Discuss and share any recruiting topics for May 2023 that don't warrant their own threads. Commits and decommits warrant their own threads.
This recruiting thread is used to share information regarding VT-specific targets, PWO offers, scholarship offers, visits, camps, and general news, in addition to larger trends. In the interests of limiting load times, favor post links to tweets rather than embedding. And if you want to embed, please check the thread to see if a tweet was already embedded prior to adding it yourself.
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[1] New commitments, decommitments, portal entries, etc... deserve their own thread. Please read the brief best-practice tips at the top of the recruiting forum
[2] Scared money don't make money.
[3] Pry Marve 2024
[4] We must ride on the wings of the Pry-beast
Comments
Why are we posting the May Recruiting thread? I swear it feels it's still like early March and not almost summer.
But whatever, Go Hokies, I guess!
It's basically Christmas already.
I wont even know when Christmas is approaching again because my 4 year old still wants to watch The Grinch and Polar Express on a weekly basis.
Don't have to get ready if you stay ready. Santa won't catch her slacking this year
I have a stack of Christmas books hidden in my office so my kids can't find them.
I love Christmas, so it doesn't bother me too much. But I am worried when Thanksgiving ends that my excitement wont be as high as usual because I've already been getting exposure to it.
I feel like there is a scene from It's The Easter Beagle Charlie Brown - buy early, only 246 days to X-mas - that fits here.
We *are* only about 3 months away from Cracker Barrel putting out Christmas stuff in their lobbies.
https://247sports.com/player/lloyd-irvin-46138975/
HEY! Don't be including actual recruiting news in this thread about how time's flying and early Christmas ads... /s
It's not a proper time conversation until I chime in.
I see what you did there
It's about time!
Read an interesting book recently:
Longitude by Dava Sobel
Very light on technical details but super interesting story about the quest to create an ocean worthy clock/watch.
A Revolution in Time is another good read. It goes through the evolution of time keeping. It's been 15 years since I read it but if I remember correctly, it was really catered towards explaining how civilizations were able to evolve due to advances in accuracy. Engineers and history buffs should enjoy it.
Dumb question, but what should I think of an unranked kid like this in the 2024 class? Does it mean that recruiting services just haven't scouted him yet, and he's probably 3-star-ish if he has three P5 offers? Or is he looking at being a PWO?
Offers >> ranking. Still semi-early I would assume scholarship
I mean we still have summer camp season and senior season for the services to evaluate. This early it's usually that our eval process is ahead of the services and he'll be at least a mid 3*. It took seemingly forever for Josh Clarke to get rated even though he sat on an offer from us for a year, now he's a .87.
If not ranked there are lots of possibilities:
1) he grew 6 inches and is now being noticed and VT is in on the hype train early
2) things came together mentally and he is playing better than he has and the scouts have gotten to him yet
3) he plays for a smaller school, scouts haven't seen him yet
4) any number of other reasons that are possible why no one has actually ranked him yet
Very unlikely hes a 5* or even 4* player unless he had a growth spurt. But he could still be a good 3* that gets ranked higher as he plays more.
is he the Son of Lloyd Irvin, the MMA Gym owner/Coach?
Malcolm Greene transferring to the BooHoos
Boooo
Although it makes sense with pre existing relationships
rats
OH A WOAHHHH OH
Khalon Laborn, a familiar face and the source of much Fuente scorn, ends up on this inauspicious list:
Undrafted 5-stars
Sounds like he actually had a really nice year for Marshall. 1500 yards is legit no matter where you're playing
agreed, but went undrafted. Given some ratings services limit the number of 5 stars to 32 coinciding with the number of first round picks, not great to go undrafted.
It's almost unheard of without major injury or major criminal issues
Or going to UVA
I mean i felt it was criminal to pick uva over tech st the time
CBs point notruh dahm
https://247sports.com/player/micah-gilbert-46128048/
We made top-7 with USCe, ND, Michigan, Duke UNC, and Pitt
Is he sure it isn't 800%?
Sons of Saturday did an interview with Davi Belfort. I liked hearing how he's recruiting hard already and feels connected to the coaches, we might need to send him some Enter Sandman YouTube links though.
YouTube Link
Jamar Malone
6'2 205 QB
IMG Academy
3 🌟 88 rank 247Sports
4 🌟 89 rank 247 Composite
Class of 25
12 offers
Highlights
Hokies in his Top 5. O Line from Loudoun Valley HS.
Moose is a great nickname for an offensive lineman.
Also, F#@k North Carolina. You forgot that, so I added it
We were a leader for him from when Rudolph was recruiting him. Idk how Crook has changed the recruitment.
If we were to exchange Cam Johnson for Demetrius Hill, I would be more than ok with that.
Huge dub bossman incoming
Any hints? All the bat signals are up
Demetrius Hill, Freshman All American DB out of FIU was visiting today. Not sure of others.
DE Powell from UF there right now too
My guess its him
This would be a big deal
If I'm reading this correctly, Delane's tweet suggests it's someone along the DL.
That could be a hint at another DB as well
DBs love a DL that can get pressure. They don't have to cover as long.
Or his baby bro??
So many coaches and players are tweeting about getting better last night
Safe to say, we should be expecting good news today
Reading the tea leaves, Antwuan Powell cleared his instagram with a story of him in a tech uni. It would be a big fish to catch
Which means we should also be expecting bad news today too
what
Hokie fandom tradition, good news is always coupled with bad
Couldn't tell if you meant that or if you were implying that one in meant one out
Let's goooooo
Huuuuuge get for JC
2 years left?
Gobble Gobble bishes!!!!!
discussion thread
https://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2023/may/4/uf-transfer-de-antwaun-pow...
reminder that news of new commitments get their own thread
edit: I was 8 seconds late with the embed
any info on Isaac Ukwu in the portal out of JMU. Was a 4 star out of HS that the previous admin must have lost.
https://247sports.com/Player/Isaac-Ukwu-91960/
He was an unranked kid out of HS and it looks like his only FBS offer was Navy.
Stop distracting the narrative with facts.
Would have been a major addition to our OL
It's a hit, but can you blame him?
Why? For NIL maybe but not like they're going to be any good next year
Oklahoma's OL coach is one of the best in the business.
And we are lol?
K but they aren't projecting to be significantly better than us either
They will be.
We'll see, most likely 7-5 to our 5-7 imo but anything can happen 🤷♂️
even if both teams had the same record, would those records be created equally?
Does a transfer care?
what argument are you even having here? if troy everett cares about the on-field record? if on-field record says a whole lot about comparing the quality of Oklahoma football team to VT's next year?
this seems like kind of a weird hill to die on. OU has more history and prestige than VT. Even if they are down VT is also very much down.
and a much better track record of putting OL into the NFL recently
there you go with your facts again
Damn. This one hurts. Really was counting on landing him
From the Athletic today (Grace Raynor, when asked if missing on Everett said anything about Pry):
Last years class was ranked 37? That's pretty good considering the rankings during the Fuente years. I'm going to choose this as my takeaway from this otherwise depressing post. Thanks for sharing it, though-excellent info.
Honestly, makes me feel a little better. The stuff he chose as important are things we either have no control over or can't change at this point. As mentioned a million time, winning cures all (or a lot of) ailments. We just need to improve the product on the field and control what we can control and maybe we can tip a few of these back in our favor
I understand him choosing OU. I'm not going to be the wo is us crowd. I feel like some does cater to the OU fanbase and SEC/BIG whatever they want to call themselves. They sell subscriptions and that is fine.
To me we just got beat out and that can be digested just fine. I don't love the idea of what we are headed to in CFB and I know it is coming. Just stinks it is headed this way. I won't soapbox on my opinions and I stay away from the realignment type threads as it can be toxic.
Wish the best for the young man on his journey forward. Hopefully another youngin from the area can make it big time and I'll always root for the home boys even if it isn't in Maroon and Orange!
That really sucks because if we had just an average Beamer roster we could kick the shit out of them
Having grown up in the VT area, I knew a ton of people that couldn't wait to leave the southwest VA confines at that age. However logical it is to "stay home", some folks have to see the world, even if that includes Oklahoma.
You know, Oklahoma isn't really that great. In fact...
I went to Oklahoma once and it was 105 degrees. "Yeah, but it's a dry heat". Sure, it's dry because the air sucks all the moisture out of your body and turns it into tornadoes. Fuck Oklahoma.
If Oklahoma is anything like St. Louis Missouri area, that sure as heck isn't dry heat.
This wasn't about the rosters; this is about the programs. OU as a program is/was equally as consistent as VT under Beamer while also reaching higher heights. This is their first losing season in 30 years or something?
Edit to include actual facts:
All recruits know about OU is that they've been good forever. It's not the same for VT:
That's painful. Realizing that these kids probably think of VT the way I thought of Washington, Nebraska or Texas A&M growing up. Teams that people always talk about having "history" but without a reference in your lifetime it doesn't mean anything.
i was thinking about your bottom points with reference to SWVA kids in this class going elsewhere as discussed further down the thread -- they likely don't have very strong memories of a good VT. Maybe they have early memories of Tyrod? But all they likely know are the Logan Thomas Years and after --- program on the decline
At 25 my Tyrod memories seem pretty early now. I doubt someone 7-8 years younger than me remembers that. In fact they would've been a year old during that 2007 season that was one of my favorites as a kid. They would've been 5 years old during the Michigan Sugar Bowl year. I didn't start watching football till I was 6
LOL my earliest memories of Hoke football were Cyrus Lawrence (when I was in high school) and Bruce Smith (his 23 sack stat in an 11 game season still boggles the mind especially as he was double-teamed on most every play. I have some pics from the stands)
And who could forget the '83 Squeaker (the 48-0 dismantling of the Hoos and tearing down the goalposts in Lane North) and the frustration of NOT getting a bowl invite at 9-2 but watching UNCheat get the Peach Bowl bid at 8-3-and having lost to those same Hoos the week before the Squeaker? At least they got waxed 28-3 by FSU in that game!
There are some folks that appreciate the reminiscences of old dudes, of which I am one. My earliest memory of VT football was being in Lane on a sunny spring day with my Dad during an open practice. The head coach was named Claiborne.
You speak my language. I was at Tech when Cyrus Lawrence and Bruce were there. I remember sitting in the yet to be finished east stands for the 30-0 LOLUVA beatdown in 1980 (Frustrating season....week after this, we lost to Richmond.....geesh!). And the 9-2 bowl-less season (my Sr. yr.) still gripes me.
I have a picture of the rolls of toilet paper streamers raining down on the east stands from that game.
I have, somewhere in the recesses of a filing cabinet (I think), a copy of the front page of the Sunday Roanoke Times the day after the game. It had an aerial picture of the stadium during the game. At the time, it was the largest attendance at a sporting event in Virginia history, IIRC.
Which WOULD have been broken for the 1984 UVA-VT game in Lane if it hadn't rained. They had planned to have 10,000 standing room only tickets in North End Zone due to the demand ; in those days WVU and UVA were the only sellouts we would have in then-50,000 seat Lane. The line for tickets for students tickets (free with your athletic card -just had to wait in line; one student could get tix for 8 total as long as they had their athletic cards with them)started at Cassell's front door and snaked all the way to Southgate at back corner of lot 2. Thhe only ones who got tix were those from corner of Washington and Beamer Way(front corner of lot 1); My friends and I were about 100th in line and got tickets.
My VT football memories begin with Will Furrer at QB.
Me too...my sophomore year he threw 7 INTs in one game at NC State which we lost 7-0. Possibly the worst VT football game I've ever witnessed (1995 Cincinnati was a close second)
Worst I witnessed in person was the 0-0 Wake forest game at Wake that finished as 6-3 loss in 2 OT....oh wait...thst never happened! /s
From the 60's to the present, our record is littered with embarrassing face plants. That's why the excellence of the Beamer halcyon days were so great. The occasional heart burns in that era were soothed by the tremendous successes. Going forward for CBP, the cycle alone is in his favor, assuming conference alignment is played well. I hope so.
*Grant Noel has entered the chat*
2001 vs #1 Miami he went 4-16 with 4 INTs. And we lost by 2. Though to be fair, the dropped 2-point conversion that would have tied it wasn't his fault. Wilford's XXXXXXL hands just couldn't hold on.
Though I think that blocked punt return for a TD that setup the dropped 2-pointer is still the loudest single moment I ever experienced in Lane.
Can confirm. This was the loudest noise ever recorded on earth. It's science
Ouch.
True. But...Ouch.
From Roanoke. Of COURSE he chooses Oklahoma over VT. Duh
Good luck to him, I hope he gets on the field, as that is a long way to go to ride the bench when he would probably have been penciled in at tech.
OU's OL is actually in a similar spot to ours. He'll start there.
Will be absolutely jazzed if we keep Chris Cole close to home. His recruitment has totally blown up
'24 LB out of Salem. Currently rated 86/0.8600 and i expect that to go up with camp circuit and his senior season.
https://247sports.com/player/chris-cole-46134437/
Would be an incredible proof of concept for the recruiting strategy under Pry
Their other LB/TE just got offers from Cincinnati and Marshall. Wouldn't be surprised if he's a name we see on our radar really soon.
https://www.on3.com/db/jaelyn-allen-180138/
I'd be pretty sad if Chris Coleman gave up on VT and switched to Bam-- wait, never mind.
Insane how these 2 guys (Peyton Lewis) play at Salem. Both have UGA, Bama, and USCW offers 😔
https://247sports.com/player/marcellus-barnes-jr-46138198/
88 rated ATH out of TN
https://247sports.com/player/javier-etheridge-46138518/
84 rated ATH out of OH. Committing May 13th
87 rated IOL from Roanoke set to make his decision on Friday between us and WF
https://247sports.com/player/moritz-schmoranzer-46139580/
Three-Star OL Moritz Schmoranzer Recaps Virginia Tech Visit Ahead of Friday Decision
Hope we land Mo Schmo via the Hannes Hammer Pipeline
Hope his official visit was a Gute Fahrt.
#DE2VT
Go VT!
Don't know if everyone saw this but looks like he took a visit to Pitt and pushed back his commitment. Was expecting him to commit to us today
I'm ready to be hurt again.gif
Eh I knew he wasn't coming here for a little bit
Is that confirmed? Rudolph recruited him more than Crook?
Just feels like the staff started prioritizing other Olineman the last couple weeks
We're still in the hunt for 92 rated WR from NC Alex Taylor
https://247sports.com/player/alex-taylor-46118490/
Virginia Tech Among Current Top 4 for Four-Star WR Alex Taylor
It would be a strong pull bc my sense from his Twitter is clemson. Gotta start landing blue chippers
Yeah, Clemson all the way.
We're still very much in the territory where a Clemson offer to just about any VT target results in them becoming heavy favorites instantly.
While I think you are 100% correct, I do think the Dabo train is slowing down just a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if Coach Pry and Co. began to make some headway on this front over the next few cycles.
The problem is with Clemson declining a bit, USCe is rising and gaining momentum.
We'll see. They made arguably the best OC hire of the offseason, have a top 5 roster (by team composite rankings), still have a (young, not yet developed) 5-star QB, still have a nasty DL.
I don't think they'll be in the national title conversation this year, but I think they'll be a mainstay in the 12 team playoff. Given that Dabo's teams always seem to peak at the right time, I think they'll do well in the new playoff too.
As far as SCar goes, I think (a) their ceiling was realized under Steve Spurrier, and (b) a divisionless SEC is bad for them.
I'm not particularly sold on Garrett Riley being a miracle worker. I think the hire was great primarily for the reason that it was Dabo finally not going in-house and moving on from the Chad Morris offense that was over a decade old.
In Fontel Mines we trust.
Yes. I think we still pull in a good receiving class for 2024
Chris Colemans in Europe, the window to transfer is getting smaller as summer workouts approach.. where are the damn commitments?
90 rated wr from VA
https://247sports.com/player/keylen-adams-46103155/
QB commit Davi Belfort recruiting him to join
That would be a hell of a statement to pull him against Ohio State and Brian Hartline
Hey hey, I went to Green Run. Pretty cool to see
What's with the Xs for eyes?
I'm glad that I wasn't the only one to think that.
86 rated wr from NC
https://247sports.com/player/javarius-green-46136158/
This would be a guy I want. Is a game breaker. Not sure where his recruitment is at the moment, clearly was releasing a top 6, then added NC State late.
This may already be mentioned earlier, but I had absolutely 0 clue Salem High School has 2 massive prospects. Peyton Lewis with offers to Bama, UGA, and just about anyone else, literally in our backyard and we can't get a sniff. I understand why, but we need to get back to the days of landing these players.
I can't even think of another reason minus the internet and folks being able to recruit nationwide now unless it is a major prospect. I look at old classes with Ellis, Adibi, and Hall all in the same class. Those guys maybe separate nowadays. Back then they would play for Foster and at home. Any family members can see games on any streaming platform. There is a list of reasons. But when I try and look at those lists, it never felt like the blue bloods of the country were focused on VA at those times like they can now and cherry pick talent as they please.
Didn't the twins go to Salem?
yes, and they were barely 3*s that we flipped from the Sun Belt
Wait.....twins?
Very mentally prepared to miss on all these southwest VA kids.
Yep. Prior to camps and services we could get these guys. As it becomes more and more national we can't harbor the talent as easily.
Pry is pushing for playing at home and I love it. Just can't resonate with every kid vs a Bruce Smith or Deangelo Hall like back then. Things change and I know the staff is trying much more the previous staff and I appreciate that at least.
Our other big transfer portal target, besides Troy Everett, committed to Illinois yesterday
I mean, I get why playing for Bert would be a big sell.Crook has his work cut out for him
Jk Bad at reading
Demetrius Hill is a db
Just had a few selected in the draft and one high up from what I remember in the 1st. Sold him that and won. Is what it is.
Ahh I misread the previous post, I thought it was say Troy Everett is going to Illinois and I was like weird I though he committed earlier but that makes sense why he's play for Bert.
Guess not lol. Thanks for correcting.
Seeing a lot of uncertainty about the coaching staff not being able to close on blue-chip in-state kids lately, but just a reminder that most of these dudes have being getting recruited for several years already by other schools and that Pry & Co are just going into year 2. This will take a LOT of time to establish good relationships with high school coaches as well as the players themselves.
Coaches also have to develop the players they have. For a little bit of time they can rely on their accomplishments at other schools, but at some point they have to coach up the guys here and prove to recruits that we can make them NFL ready.
I agree. I always feel kinda suspicious about coaches who hop from job to job every 1-2 years in terms of their player development abilities. I love seeing a coach who coached at a school for 4+ years. Seems like a real rarity these days though! I'm interested to see if Bowen is the real deal this year since he'll be directly coaching our QBs.
File it under "things you love to see"
Chris cole now 93 rated by 247, bringing the composite up to 0.9040
Man his recruitment has taken off. What would it take for us to land him? A miracle?
Yes
Cue the Micah Parsons comparisons
I mean, this has to be Pry's pitch, right?
Then Kirby Smart is going to shake his hand with rings on from the last two national championships
Players are far more concerned with NFL chances than they are winning minor league championships.
That said, Kirby has put soooooooo many guys in the NFL.
Yeah I was going to say he's the best at doing both.
I think Pry could win these battles against Miami or PSU at some point but at the current rate why would you ever not go to UGA/Bama
Ari Weisserman was saying in the Andy Staples show that 5-stars make it to the NFL at the same rate no matter where they go, and there's zero evidence that Saban or Kirby or any other coach is better at putting a given 5-star into the league. But recruits probably won't listen to that.
They won't and I don't know if it's always head coaches either. I also think it's more of a factor with your .88-.94 rated guys. 5* are 5* because they're the closest to being ready to physically play. Most of the time it's personal choices or the mental aspect that keep them from the league
He's better than Mike London and Bronco Mendenhall, apparently. Quin has finally realized that.
As long as he doesn't jingle some new car keys....
Don't forget proximity to home means family can still come to every home game.
Evan Watkins with a seemingly knowing tweet up this morning. Is someone committing?
Pry signal is up! Who we got??
First OL commit in the '24 class
If he's anything like big brother Patrick, we got ourselves a gem.
89 rated WR from VA
https://247sports.com/player/mekhai-white-46117012/
Where the heart is. Duh.
that dude has a hell of an offer list. Would be awesome to be able to keep him in state but I doubt we do with the offers he has.
247 CB has him to Michigan for whatever that's worth.
One of my coworkers has a son who plays in the same high school team with Mekhai White. There is another 4 stat receiver on the team as well, Chanz Wiggins. Apparently both kids are ballers.
Unfortunately, per my work buddy at least, both are enamored with the big time out of state offers. Hopefully Pry and company can keep them home.
https://247sports.com/player/jaden-smith-46136607/
Currently unrated but with a strong offer list, out of West Charlotte. We were his first reported P5 offer back in January
Is that the Michigan M or the Maryland M? Also, USC is not like the rest of these schools lol
Michigan, look at the graphic a few posts above that have both M's.
Marylands has a line below it... so their grads don't confuse it with a W I guess 🤷♂️
so their grads don't confuse it with a W I guess 🤷♂️
🤣
West Charlotte is a solid program. Have an OT going to NC State this year.
87 Rated DL from NY
https://247sports.com/player/aaris-bethea-46111859/
Unranked LB from DC. By his offers it seems odd he has no rankings yet
https://247sports.com/player/montay-weedon-46131815/
87 ranked OL from GA
https://247sports.com/player/kahlil-house-46128260/
CB for unranked DL from OH
https://247sports.com/Player/Andrew-Hanchuk-46134436/