience to completely tailor it for the fans, I could see it being a logical thing to have done.
And you can't tell me the corps who handle Skipper wouldn't mind getting a weekly picture with someone like Mike Vick, Bruce Smith, Homer Hickam, Dell Curry, Kylene Barker, etc. They wouldn't even have to touch Skipper, just pull the cord to set it off under the supervision of the Corps itself. Seems like a win-win for the Corps and the fans.
Well, the Corp wouldn't object to Hickam. He's one of the original architects of skipper and former cadet.
Sounds like you should be sending this to Whit.
I nominate this guy:
What about just giving the command? Seems like a safer idea.
That's actually not a bad compromise. Probably less of a liability for the University, too. It is, after all, a fully functional cannon.
Which has had a catastrophic failure before...luckily minor injuries only.
I have not heard of this before. When did Skipper have a hiccup?
Had a blowout in 1982. The cannon used today is *technically* Skipper 2.0
EDIT: could someone from the Corps confirm what kind of cannon Skipper is? I'm decently versed in period artillery pieces and it looks like a 3-inch Ordnance Rifle. Been curious for a while
This event shook my dorm room.
Found a photo of InEnemyTerritory's dorm from back then!
Thanks. As if I don't feel old enough already.
Oh, and it was Vawter, #263.
That event was probably the announcement of my birth.
Or the day you were conceived!!!
I can only confirm that yes it is a cannon! I'm asking my "Skipper Crew" friends waiting for a response. BTW my dad was the Senior on Duty (in the corps) that night they blew the cannon and he had to wake up the Commandant of Cadets. He says there are still pieces of the old cannon still lodged in Slusher to this day. They were short of collecting all the pieces.
I read that the second iteration is a 3-inch Confederate model but I don't know much beyond that.
Obviously, the Commandant wasn't sleeping anywhere near campus that night. It was REALLY loud. Kind of surprised he would be sleeping. If I remember correctly, wasn't there a military ball of some sort going on that night?
Seems I remember reading that one of the safety plugs in the barrel went through a 6th floor window at Slusher. Skipper was near Memorial Chapel, I think.
And the fact that your Dad was involved makes me want to get my cane and chase kids off my lawn.
According to my not so good knowledge from freshman year, the 1st charge failed so they loaded a second. Then the second charge failed and (you guessed it) they loaded a third. Since the original Skipper was mainly brass, it didn't really have a chance.
I don't see the Crosby to UT thing on his twitter anymore
Crosby wearing VT gear at rivals camp today
I've seen this movie before.
Stage 1: highly rated recruit announces commit date
Stage 2: VT fans start looking for clues suggesting he'll commit to VT
Stage 3: Crystal balls come in 2-3 days before commit date for team other than VT; these are dismissed by VT fans because the experts just do this for attention
Stage 4: Evan Watkins predicts the recruit will pick Not VT an hour before he picks Not VT; reality sinks in for VT fans
Stage 5: Recruit picks Not VT
Stage 6: VT fans say he wasn't that great of a fit anyway and VT will just get (insert list of highly rated recruits at same position)
Stage 6: VT fans say that stars aren't important anyway and that we are better off with 2 or 3 star recruits (insert list of former 2 and 3 star recruits who turned out well)
I think this is more accurate for Stage 6.
7. VT fans blame coaches for not closing on recruits
8. Land new recruit forget about 7
That's Stage 7: 2/3 star commit with light offer sheet commits to VT, fans proclaim him a sleeper and much better on tape than 4/5 star that picked Not VT
Seriously I mean Josh Sweat who? He'll never pan out...
/s
Pfft... Josh Sweat.
Not to feed into the hysteria, but are crystal balls starting to go Tennessee's way?
Very few crystal balls at all, the most recent is VT. But AFAIK Crosby shut down his contact with reporters and recruiting services a couple of weeks ago, so unless someone is super close to him (family/friend) then probably none of them will know unless a coach leaks it to one of the 24/7 guys the day he commits.
http://247sports.com/PlayerInstitution/Eric-Crosby-at-Ocean-Lakes-58356/...
And if you need the rest of us, we'll be sitting around not trying to get our hopes up after last time...
Who did it last time?
That would be JaQuan Bailey, who decided to go to Iowa State with his brother, despite wearing Hokie gear for the last week before signing day.
Completely different situation here: No brother, No mother's influence to play with brother, and not pressured by signing day deadline.
Or how about Dashawn Hand, or liked to sport Hokie gear in public, including at Camps.
He wore VT gear in public long after he eliminated us as well.
He doesn't have a mother to influence him? Was he grown in the same government facility as Sam Rogers?
Another good sign for the good guys.
That's nice and all, but if he's anything like me he just grabbed the first shirt on top of the clean pile.
Yeah I'd be willing to bet it's just the latest piece of swag he's acquired and he's just showing it off so I'm taking it with a grain of salt. I'd still love for him to join the good guys though.
FTFY
Dang, they're on to me.
Well then his mother is a VT fan. That's good enough for me at this point.
So was Mrs. Sweat
We've seen this before....
And then:
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Tomorrow.
Sorry, but I never miss an opportunity for a soon meme.
FIFY /s
3pm
HA thinks for the reminder!
via GIPHY
You're welcome! :D
I don't speak emoji. WTH.
Please also define:
FIFY /s
FTFY
thank you vaunted crew.
I bet Ragnar has 4 years of eligibility left.
FIFY: Fixed it for you
FTFY: Fixed that for you
/s: Indicates the previous sentence was sarcasm
Per 247 bolt (Free) with Ryan Bartow interviewing Crosby today:
On the bad guys:
On the good guys:
Apparently he has a ride set up to get to the spring game if he commits to the good guys tomorrow. Found that interesting given that Tennessee's spring game was last week.
His plans have changed. He's going to the Nike camp this weekend I believe.
Believe the camp is on Sunday. Wouldn't really affect him making a visit on Saturday
Edit: apparently still not awake yet
C'mon Zohn lets see why you were CUSA recruiter of the year
It's going to be a nervous weekend for those of us who love recruiting. :-)
Feel good about recruiting overall but think Crosby is Rock Top bound. If he is committing today wouldn't he either be coming to the spring game tomorrow or just waiting until then to announce? Can't imagine he would commit to the good guys on this big weekend and then go to a Nike camp.
I don't know how to feels until the Crystal Balls tell me.
Honestly wouldn't be surprised if an array of Crystal Balls doesn't occur, Crosby is playing things very close to vest.
Football fortune tellers this morning:
I agree. If he was committing good guys I feel like he'd want to see the spring game then commit...but he did announce his date long time ago so who knows.
Or he's solid in his decision, realizes the staff has a large number of top prospects at the spring game requiring their attention, and he's just going to go to a camp to work on his skills. It could mean anything or it could mean nothing. Knowing how closely he's playing his situation to the vest, I'm not reading anything into anything. We'll likely see a few crystal balls show up 10 min before he announces if someone on either the Tennessee or VT coaching staff leaks info to someone at 24/7. But that'll probably be about it.
If he committed to UT, why would he go to a Nike camp. No difference.
The difference lies in the fact that he had originally planned to come for VT's spring game. If I commit to a school and half of my buddies from the 757 are going the the Spring Game which is supposed to be fun, I'm going to not only hang out and have a good time with them, but also recruit them to come join me.
I don't think it was ever set in stone that he was planning on coming to the spring game. Still possible that he might. This kid seems to like to play the recruiting game and is pretty good at it.
My heart sunk when I read that he isn't coming to the Spring game anymore. That cant be good since he had planned to come to that up until this point.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah.... not a good omen if you ask me
At this point, I'm assuming he's going to Tennessee and will be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong.
Yep.....
It was over when he canceled his plans to come to the Spring Game. You all really should have seen this coming
Yeah. I gave up hope when I saw that. Oh well. Good luck to the kid in that gross, gross yellow orange for the next few years.
Maybe he didn't need the visit? Maybe he knew he didn't need to come back because he's gonna go to VT? Maybe he hates VT and is trolling? Maybe he commits to NC State?
Everyone is reading so much into this these are highschool kids and the decision is so complex we cannot attempt to try and rationalize this. Just sit back, relax, and hope for the best.
From 247:
"The Hokies own the majority of the onsite buzz and intel. Crosby said he made his decision "two weeks ago" and has only informed his mother of his choice at this point."
and two weeks ago he was visiting VT and Fuente...
Must resist upvoting gif... too late.
I'm afraid this one feels like another miss. We always lose these types of guys when its one on one with another big school, but boy do I hope I'm wrong.
Yeah, I feel good about Crosby. Probably 2 or 3 others this weekend as well. Brailyn Franklin is an almost certainty.
We've entered Stage 2. Later than normal but still on schedule.
Personally I've taken this year off worrying about recruits. There is just too much going on with a new coach, new system etc to I think see what Fuente and Co bring to the recruiting table. Plus it makes things a lot less stressful. I really hope if he doesn't pick VT that Twitter and Facebook fans stay calm.
Sadly there is little to no chance of this. When we didn't sign much recruits on signing day and then Gray left for Florida, I saw some VT fans on Twitter and Facebook ready to run Fuente and Co out of town.
You're a funny guy.
I'm a little burnt out on the recruiting thing, myself. It's awesome to see good players committing to VT, but I want the team that we have to start winning. To get the best players, you have to punch above your weight first, what Beamer did not too long ago. If Fuente can keep excitement about the program, it will take off. This year, I'd love to get guys like Crosby, Hunter, etc. but I can't let myself get too high or too low on anything.
Same here. I follow recruiting concerning players who have committed to us, primarily. Following who might sign is fun but by no means something I get too excited about.
I don't buy that. Coaches come in year 1 and sell recruits on a vision all the time. Look at Franklin or Butch Jones first full class. Even Narduzzi got a couple Crosby level guys. The recruiting will certainly improve with wins as well, but we don't need to wait on them.
And my argument isn't necessarily to wait. I don't doubt that Fuente, someone who has generated his own buzz and excitement, will pull in some good guys. We already have a few that are highly ranked and look to have great skill sets. I think you can find as many examples of teams where recruiting peaks quickly and where recruiting drops off quickly upon a new coach's arrival. It's also hard to compare programs like you're mentioning (PSU and Tennessee) that have (1) a history of national relevance or (2) #SECReasons against VT, who is still a relative newcomer to the national stage and has only modest success at a high level (some conference championships, none particularly recent). Fuente has to sell his vision, but being able to say "here's what we're doing, and wasn't it awesome when we won 11 games last year and a big bowl?" will be the icing on the cake for the top talent. Right now, I'm sure he's got a vision, but I still think he needs to back it up with action. Then we'll see recruiting take off. We'll probably pull in a good class regardless, with hopefully one or two real top players, but until we're back to where we all want to be in terms of rankings, national discussion, etc. my expectations for recruiting victories are tempered.
I know we aren't on a PSU/TENN level of allure, that's why I mentioned Narduzzi at Pitt. I'm just saying if we don't get Crosby its just flat out because we just couldn't get him, not because we have a first year HC. No reason not to expect a top 25 class
Not for nothin', but French told me he thinks we get this guy. Not enough to bet the farm, but it keeps me from tearing out my hair until I have to.
Edit: Well, I got the "for nothin'" right.
Wow, it appears that the "realization" and "justification" phases have started early...
Seriously though, he probably isn't as great as everyone makes him out to be. I mean I would bet Clay Dean will be the better DT in the long run anyway...
/s
If he is really making this decision based on depth chart like he said, which, you cant blame him, its a good strategy, and you cant blame the school, it means we have depth, you cant really get mad he chooses Tennessee...
VT Defensive Line Recruiting
2017 - 1
2016 - 3
2015 - 6
2014 - 5
Tennessee Defensive Line Recruiting
2017 - 0
2016 - 1
2015 - 6
2014 - 7
Current DL Roster
Virginia Tech
Sr - 3
Jr - 2
So - 3
Fr - 7
Tennessee
Sr - 4
Jr - 3
So - 5
Fr - 2
I think its pretty clear, and we really shouldnt over-react on this, but Im sure people will flip their lids and say our staff cant recruit, Bud needs to go blah blah, get over it, the kid made the best decision for him, I would be surprised looking at that if he chooses Tech, it has absolutely nothing to do with our staff being able to close, what were we not supposed to recruit that position. Its a tough situation, but I dont think its anything for everyone to freak out about.
It really just comes down to whether he can stand wearing that gaudy orange for 4 years.
"Its that throw up orange, not that orange that you can sit with. Its that puke, inside of a pumpkin orange. And I don't like pumpkins."
I can't unsee that golden.... thing pointing up to the right side of her shoulder.
So you felt the need to ruin it for the rest of us. Thanks a lot.
Making an educated guess on their real depth, since Tennessee lists DL:
Tenn DE
Sr - 5
Jr - 1
So - 1
Fr - 2
Tenn DT
Sr -
Jr - 2
So - 5
Fr - 0
VT DE
Sr - 1
Jr - 1
So - 1
Fr - 4
VT DT
Sr - 1
Jr - 1
So - 2
Fr - 3
Its a little bit of a push, I guess it just depends on where he feels he can get on the field quickest.
It's a little stressful trying to land this kid!
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Don't worry, Fuente has this on autopilot:
meanwhile, LOLUVa has been flying on instruments this whole time
New coach means new recruiting strategy at loluva.
Huh, Jim Harbaugh looks different there.
some people just have way too much time on their hands
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Why ruin a good time
This Les Miles Elvis is the best one I've been by a wide, wide margin
This makes me uncomfortable for many reasons
There's a lot of time between now and February signing day whatever day in February that is. I wouldn't put too much stock in these April commitments one way or the other. I think the results on the field will start speak for themselves and I'm optimistic that Tech is going to have a really good year. Like 10 win good.
Premature justification phase to the max.
From Evan G:
Current HS coaches said it was VT as did his former coach. Current teammates of his said it was VT. Tennessee thought it was VT. Tennessee sold his mom. When he had his announcement, she pointed out that it was his decision five times during a 5-10 minute presentation and we all know how that goes.
Sounds like momma wanted a new set of wheels and Tennessee came through...
Ryan Bartow just switched his prediction from Tennessee to VT.
RIP Ackbar :(
Cannot wait!! I try to convince myself to calm down.
Holy crap, Drake Deilius just committed to us too. 3* TE out of NC......crystal balls all for Duke and USC'e.
BOGO Friday!
Lets go already damn!
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And Tenn it is.
:(
:(
Appears to be Tennessee. damn
WELP that sucks.
Per 247:
Evan G: Eric is a Vol
WAAAAYYYYYLLLPPP
Man. I gotta stop getting invested in these things.
Welp, at least were used to it right?
I think were just used to ignoring every single indication that says they arent coming to Tech, and then get overly excited just because Techs name is in the running and are influenced by the one troll who says otherwise...
Are we getting trolled more than other schools or is that a normal thing?
(see below: see JaQuan Bailey: see Rick Wells)
figures
W/E good for him... hope he enjoys seeing his team get destroyed in the Bristol Game... why don't these VA kids stick with the home team? That is all. Next recruit up!
Still 9.5 months until February. Let's see if this commitment sticks until then
It will.
^^^in the know
Can we get some #sauce on that
So when I was a senior in high school in Norfolk, VA, I swore I was getting as far away as I could and I wasn't coming back. Well tech was as far as I could get while relatively being able to afford college (and ended up being the greatest decision of my life). I don't blame kids at all for wanting to get away, I've been there myself.
Really shouldn't have let myself get my hopes up. Oh well, good thing I'm drinking all weekend anyway.
Man - I was really hoping I was wrong on this one, on to the next recruit.
Man I hope we kick the shit out of them this fall. Flicken.
Doesn't matter, have Tim Settle
Good point.
Sure would be nice to have someone else with a high motor to spread the OL assignments.
And this is me for the rest of this recruiting cycle:
You'll be back... They always come back...
Recruiting: we know it's bad for us, but we just can't stop hoping for the best
You're uninvited to the Spring Game!
Well...guess I'll go watch the Independence Day trailer now...
Hopefully an ass kicking this fall changes his mind. On to the next one
Win the games this year and the flood gates will open
In all seriousness... we need to start playing like Virginia Tech again before we can hope to routinely land players like this. .500 football and patting ourselves on the back for a Independence Bowl invite ain't impressing recruits anymore.
Hopefully, Fuente gets the offense rolling and starts making us look like an attractive destination again, but until then, I can't blame anyone for passing us by. And really, when it comes to DL we will always be an uphill battle for top players, because Bud really doesn't have a knack for putting linemen high in the draft. It just is what it is.
It's also hard when Tennessee can legitimately promise early PT because they're low in DT and we've got a ton of depth.
yes and no... yes, we have depth, but there is room to come and start here right away if he could prove himself. And really, talent-wise, he'll have a harder time breaking the lineup there than here his first year.
The problem really is that at Tennessee, they're already showing signs of life and are recruiting at a high enough level to legitimately say they likely will be playing for a National Title while he is there. Then you look at VT, and you see a program that is just now beginning a rebuild with giant question marks on what the actual direction of the program will be. Until we can prove on the field that we are going to be a competitive program again, kids are going to keep going elsewhere.
There you go getting all reality with it and what not.
Tennessee got the number 7 overall class after 3 straight 5-7 seasons (including Jones first season). "Nearness" to a championship helps, but its a weak excuse
Oh I 100% agree with all of that!
I was just mentioning one small part of the whole deal. That's why i say give it a few years for Fuente's group to start building relationships. The fact that we were 49% goes to show that there are good changes headed our way. All it's going to take is one good season and time
Tenn has 2 5 star DTs that are both sophomores. I don't think he'd have an easier time getting PT there. Their depth at the position and quality of depth is impressive as well. We lose 2 DTs this class and PT will be wide open.
(I don't actually feel this way, it's just a gif for the moment.)
I am going to start ignoring all recruiting news until someone actually commits so that way I have no moments like this.
I tell myself this every time:
Big recruiting announcements: 20
Me: 0
Next man up!
We can Tim Settle this in September.
Settle is a good player, but he'd be our 2nd, and maybe 3rd, best DT.
Well, according to our depth chart he is our second or third best DT so....
You're probably right considering right now he's anywhere between our 2nd-4th best DT. He's a redshirt freshman fighting for playing time in the two deep.
It was simply a joke in response. No one here questions how loaded TN is right now, but wouldn't started making comparisons at DT without doing a little more digging. Cheers on the new recruit.
Lol, everyone pumped him up, I just assumed he was starting for y'all. I do remember us recruiting him a few years ago, I think we may have been in the final 3 or so. He's a good player, especially with a DC like Bud, he always gets an extra stars worth usually.
That's fair. He's really been hyped up but he needed to lose some weight to be an effective player. He's pretty close to where he needs to be and has been showing well in the practice clips that are available for us to see. Just a redshirt freshman so hopefully he can do some good for us this year either starting or as a backup.
God dammit haha I'm both pissed and smiling ya bastard
Never heard of him
I'm sure this kid is a good player and made the best decision for himself, but his name reminds me too much of Bing Crosby. I always preferred Bob Hope.
Hopefully he will pull a Chris Clarke and switch back to the good guys after committing to UT-K for a few days.
shit! Starting to feel like a NC State fan! Always thinking we are better than we are and thinking recruit are missing out. I'll just go back to waiting till August and watch the games. When we start actually showing we have something players want then I'll pay more attention to recruiting.
I think some of the 'VT keeps missing out on recruits' is completely self exaggerated.
The second this kid said it's about depth, one quick realistic glance at the depth charts and it's pretty easy he picks Tennessee. This should have been known weeks ago but the message becomes 'Tech can't close' 'Tech can't recruit' when the real message is were some what stacked at DT and we have some young DE talent, Tenn has a good amount of Seniors leaving.
It's the same message throughout this past recruiting class. Pine. Pine was already well committed to Penn State. He doesn't flip and the message everyone says is 'Tech can't recruit'. Bailey makes a family decision, 'Tech can't recruit'
If we keep egging on that kind of message it could become true simply because every recruit who doesn't go to Tech we focus on them. Tech can't recruit. We barely even bat an eye at recruiting wins.
If you don't like what people are saying. Change the story - Don Draper
Every recruiting win no matter how highly recruited we (this is more of a message I need to hear for myself) need to proclaim 'See Tech CAN recruit'
I believe.
I believe that.
I believe that we will win.
If we were loaded with 4* talent at DT, sure, but we aren't. While it is true Tennessee might have more openings for him they also have a higher quality of talent in those positions for him to beat out and it's entirely likely he would have a better chance for early playing time here than there, which you know was told to him repeatedly on the recruiting trail.
We have 2 - 4* tackles that are underclassmen and aren't going to start.
Defensive line is the deepest position at Tech...see Walker, Settle, etc
do people look at Tenn's depth chart before making these comments? Look up the hudls for shy tuttle (if you didn't already remember him from past recruiting cycles) and kahlil McKenzie. I don't even think shy is going to be able to start for them this year as a 5* DT.
http://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/reply/11821/414299
Clearly, no ones looking at the depth charts realistically..........
I would not hold my breath on him flipping. They have 5 Seniors on the DLine leaving and 3 Juniors 2 of who could leave early...Im pretty confident theyll be an uptick in recruiting for Tech next year, if not this year. I think the momentum is already in motion, but you can expect this kind of thing to happen in the future.
Might want to check your #s again. VT's 2 expected starters at DT are both seniors (woody and nigel). We have 2 quality backups behind them in ricky walker and tim settle who are both the highest rated kids we have at the position coming out of HS.
Tenn I believe has one senior expected to start at DT and one true sophomore who was a 5 star recruit (kahlil McKenzie). They also have 5 star true sophomore shy tuttle at DT and several other sophomores.
Which school do you think has the easier path to PT? Also not sure why you are adding DEs into the equation of seniors leaving when Crosby clearly isn't a DE for either school. Might as well add corners, linebackers, etc if that's going to make the #s look more in their favor.
As for the recruiting uptick I think we'll see another class similar to last year. Devon Hunter is our best chance at an elite guy this cycle. Jordan Williams is a kid we really need to close on as well.
I'm not just out here to make techs numbers look bad. Im not sure what youre argument is. They have 5 Seniors on the Defensive line and 2 out of 3 Juniors likely to leave early for the NFL next year. We have 3 seniors.
And I'm sorry but I don't know there Defensive line makeup well enough to know if any of their DT would switch and play DE next year or vice versa. They list them as DL on their roster, it was a best guess to take a realistic view of the situation. I don't know what you want me to say, if you have a problem with his decision, maybe take it up with him. I'm just pointing out if that was his reasoning like he said, well, he's not wrong in that decision.
Jordan Williams might make the same decision and it's nobody's fault. I'm just saying, I'm sure its pretty hard to counter a coach when he says 'well look half our Defensive line room will be gone next year'.
13 on the DL at Tennessee 6, likely 7 are gone. Just based on pure numbers, I don't know their roster, I'm sure that was a contributing factor.
Again we lose both incumbent starters (assuming woody/nigel hold on to claim the spots) and they only have the option to lose 1 with 1 of their starters and 1 of their backups being elite 5 star kids who are true sophomores. PT seems more readily available at VT. Pointing out how many DEs are leaving for either team is irrelevant. Not sure which JRs you think are going to leave early for them either? Barnett at DE is definitely a possibility, but again that has nothing to do with Crosby. I don't have a problem with his decision you just seemed to be saying that it was a much easier path to PT for him at Tenn which I don't agree with, especially when you didn't have our depth chart/class composition correct for the DT position.
Well at least my Skins got Josh Norman..........Today was a good day?
More a product of the system than anything. Ask him to cover a guy 1 on 1 on a route and he struggles bad. There's a reason Carolina let him walk like they did.
The Skins will end up regretting this one. Shades of the Eagles going for broke with Maxwell last year.
He also asked for too much money
I imagine will Kendall will be there at the end of the first.
My thoughts as well. Sign Chromartie, Draft Kendall, and you're looking good going into next year.
Maxwell was a backup who was never very good, Norman has been a top 5 cb for two years. These deals are on different planets. I think his scheme dependence is getting overblown, he shut down many of the best receivers in the league in a scheme very similar to what the Skins run. We got lucky last year with Eli having a down year and Romo getting injured. To compete with those teams and regularly make the playoffs we needed an elite db, so while I'm skeptical of any huge deal, it makes sense. And at least we overpaid for an actually good player, unlike what most teams have been doing this offseason (and Eagles last year) overpaying for marginal talents.
Eh, two years is a stretch. Last season he didn't start until around midway through the year.
As a Skins fan, I completely agree. On top of that he is 29 years old. This was a typical Snyder move. Sure, we need help in the secondary, but this was over the top.
This isn't a Snyder move at all. And I'd be shocked to hear he's even still involved considering the moves Scot Mcloughan has been making. Snyder moves were always at the beginning of free agency, bringing in players past their prime (Bruce, Deion, whoever that safety was, etc) or someone like Haynesworth who had obvious motivation issues, all signed to huge long-term contracts. Norman was legitimately one of the better defensive players in the NFL last year, is just now hitting his peak, noted for being a highly motivated hard worker, and we can get out of the deal after just 2 years with minimal dead money.
Even for this amount of money, we get a top player with a lot of flexibility for the future, at a position of dire need. No way we make the playoffs this year against this schedule without a lockdown corner.
So jumping to overpay him 20 seconds after he was made a free agent is better than jumping and overpaying at the immediate open of Free Agency? Look, I'll give you that Norman is in his prime right now, but I don't think he's on the upswing anymore.
Regardless, 5 years at $15m a year and $50m guaranteed for a 28 year old guy who has shown he cannot effectively and routinely play man to man when the previous team was willing to cut ties with him without getting anything in return after having benched said player for routinely being in the coaching staff's doghouse... Yeesh, I just don't see this ending well. Personally, I don't think he's a legitimate lockdown corner. He eliminated half the field in Carolina, but that was him being in the perfect situation in the perfect system to showcase his abilities. But man, when he was asked to cover a guy in man, things got ugly fast. Without the front 7 Carolina has, with their ability to force errant throws, I don't think it'll suit him nearly as much. He's not the kind of guy who is going to be out there forcing coverage sacks. I do think he'll help the Washington defense, but I don't think he'll be nearly the answer that Washington thinks he will be.
Said someone in every "Redskins sign..." thread ever. :)
First off, I'm not arguing that he's a guaranteed elite corner going forward, or that it's ok to hand out huge free agent contracts. I'm more arguing that despite the risks, I like the deal, and when you take a closer look at it, this is absolutely nothing like the old Snyder deals we used to make.
Yes, because at the beginning of free agency marginal talents get absurd amounts of money. You're also competing with every other team in the league bidding up the price, whereas late in free agency there are only 1 or 2 other teams with the cap space to do it. He would have been paid more if he hit the open market at the beginning of free agency. It's a lot of money, but not necessarily an overpayment if that's what the market dictates. He was a top flight corner last year and got paid like one.
You're also seriously over exaggerating his man struggles just to make a point. He was the top rated corner by PFF last year, and will be playing in a similar system. And while he was helped by being behind a great front 7, our front 7 was similarly nullified by not having a decent secondary. We've got a wealth of pass rushers, but without an upgrade in the secondary they were going to go to waste for a second consecutive season.
Moreover, the deal isn't actually 50 million guaranteed, Washington can walk away after two seasons with no repercussions. Without Norman, I doubt we have a shot at the playoffs this year. Schedule is too hard and we face too many elite receivers. This signing very likely pushes us over the edge to be a serious playoff contender, AND gives us an escape route after two years if it doesn't work out. It's risky, no doubt about it, but there is a tremendous upside as well with future flexibility. THAT'S why this isn't a Snyder deal.
Washington was the market. They were the only ones willing to give him the money he wanted. I heard New Orleans was also in the running, but the price point wasn't what Washington was offering. They were truly setting the market on his price. I hardly call that proof that his price is what the market dictated, especially when he signed with a franchise notorious for doling out inflated contracts.
The Washington defense last year was 28th in getting pressure on opposing QBs. You don't have those kind of results with 'a wealth of pass rushers'.
Oh boy... if you honestly think he's going to make that much of a difference, you might as well start drinking now. Seriously, the times he struggled the worst last year was when he was lined up man for man against a #1 receiver. More times than not, he was flat out torched, especially against elite WRs. OBJ and Julio Jones lit him up last year in the games when he went up against a #1 with a competent QB to throw to him (not counting the game against Dallas, because the Panthers knocked out Romo early, and the front 7 pinned their ears back after taking the WRs out of the game).
Look, as I said, I don't doubt he makes the defense better, but he's not going to be the difference between the defense you had last year and a great defense. And yet he's being paid like a guy who is going to do just that.
Eh. I was really just arguing the Snyder reference, it's very clearly not applicable if you have been actually following the team and jumping to that conclusion bogs down any discussion. But sure, we can talk football too.
Yes, you do. Our secondary was that bad. Breeland is the only player who should be an NFL level starter. We had a converted wide receiver at the other corner spot. I love Kyshoen, but a 6th round draft pick is not supposed to be a day-one starter. Meanwhile, Kerrigan is a half-notch below elite. Preston Smith led all rookies in sacks. We also get Junior Galette back this year. The talent is there to get serious production, we just didn't have the secondary to do it.
This just sounds like you justifying him leaving, you can't just exaggerate away facts to make your point. He's not a premier man cover guy, but he more than held his own when asked to. Against Julio he held him to 101 yards in two games*. That's pretty damn good against a top-3 receiver. Against OBJ, he got beat a couple times, but he also erased him for most of the game, and if the refs weren't blatantly biased, would have gotten the guy ejected by getting into his head (which absolutely counts, it's an important part of the position). Besides, we play cover-3 vast majority of the time anyways, which is what he's best at and is what we desperately need.
I was ready to concede that he was slightly overpaid and it's not guaranteed that he'll be an elite corner going forward, but you can't just hand wave reality by exaggerating things. Dude is a good player at a position of extreme need. More money then I'd like to spend, but he's the exact type of player this defense needed to take a step forward AND the contract is team-friendly despite the large figures involved.
* https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/12/28/pro-the-julio-jones-jos...
Yeah enjoy the production(Elite DB) you're gonna get out of him the next two years. He'll probably justify the 15m per year for that long, but those last three years he's gonna be one overpaid DB.
Sorry. I just don't get it. I'm trying very hard to be objective. But I just see the appeal of TN over VT (some of his others...that he previously eliminate...okay, I see a little).
Anybody else notice sun still came up today?
How dare you! It only came up because it knew it would be the only sun that would!
Cloudy here.
I've said it before, but I'll say it again. My Momma asked me more than once, why waste your time wanting someone who doesn't want you? Love us or leave us. Here's your hat, what's your hurry?
Just remember nothing's final till signing day. I expect us to get a handful of 4-star recruits this year.
We can only get better at recruiting, and that comes with getting back to our 10 win seasons and whooping Tennessee in Bristol.
Fueture is bright
Was reading some recaps on the Nike camp in Charlotte this weekend and Crosby indicated he's still planning on taking all of his visits. Seems like this isn't a set in stone commitment - but really, what commitment to Tenn is until you actually sign the papers?
also commented he's trying to bring other VA Players like tajh capehart and Jordan Williams (two of our top targets) to Tennessee.
Sounds like we need to make a statement [#Statement17, if you will] in Bristol and sway all three to come to Blacksburg.
He also still plans to take an official to VT. It's not over until pen hits paper
Just out of curiosity, besides Kendall, who was the last player that had a hyped up "decision date" that ended up picking us?
Tim Settle at the UA All American Game last year.
I think it was this guy
via GIPHY
Huh?
via GIPHY
I believe you are thinking about the wrong #5.
Probably. :)
Probably Tim Settle and then Tyrod before. We are batting low when it comes to hyped up decision dates....
Definitely Tyrod and Tim Settle but didn't RMFW pick us at the Army AA game? Nick Dew picked us at the UA AA game at some point I think as well.
what's your definition of hyped up? If this decision is considered hyped-up, then virtually all 4-star and several 3-star recruits VT has landed would be here. If you're looking national level, well, then it would Kendall.
If hyped up is construed as several marquee schools have offered and a televised signing, Hooker would have been the last, probably. Evans before that.
Now, now. You are trying to ruin our image of never winning a recruit. How dare you!
247 sent out one of those free bolts last night with an interesting update on Crosby. First off it did mention that Crosby is working pretty hard to recruit others to UT. In particular it mentioned Williams and Capehart. He said he had talked to Williams a lot about playing together on the D-block at UT.
However after this he did say that he is still keeping his recruiting open. As soon as he committed he got a call from Alabama and several others. He even said that he plans on taking a few more OV's including at least one more to the good guys.
All in all it sounds mostly negative with Crosby and I would say Williams as well but I guess you never know. Here's to UT having a devastatingly disappointing season.
Having recruits recruit others has been a big part to Butchs success. Once they buy in like that they're usually all in. We have a WR that was kicked off a visit when showed up to Auburn on an OV decked out in Orange to recruit.
Yea but that's a strategy for basically every school in the country. It was understood that whoever got Crosby had a good chance to get the other Ocean Lakes kids with him.
Oh yea, a lot of schools do it, but ours go all out. We have 3-4 every year that basically act as assistant coaches and talk and visit with other recruits.
I do find it amazing that ONLY 3-4 kids that choose to go to Tennessee choose to "go all out" -- Of course, since I only really follow my school, I am completely unaware of the goings-on at other schools and thus consider myself unqualified to assess the recruiting of other schools' recruits...
It's a battle, it's rare to
Find kids now that are 100% committed to schools from the get go.
Too much money going around and way too many chances to be swayed.