Discuss and share any recruiting topics for July 2024 that don't warrant their own threads. Commits and decommits warrant their own threads.
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[3] Pry Marve 2024
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Comments
Probably going to be slow during fall camp. But, one big announcement coming this weekend from Messiah Delhomme 4-star safety from Warwick HS (247 Link):
Reports from those that closely follow recruiting (such as VTscoop's Inside the Tunnel podcasters) say it's between OSU and VT. OSU was still recruiting him hard, even though they have three 4-star safeties committed in this class (including Faheem Delane) and two 4-star safeties signed in the 2024 class. VT is recruiting him harder and has more playing time available. It comes down to blueblood vs hometown school, crowded position vs more playing time, established playoff contender vs building a playoff contender, becoming just another player at OSU vs extending Vicks' Warwick High legacy at VT. Pry has used Warwick High as an example several times as a HS that VT didn't visit during the entire Fuente tenure and lost the relationship, and now the coaches visit several times a year. It will be interesting to see whether the fruits of the football staff and their message pay dividends. VT is arguably the better the choice. More NIL opportunities, more snaps to shine, greater chance to establish a legacy, more opportunities for his family to see him play, and coached by a superbowl champion. But, it's also OSU, so who knows.
Would be such a good pick up. If we can sell the playing time over being the 6th safety at OSU, it would be awesome. Hopefully the first step to getting us where we have a whole bunch of top recruits and other places have to try and sell playing time when recruiting against us.
We won't win and can't expect to win all of these battles, but Pry and Company are so much better at it than what Fu was.
Anyone know how his recovery's been going? Think I recall that he broke a leg and will miss his senior season
I know that VT getting a roster full of 4* and 5* kids isn't reality. But winning some of these battles so that we can get some studs in key positions will be what takes us to that next level of consistently competing for an ACCT.
Even if we lose this battle, I think Pry and Co. are doing an excellent job of re-establishing these broken relationships. If, after year 5 or 6, we are still missing on most of these guys, then I think it would be reasonable to ask some questions.
No matter his decision tomorrow, whether OSU or VT (or outsiders UMD/UVA), Pry and co. will recruit him until his ink is dry on paper. They want him and they know they have a real legit chance to beat OSU here (I think a lot more so than Faheem Delane, despite his brother at VT).
This recruitment is a similar repeat to Chris Cole, which was VT or UGA. The choice again is between the better relationship or the blue blood. Cole went blue blood. We'll see what Delhomme does here.
Trying to think of examples where we beat out a blue blood for a recruit (ones where it was known the the blue blood's offer was committable) and having a hard time
We beat out PSU for Kevin Jones. Michigan and Auburn for David Wilson. Clemson for Kendall. OSU for Doug Nester.
But yea, it ain't common.
I thought Adam's with Bama was commitable last year
There's probably more I'm missing. Maybe Wiggins and Michigan?
Regardless, it's not frequent.
According to his dad when he was on Boundary Corner podcast, Adams was offered by pretty much every major blue blood around. But, he shut them down early and went with VT due to the relationship he already built up with VT coaching staff, players, and fellow recruits. His dad is all-in on the Hokies too. Hyping up all the VT tweets.
Yep. Adams was a massive win for us in recruiting. He and Wiggins are going to be very good. As good as I think we will be at WR this year, even with the guys we will lose to graduation and likely the NFL after this season, I think we are set for next year and beyond with little if any drop off.
And as good as the current WRs are, the 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes were rated much higher nationally out of HS. Not that HS rating ensures your level of play, but the WR room is above that blue-chip ratio people talk about for being an elite program.
The question regarding the passing game next year is the QB. VT has a lot of good 3-star talent, which is probably less than a 50% shot of being a top-level ACC QB. I wouldn't be surprised if VT feels the need to find their 2025 QB in the portal (if Drones moves on).
Looking at the top ACC QBs (in order of on 247 post spring rankings):
On NCAA 25, Fitzgerald has set all the single season receiving records for VT and will probably have the career records before Adam's breaks them the next year.
We are potentially in great shape at WR for quite a while, but we have to also worry about keeping everyone in the boat every single time the Portal opens too.
Its a different world.
Kevin Jones, Tyrod, Macho Harris all were examples of VT beating out the "top dawgs" for highly sought after recruits, but lets also be honest--that that was so long ago and Recruiting has changed so much that it is largely irrelevant.
NIL, the Portal, and now a totally unnecessary Roster Expansion have tipped the tables completely in favor of Blue Blood programs. They can and will horde talent that they know probably will never see more than a few ST snaps there.
Relationships are important, but 17 year-olds will make 17 year-old decisions. Stay close to home....or get a free Lease on a Lamborghini for a year or two?
I didn't see a time, or is it just sometime today? I thought they usually say what time they'll announce as well.
247 is saying 7 PM today
Awesome - thanks!
VT FB Recruits 2025
Maryland?? Wtf
Everyone's been saying his recruitment goes the whole way to signing day. All we can do is hope.
Reeks of a last-minute NIL "infusion"
Hell, I'd understand picking UVA over Maryland. But picking Maryland over Tech or Ohio State??? Does anybody know if he's got a girlfriend going there or best friend or something else?
Tech is on the rise, Ohio State is always very competitive, UVA, as much as it pains me to say, is a good academic school, but Maryland? Maryland hasn't been very relevant to anything. I'm not sure why someone gave a thumb's down for the other comment about NIL, because that's the oddest choice. So, similar to what someone said, 17 year olds will make decisions using 17 year old brain decision criteria.
Comes down to this most likely...
They have grabbed a few good recruits this cycle. Don't get it
Mike Locksley is a fantastic recruiter, terrible game coach but amazing recruiter.
Like Mike London at UVA. I think London landed a couple 5-stars, but couldn't make anything happen on the field.
Ask Quin Blanding, once you peel him off the field
FTFY
I think we @ him into the field
Unlike TimeCop, Locksly actually has a decent resume. He's from the Nick Saban tree, has it together a pretty good staff, he's from the DC area, and he's done a lot for the black coaching community. Not to mention that, if being in a more urban/city environment is important to you, UMD gets you that (I personally hate college but I get how someone could hate Blacksburg).
TLDR; I get why a recruit would want to go to MD.
He is from the Nick Saban school for coaches that don't coach so we'll school as he was a head coach before working at Bama. He also has an abysmal record.
He is as much from the Mike Gottfried coaching tree as Saban as he worked for Ralph at UMd and Zook at UF
He was at New Mexico for his first HC gig - that's one of the ten most difficult fbs jobs. Most good coaches would fail there.
Besides, he has MD doing pretty well by B10 MD standards. They could actually win 8-10 games in a divisionless B10.
Yes, New Mexico is a tough job and Mike owns the worst record in their history. The only Lobos coach with less wins made it 8 total games as head coach and still had a better winning %. Ted Roof has a better winning percentage and every other lobos coach did better than Ted
It's possible he feels UMD's staff & system is best suited to develop his strengths as well as improve his weaknesses. It could also be that UMD has the best academic program that he's interested in.
Sure, a lot of people still make decisions based off name recognition & perceptions, however many more of today's 17yr olds are better equipped & knowledgeable on what will prepare them best for future success.
I respect what you say and give you a leg, but we are soooooo going to have to agree to disagree on this one:
"however many more of today's 17yr olds are better equipped & knowledgeable on what will prepare them best for future"
Yeah, I disagree as well, I think a LOT of 17 year olds are making very shortsighted decisions, whether because purely NIL deals when they should set their sights on who would prep them best and showcase them best for the NFL where they'll earn real money, or going to a blue blood just to go there, never mind the 10 other players rated higher than them already on the roster so likely wouldn't get playing time.
slightly off topic, but slightly relevant. how is GT doing so well in recruiting all of a sudden. I know they have a lot of good recruits in their footprint but that's not a place that has had real success in the modern CFB. Got a 5 star IOL today, and a 4 star DL who decommitted from UGA yesterday had a CB put in for them as well.
Location + Money + decent coach
Brent Key, while unheralded, may have been one of the best recent hires at very least in the ACC.
He still has to put some Wins on the board, but he's genuine and his players respect and feel respected by him.
A huge change from his 2 predecessors @ GT and proof that hiring the big-money, hot commodity as H.C. isn't always the answer.
Key is doing a nice job. He won't win nearly as much as asshole non recruiter Paul Johnson did though. Guarantee he wont make multiple ACC CG appearances and win 70% of his games there.
well, you can't expect everyone to be as efficient as Paul Johnson.
Never said he couldn't coach. Never said his 1-2 50% lucky completions a game weren't "efficient". What I said was that they can't fucking pass, they don't fucking pass, and when they do it looks like a monkey fucking a football while stacking BB's. Yes, can they catch you off guard and chuck a play down field after their 4 other receivers purposely crack block your secondary, after the running play was busted- once a game? yep. So fucking good at "passing"
kindly dont
THIS is a beautiful metaphor and a vivid mental picture I may never get out of my head, lol....
This aspect is what Key has changed the most. Bringing Haynes King in really opened the field for the T stealers. If he improves on his TD to INT ratio this year they will be there towards the end vying for a spot. It's too bad they open with FSU. That's a matchup a month in I think would be a better match.
Just to be a dick, I guess.
Because GT is a good school with a good reputation and provides diplomas that the business marketplace respects, just like VT.
This is not universal.
That 5* is getting a 3 year, 2.4 million dollar deal to go to GT.
The Bees are doing work
Worker bees
This is what everyone wanted. Another NFL.
The new AD is actually talking to the Alumni network. Have a bunch friends connected there - the most glaring example is Jaime Bacal (networth = $8.2B) - the story goes that the previous AD had never asked Jaime Bacal to donate. When J Batt was hired, Bacal was his first call. Bacal responds with 'I was wondering why no one in athletics wanted my money?'
By no means is this dude going T. Boone Pickens at GT, but there are lots of stories about the previous GT ADs just not reaching out to some of their wealthiest alumni. In the past, only alumni who wanted to be involve got involved. There was basically no outbound sales/marketing.
Anyways, huge increase in alumni involvement and excitement over the year and a half. It's starting to show.
Also, Key has made some good hires. Their OC was previously a UGA analyst, but he's insanely connected amongst GA high schools coaches.
Good for the conference actually. We need to start being taken seriously as a league again
"outbound sales/marketing" totally the mission of higher education. I wonder how long it will take for middle america parent paying for their kids education that a portion of that goes to the GT starting WR? now that we have professional college sports.
NIL is done outside of the university. Soon there may be university to player contracts, but *hopefully* those will be capped low and any bidding wars that happen will be in the NIL space.
Players 100% will be paid by the university directly and probably sooner rather than later. Where does conference TV money go to? The school? or the NIL collectives? THAT is the money - espn, march madness- they are using to justify paying players. Boosters have been around forever. Schools will be paying players directly very soon.
Reggie Bush says you're wrong /s
You missed the House v NCAA ruling - athletes can get up to ~$20m straight from the university.
Like it or not, College is no longer about only the education; it's about the experience and the professional network.
Part of that experience is watching a football team.
Edit: perhaps a more articulate explanation would be say that - from a buyer standpoint, College is less about the 'education' and more about the 'degree' and 'the college experience'.
Oh really? no longer about the education?
It's not 'no longer about the education', but it's definitely no longer just about the education.
Kids want to go to a place that is cool, prestigious, and has a culture that fits them. Many colleges aren't grading as difficultly as they use to because that's bad for business.
Yeah this is applicable at around 50 of the thousands of colleges in america. Thank god.
Lol, solid strawman.
I know that this is a comment about GT. It still applies because this is a VT recruiting thread.
Why can't we just be happy about getting a highly rated recruit? So much negativity everywhere else in the world. Just be happy for your/our team. I understand the frustration. But, I come here to celebrate the victories and find support in the failures of my team.
The world sucks. It has always sucked. It is going to continue to suck.
I just want to come here to escape that suck for just a few minutes out of my day. But even when there is good things happening the suck seeps in.
A new line for the future is invented:
"The suck seepeth."
This is why:
GT 2024 Fundraising
Yeap. GT has a ton of wealthy donors. Last AD didn't even reach out to them.
The nice thing about this new world of college football is that it's simpler than ever to make the jump to the next level - just have an alumni or two who sell a successful startup and get rich.
Instead of how it used to be where you had to have the right reputation, be locating in the right tv market, grow your fanbase, etc.
We did a thing. Congrats Snook
Mines is just an elite recruiter. How strong is this WR room now and going forward? Incredible work. Gonna have to keep throwing money at him to him.
Maybe we can sell Montel Fines souvenir cups at the Clemson game to help pay for his raise?
As someone who has worked for shitty bosses and been around so many bad managers, this guy gets it. When he gets legitimately excited and shares that excitement with the staff and the team, you push yourself further, you feel more connected, and your commitment has deeper roots than just numbers. This is why so many kids came back in an era where it feels like so many jump around every year.
Multiple High Confidence CB's to NC State over the past few weeks. Staff really put on the full-court press here.
Man, this really Snook in under my radar
Fontell just said these receivers are "Mines"......
You my friend need to drink. Posting the same thing in two different threads is still a double post...
Go Hokies!
Fun fact. My toddler hasn't quite grasped the concept of plurals yet and he hears us say "yours" a lot so he's always saying "mines" when referring to his possessions. It's adorable. "no, this is mines" is a common refrain
When you hear adults still saying it, it's not so adorable anymore...
Watkins signal is up, good news incoming
Would think it's Luke Stuewe, he's announcing today
Confirmed
Stuewe commit looks like it's incoming. Loved watching his dad in maroon and orange
What position does he project? Receiver? LB?
Safety/Star
VT kicker John Love's little brother Will carries on the tradition and kicks a game winner Friday night:
Will Love kicks game winner
Have we offered him yet?!
Annnnnd Outten just flipped to PSU.
Makes sense. When you come into the season with a borderline elite WR group and have no plans to get them the ball in a game where the opposing secondar is a hot mess, those kinds of things can happen.
I'm not suggesting this is the singular reason he switched, but it could have played a role.
I knew a small handful of offensive recruits during the Stiney/Newsome era that decided to go elsewhere (2 of them were highly ranked OL) simply because they didn't want to put their futures in the hands of those two. One of those guys told me, "Yeah, I just don't really understand what they want to do with their line down there in Blacksburg, that's why I made the decision I made." And this was a kid who loved Stiney.
It sucks but it makes sense. This was the worst loss of Pry's tenure by far. We hear all off-season that the team is hungry and not buying into the hype/noise, staying focused. Then come out and look like like we have hardly practiced, horrific coaching, game management mistakes.
I would say this was Pry's ODU loss akin to Fuente, but man he's already had one of those. This was just really, really bad. Hopefully he can get it turned around because the rah rah is going to be tuned out if we have a dud of a year with so much promise coming into it.
Can't blame him, the only recruiting successes we've had have been WR's this cycle why does he want to come somewhere with so many other 4-star WR when he could go to PSU and have better odds to play.
Either that or he watched Bowen's playcalling on Saturday and said "eh I'm good"
The back breaking part of the Vanderbilt loss is the loss of the program momentum. Feels like there could be a lot more or these depending on how the next month goes. An ouroboros of bad vibes.
Gotta start new threads for these. Also it's now september so we're due a new thread anyway