Discuss and share any recruiting topics for May 2024 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 linking 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
[5] Scholarships to all the VA Top 10
[6] There is NNOOOOO number six.
Comments
Interesting late portal addition - Dematha HS grad, so played for Brooks and his lead recruiter at Penn State was Tyler Bowen....
ohpleaseohpleaseohlpease
I wonder if he's a chumbawamba fan?
If he gets knocked down... will he get up again?
He better not be getting knocked down if he's an offensive lineman
Huh?! It's been over an hour and half since this was posted and nobody has said anything about this being a Golden opportunity?! I'm so disappointed. /s
I had to pick my pun. Perhaps I chose poorly.
No. You have chosen well. Made me laugh.
Notably, it looks like he was not in the two-deep and is a victim of Penn State getting under the scholarship limit.
PSU Portal Purge
With VT having 2 scholarships available, it's unclear he would be part of the plan. But, if Bowen, Brooks, and company think he's got something to offer, it would be great to have that size and I hope he has a thriving final season whether that's in O&M or somewhere else.
How did he play in 12 games last year without being on the two deep? Did they blow that many teams out, or have they added linemen and he's fallen down the depth chart?
Special Teams? Probably on the field goal/extra point line would be my guess.
this would be my guess as well, but I have no idea.
FG/XP doesn't need speed or agility of OT or pulling OG, just be big. And he's big.
Would seem to be a waste of a scholarship to bring in a redshirt senior that could only make special teams. We have younger guys who can do that.
Any of the 3-4 other OL on the portal list a potential upgrade from what we have?
The updated board is below, and notably only 2 OL are left on it that have not signed somewhere. Based on PFF grade, they are similar to Schick. And it looks like Schick will be passed by the underclassmen currently on the roster. I doubt any OL in the portal have committable offers from VT with only 2 scholarships open (and I'm not sure any of the OL on the board did have a committable offer).
Two thoughts:
It's become clear that building and supplementing the O-line is not sustainable via the portal. And it's not a VT thing, but true across the country.
The Spring portal is overall really low in quality. Seems the majority of players that enter the Spring are one of the of the following: (1) cut from the roster, (2) disgruntled with their place in the depth chart, or (3) disgruntled with their coaching staff/NIL/school.
Two spots open, and VT's targets accordingly to 247's Kolby Crawford. Hard to tell who has a committable offer at this time, but seems like VT should be able to improve 2024 defensive back depth.
Update: Ethan Boyd to CU. Similar PFF score to Parker Clements, fwiw. (Side note: the CU stuff is nuts. 60% of their 2023 portal acquisitions left this year. The athletic article. Coach Prime getting into it on twitter. And it's just crazy that Coach Prime has gone to 0 HSs to recruit; he just sits in his office and recruits the portal.)
Further Musings: McCaskill just visited VT. If he does come here, I'm looking forward to the podcast that picks up his interview. I want the tea on Coach P.
Further Update: Ponds to Indiana to be with Coach Cignetti. Probably the player with most talent off the board.
I don't know how, if you're a player or someone giving advice to a player (family, coach, etc.) and you see that60% of the portal pickups have left, that doesn't raise massive red flags. That says to me something is wrong, something big, to lead to so many kids leaving.
Half the coaches turned over too.
My guess is Coach P will retire after this year. With his sons graduating, T. Hunter heading to the NFL, and the team built via the portal, 2025 and beyond will be really rough.
I think they should make a bowl playing in the weaker Big 12. They are projected to win 5.5 games, probably have a few games they should lose and the rest are toss-ups. They did themselves no favors with an OOC of NDSU, Nebraska, and CSU. CSU should be a guaranteed win, but that game in 2023 suggests otherwise
Prime will use his connections and platform (not his coaching skills) to land an NFL or higher profile college gig.
edit: just realized I posted this in the football recruiting thread - but it looks like some hoops news inbound
Most likely Ben Hammond who is announcing this afternoon and has a final 2 of VT and Tenn.
I agree that this is who they are referring to. Guess they feel it's a done deal but we will know at 3pm.
College sports are so broken right now.
Wow, this is rare- unlimited transfers, endless eligibility.. you never see it anymore.
To be fair, kid committed to play for Deboer, was already enrolled before he left for Alabama, entered portal but had like a week to find new home, stayed for Spring ball with the new staff and decided to transfer after.
Thanks for providing context, college sports is broken - but this isn't an example of it
When I first saw the headline I read it as Dematrius Davis and was like "How the hell does he have 4 years left?"
For those who lost track of him, he's a sophomore at Alabama State after transferring from Auburn where he committed in the 2021 class after being previously committed to VT. Ya know - expected outcomes and such.
Thank you for that. I was confused as well.
Fuente QB recruit not playing up to hype, that's like a dictionary definition of an expected outcome.
Only two schools involved, it's not the craziest thing
This would be a big pickup:
Hopefully we can meet his salary demands
Strange posture for a defensive lineman. Looks like an OL stance.
In coverage or playing QB contain? Or he's just bad at his job and that's why he's transferring.
We're focusing on the weird stance and not this spelling of Curtis?
[insert someone's poorly done "pronounced Kevin" joke]
Reminds me of that Brian Regan joke: "Amy? A-M-Y?" "No, A-Y-M-I-E." "Whaaa? I need a nap."
The only thing the SEC has done that helps the non-SEC is their transfer rule. I bet that changes here soon.
Also, this is a good example of using the last scholarship spots to find the best athletes with years of eligibility left vs. reaching for specific need such as getting a mediocre OT.
Any insight on how the visit went?
Looks like it may be down to VT, Indiana, Louisville, and Wisconsin. The latter two visits are scheduled, but haven't happened yet. Louisville appears to have brought in a lot of DL.
My insight is that it went well!
Hokie
Two new prospects with CBs to the Good Guys in recent days.
Brennan Johnson (247 Profile), another one of Loren Johnson's kids, is an undersized linebacker at Highland Springs, but I know Chris Coleman at TSL thinks hes one of the best pure football players in Virginia.
Nathaniel Wright (247 Profile) is another in-state kid, looks like he projects to offensive guard. Currently unrated, but we know how hard it is to project lineman in HS, and I believe 247 is due for a big recruiting ranking update for the class of 2025 either early summer or early fall.
Awesome. Sign as many OL as you can, always.
real gym rat, huh? First in/last out kind of guy?
Johnson is unranked but list offers from PSU, Ole Miss, S. Car., Tenn. and a dozen+ other schools -- How much does that reflect his raw talent vs the influence of his dad? Surely a mix of both.
Obviously would be a great get for the Hokies: a legacy, a coach's kid, a Highland Springs kid, brother at VT. Let him develop and see where it goes.
Undersized linebacker who is the son of a great player/coach and looks to be a great pure football player. Yes I'll take another Cody Grimm pls.
Announcement coming 8pm EST for 3 🌟 LB Sam Haley. No CBs for any school so far.
247Sports
Committed to TCU
Well ain't that just a horny toad in the mashed potatoes?!
Ryan Drakeford
Class of 28
DB/WR 5'11 165 lbs
Under Armor All American
Not Ranked
Three sport athlete (Track/Baseball)
ON3 Profile
I don't claim to be a smart man, but that's only two /s
Indoor and Outdoor Track, duh
See i thought it was Track and Field
Tyrone's kid?
Think Tyrone might be his uncle. Believe his father's name is Will as his older brother is Will Jr. He has been coached up by Roc Carmichael and Torrey Smith
Jaiden Bryant
Class of 27
DE/Edge 6'4 230 lbs
Not Ranked
HUDL Profile
247Sports
Excellent photo choice. Those jerseys are 🔥
Zeke Chinwike
DE/TE, 6'6 240 lbs
Green Run High, Virginia Beach
Class of 25
Not Ranked
247Sports
On3 has the Hokies slightly favored over WVU
On3 Profile
Highlights
Deyon Smith
Class of 27
RB/LB, 5'10 209 lbs
Theodore Roosevelt High, Wash DC
No 247 profile yet
HUDL Profile
Nobody else touched the obvious groaner of, "VA Tech has offered him 12 times? They must REALLY want him."
I thought about it, but how many times can I go back to that well? /shrug
I touched on this yesterday
Khary Adams
Class of 26
4 🌟 90 Rated 247
Cornerback, 6'2 175 lbs
Loyola Blakefield, Towson MD
247Sports
HUDL Profile
Elijah Hutcheson
Class of 26
LT/DE 6'7, 265
Fleming HS Roanoke VA
No 247 Profile
HUDL Profile
Yes, please!
He will putting on 30 lbs and moving to OL or DT so fast it will make your head spin. No college coach is letting a kid that size play DE.
Maybe in a 3-4, but that ain't us. But maybe the experience at end in high school makes him a better pass rusher at tackle? Hell, at 6'7", at worst, he'd have a leg up for the field goal block package on special teams.
6'7" is a guard in the NBA - maybe he IS quick and just prefers football and isn't going to bulk up enough to be interior line?
A 6-7 300 lb DT?
Oh hell yes please
That uniform combo is fire though
those are the only orange helmets I like
Gotta say, I like it.
My favorite commitment to this day is when Tyrod trolled UF and UVa with his "The University of...... Virginia...Tech"
Ugh, really? I don't want to sound as pretentious as a UVA twat.
Brodie McWhorter
Class of 26
3/4 🌟 QB, 6'2 190 lbs
87 rating 247Sports 3 🌟
88 rating On3 3 🌟
5.8 rating Rivals 4 🌟
Cass HS, Kingston GA
On3 Profile
247Sports
HUDL Profile
Charles Belser
Class of '26
LB/ATH 6'2 215
Imhotep Charter HS, Philadelphia PA
Not yet ranked 247Sports
On3 shows him as heavy Penn State lean
On3 Profile
HUDL Profile
As Boy George once sang:
Comma, comma, comma, comma, comma, comma-leon
Jayzon Thompson
Class of 26
RB 5'10 180 lbs
Bearden HS, Knoxville TN
Not yet Ranked on 247Sports
247Sports
HUDL Profile
Cade Cooper
Class of 27
WR, 6'3 185 lbs
Malvern Prep, PA
HUDL Profile
Zeke Bates
Class of 26
RB/SS 5'11 205 lbs
Malvern Prep, PA
Not yet Ranked 247Sports
HUDL Profile
This kid has the goods. Reminds me a lot of RMFW. Patient, great vision, excellent first step, and shifty. Looks like, as was the case with RMFW, his top end speed is limited, but all of the other things scream P5 RB.
Jackson Samuels Ford
Class of 26
OL/DL 6'5 230 lbs
Malvern Prep
Not Yet Ranked on 247Sports
HUDL Profile
Looks like someone committed.
12 seconds wow nice
Enjoy a drink!
Just to give everyone bad flashbacks: "silent commit"
Might be Perry, DT from Alabama.
You're a wizard, Hokie
...
FOOTBALL SCHOOL. Trenches are no longer a weakness. Brick by brick.
Based on high school ranking, he is around the 10th highest rated recruit we've gotten in the modern era.
I should have come here before commenting on his commitment thread. Made pretty much the same comment there...
As Glenn Frey once sang:
The Khurtiss on!
If our LB corps can do just the minimum asked of them we have the best on paper defense in nearly 10 years.
2017 is definitely the best we've had in the last decade.
LB's doing the minimum is the key. Keli Lawson graded out near the bottom of FBS for the Will spot last year, and he's hurt. Woodson is playing out of position there. McDonald sounds like he's moved to Mike, Keller has never had the light come on and swapped positions a few times, and it sounds like Brumfield too slow for this level.
Suffice to say we have a serious problem at our two linebacker spots. Imo the best case may be McDonald at Will and Keller at Mike if the light came on for both. Otherwise we've got a worse version of Dax(?) with Brumfield and a guy who needed a lot of work but hasn't got any with Lawson. I was really hoping Aycen Stephens could factor into the mix but it sounds like this spring was his first time getting major reps after the high school injury, he's probably a year away from being a true contributor.
I was rounding that was 7 years ago but that was the defense I was referring to.
And yes our LBs need to take a step forward if this is true our DL is borderline elite and should take some pressure off them. Don't have any concerns at CB but S could use some more consistency though I'm higher on the guys there than in the LB room.
First off, big win for VT. He has all the measurables and potential to be a one-man wrecking crew if he can put the pieces together.
As an aside, I was intrigued by exactly who APSportsAgency is. Turns out they are two twenty-somethings named Jacob and Stefan who appear to have less experience in business than they have time left on their Men's Wearhouse suit rentals. But Stefan has 90k followers on social, so there's that. This is where NIL continues to confound me...we could have created relatively straightforward rules for college athletes to sign with legitimate agents, but creating a market for fly-by-night operations like this seemed much wiser, I suppose. I can't imagine any problems or embezzling issues are going to ensue here.
"Hello, (college athlete's name), my name is Stefan with A&P Sports Agency. We offer a unique blend of proprietary services and strategies that will enable you to grow your audience, monetize your NIL, and create an everlasting cash flow asset. Please click the following link to schedule a time to chat further on my Calendly. I look forward to hearing from you!"
Imagine DM'ing hundreds of college athletes that and being able to take yourself seriously...but don't hate the player, hate the game...right?
Camden Chalkley
Class of 27
DE/TE 6'3, 220 lbs
Manchester HS, Midlothian, VA
Not yet ranked 247Sports
HUDL Profile
247Sports
P4? But what happened to the P2? Aren't we kind of in the middle 2 now?
Caden Ramsey
Class of 26
WR 6'5, 185 lbs
HUDL Profile
@CadenRamsey3
Zyon Guiles
Class of 26
OT/DL 6'5, 292 lbs
Carvers Bay HS, Hemingway, SC
HUDL Profile
247Sports
@guileszyon
Alexander Haskell
Class of 2026
DL 6'4 255
St Joes Prep, Philadelphia, PA
247Sports
HUDL Profile
@Alexhaskell99
Wydeek Collier
Class of #2026
3/4 🌟 WR/LB Edge Rusher 6"6 205lb
89 rating 247Sports
Neumann Goretti HS, Philadelphia PA
HUDL Profile
247Sports
@WydeekCollier
Carter Bashir
Class of 26
TE/DE 6'4 240
Neumann Goretti HS, Philadelphia PA
HUDL Profile
247Sports
Guess we just did a recruiting swing through Pennsylvania?
Yes Elijah Brooks was focused on the Philly area this week.
I was just thinking that too. Several kids my daughter went to middle school with are at St. Joseph's Prep. Had not ever heard of Neumann Goretti, but it is pretty close to where the VT Alumni Philly Chapter volunteers at the Broad Street Run.
Cooper Newman
Class of 27
QB 6'3" 190lbs
SCHS Sevierville, TN
Not yet ranked on 247
HUDL Profile
Freshman varsity stats. 58% 1900 yds 22tds 12 games 5A |#1 ranked qb in TN 2027
@Coopernewman7
Keysaun Eleazer
Class of 26
EDGE/OLB/ATH 6'6 193
Southeast Raleigh, Raleigh, NC
247Sports
HUDL Profile
These better be the new unis
Khristian Jackson
Class of 27
WR 5'11, 170lbs
Ridge View High School, Columbia, SC
Not yet ranked 247Sports
HUDL Profile
A guy I grew up with has a son playing at North Cross (Roanoke) who is getting some attention. I wonder if he's on our radar as he is right in our back yard... Appears to be a "read and react" type of CB who is decently fundamentally sound for his age. Really good vision and appears to be able to get to the ball very well, with good ball skills to boot. The only that might end up limiting him is the top end speed.
Jaziel Hart (Class of 2026):
North Cross School, Roanoke, Va.
CB
6'-0", 175 LBS
Jaziel Hart 247
https://www.hudl.com/profile/14709179/Jaziel-Hart
We just got better!
Another 24 commit, which should max us out on scholarships.
Miami Transfer Kaleb Spencer.
Not if he's 1000% committed. That would put us 9 commits over the limit.
Do we not have one more left? I thought we were at 82 then got Perry and Spencer
Nope this was the last open scholarship
I really like how Pry has put a significant emphasis on PWO recruiting, especially within the state. It shows he really means it when he says he's committed to VA and further fosters those relationships. And I'm sure it means a lot to Hairston, his HS, and the town of Vinton. Pry is putting his money where his mouth is.
And who knows, he may be undersized, but he's an athletic kid from a small HS that may turn heads in the future. At least he'll have that chance!
And if nothing else he will be getting a quality education that can help him beyond sports. Welcome Home!!!
Jerell Bolder
Class of 25
3 🌟 WR, 6', 192 lbs
Forest Hills HS, Marshville, NC
89 rating 247SPORTS
HUDL Profile
247Sports
Chase Enlow
Class of 26
3/4 🌟 RB, 5'9, 195 lbs
Hun School, Princeton, NJ
88 rating 247Sports/ 89 rating 247Composite
247Sports
HUDL Profile
The Hun School is up by my wife's office. Big time money area. Last time I looked, Hun was "only" about $40,000 a year. Some places are a lot more.
Couldn't resist looking again. It's over $50,000 a year now.
John Forster
🌟 🌟 🌟 RB 5'11, 185 lbs
St Joseph Regional, Montvale NJ
89 Rating 247Sports/ 89 Rating 247Composite
247Sports
HUDL Profile
Is there a mistake in what the person wrote there? Running back that is #2 nationally at his position, I'd presume, would be (1) a lot higher than an 89, (2) better than the #5 prospect in NJ and would have a top 5 list would include people like Michigan, Georgia, Ohio State, etc. Should that be #2 RB in NJ? Sounds like a good get if we can, but something not adding up.
247 composite has him 27th RB in country and 12th in NJ.
Maybe "Visuals by Ralb" is his dad trying to pump up his NIL value?