Stephone Anthony, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker from Anson County High in Wadesboro, N.C., was elevated today from four-star status to the select five-star group by the Rivals.com recruiting website. He's one of just 26 high school players in the country to be given five-star status by the website.

It's good timing for Tech for Anthony to get the bump, considering he's one of a dozen players expected to visit the Blacksburg campus this weekend. He's considered by most recruiting analysts to be one of the nation's top 10 linebacker prospects, and top 50 recruits overall. Rivals has him rated No. 24 overall.

He's the cousin of current Tech linebacker Barquell Rivers, who also attended Anson County High. Anthony is looking at scholarship offers from Tech, Florida, Clemson, North Carolina State and UNC, but Rivals.com national analyst Mike Farrell told me last week he didn't think Florida is a major player for Anthony anymore. Here's a story I wrote Sunday about some of the remaining recruiting targets for both U.Va. and Tech, which included comments from Farrell.

When Tech opens spring football practice in 2 1/2 months, it will have three new faces vying for practice time and trying to move up the depth chart in a hurry.

Tech's football program will have its first full team meeting of the 2011 calendar year tomorrow. In the meeting, previous signees Caleb Farris and Justin Taylor will be formally introduced as team members, along with recent high school graduate Adeboye Aromire. Farris is entering as a grayshirt, while Taylor is coming out of prep school. All three players will be true freshmen this coming fall at Tech, and will each have one redshirt year available to them.

Farris, a 6-foot-4, 315-pound offensive guard from Rockbridge County High in Lexington, signed a letter of intent last February with Tech. He spent this past fall at a community college. Coming out of high school last year, he was considered by most recruiting analysts to be one of the nation's top 100 offensive guards.

Taylor, a 6-3, 225-pound defensive end from South Stanly High in Norwood, N.C., went this past fall to Hargrave Military Academy. He was considered one of the nation's top 110 defensive ends by most recruiting analysts coming out of high school.

Aromire, a 6-foot-0, 195-pound cornerback from H.D. Woodson High in Washington, D.C., is regarded by most recruiting analysts to be one of the nation's top 65 cornerback prospects. Since he's enrolling his month, he doesn't have to sign a letter of intent in February.

Sophomore to enter 2011 NFL Draft

January 9, 2011

BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech tailback Ryan Williams will enter the 2011 NFL Draft. Williams announced the decision on Sunday after telling the coaches. A redshirt sophomore in 2010, the native of Manassas, Va., had two years of eligibility remaining with the Hokies.

“It came down to what I felt like was the best decision for me,” Williams said. “When they say you have the potential to be a first rounder, that’s something that’s hard to pass up. This has been my dream since I was 6 and I’ve never wanted to do anything else. This is an opportunity to help out my family and especially my brother.

“I want to thank Coach Beamer for giving me the opportunity to play. I remember when he came for my home visit with a No. 34 jersey and he told me I’d look good in it. I just thank him for the opportunity to play for his team. I also have thank Coach Hite for the opportunity to play in his backfield and for teaching my how to block and Coach Stinespring for allowing me to play for his offense.”

Williams played in 23 games for the Hokies, starting 18. After redshirting in 2008, Williams had a record-breaking year as a redshirt freshman. He rushed for 1,655 yards and 21 touchdowns to earn first-team All-ACC accolades and ACC Rookie of the Year honors. He capped off the season with 117 rushing yards in the Chick-fil-A Bowl win over Tennessee to earn the game’s Offensive MVP award. He missed several games this year due to a hamstring injury.

For his career, he rushed for 2,132 yards and 30 touchdowns. His yardage total is the 14th-most in school history.

“There is no other place I’d rather play and there are no other fans I’d rather have than Virginia Tech fans,” Williams said. “They are the most loyal fans in the country. They were with me all the way, both when I was up and when I was down, and I thank them for making my time here so special. I hope they won’t be mad about my decision, but I hope they know that I’ll always be a Hokie.”