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Happy Friday Hokies! If you haven’t noticed, we’ve reached that point in the summer where I’ve ran out of things to ramble about. There’s only so much you can debate and discuss before these guys slap on the pads. Plus, the countdown we do here on VTF does take up a good bit of the time I set aside for writing. Since it’s Friday and I actually have an afternoon off for once, I thought it would be a good time to take inventory of where we are in the recruiting world.
Today is the Rivals 5 star challenge down in Atlanta so if you have a Twitter, you’re likely to run across some tweets or retweets of players who are participating. I don’t have a full list available but most of the top recruits in the 2013 class and 2014 class are there, especially in the state of Virginia. For those of you with a Rivals account, definitely check it after the event is over for some good analysis by the analysts. These bigger camps are the one chance to receive a good evaluation of most of the top prospects in the next two classes.
For Virginia Tech, not much is expected to change over the next few weeks. The Hokies will hold their 2nd invitation only summer camp on July 14th and that is expected to be a star-studded event. It’s a little early for confirmation since transportation issues always seem to keep a few from coming but I would expect Wyatt Teller, Da’Sean Hand, Andrew Brown, Derrick Green, DaeSean Hamilton, Eric Tetlow, Paul Harris, D.J. Reid, Jalyn Holmes, Jamil Kamera, Steven Moss, D’Andre Payne, Marcus Boone, and I’m sure about 50 more to be on hand that day.
Targets Who Have Committed Elsewhere
4* defensive tackle Donta Wilkins committed to UVA yesterday. The Hokies had shown interest in Wilkins but wanted him as an offensive lineman where as the Hoos have promised to start him off at defensive tackle, his preferred position.
5* and top rated player in the country Robert Nkemdiche (pronounced Kim-dee-chee) committed to Clemson. The Hokies offered a month or so ago but Nkemdiche never had an interest in Virginia Tech. I also don’t think that this commitment will stick until Signing Day but that’s another article all together.
3* QB Anthony Jennings committed to LSU recently. The Hokies stopped recruiting him after Carlis Parker committed. But, I do like Jennings and I think LSU landed a good one.
3* wide receiver Carlos Burse committed to Vanderbilt last week. I don’t think he ever visited Blacksburg, which is a shame. He’s a 4 star talent in my books. Good pickup for the Commodores.
2* tight end Jack English committed to UVA a week or so ago. The Hokies had offered after camp but English grew up a UVA fan. Once the Hoos offered him a free ride to Hooville, he committed.
2013 Class
As it stands, the Hokies have 12 commitments in this class with room for about 16-17 to enroll next July. Those numbers can change based on attrition but I don’t see us taking more than 17 regular enrollments. With two players likely enrolling early and one being borderline gradewise, the Hokies could take as many as eight more in this class not including greyshirts.
So let’s take a look at candidates to fill those eight spots.
CB Kendall Fuller: The nation’s top cornerback has narrowed his list to three with Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Michigan standing out. According to my research, I don’t think Michigan has much of a chance. It will be Virginia Tech or Clemson in the end with the smart money on the Hokies. It also wouldn’t shock me if Fuller committed before his senior season if the recruiting process becomes too overbearing.
WR D.J. Reid: The Hokies need a playmaker at wide receiver in this class and Reid fits that mold. It’s a little surprising that the Thomas Dale star hasn’t committed yet but Reid could be waiting for the right time to pull the trigger. With the July 14th camp coming up, you may finally hear Reid give his pledge to the Hokies then.
OL Kyle Chung: This Floridian has blown up recently, adding nine scholarship offers in the last month. But, Chung has a major tie to Virginia Tech and I think that’s where he’ll end up. He too could announce his decision sooner rather than later.
DE Wyatt Teller: The recruitment of Wyatt Teller has me perplexed but that’s a good thing for Virginia Tech fans. Two months ago, I would have bet money on Teller signing with UVA. Now, I think it’s really a 50/50 chance. The Hokies need to impress him on July 14th if he does travel back down for our camp. Our coaches also need to impress his parents, which may be much tougher to do. Still, if Tech can swing one more visit and put a full court press on him who knows.
DB Brandon Facyson: The Hokies need at least three cornerbacks in this class due to the impending departure of Kyle Fuller after this season. Outside of the littlest Fuller, Facyson is my favorite defensive back recruit left on the board. He’s rangy and he has the size to play the boundary corner. I don’t know if he has a time table established but it wouldn’t shock me to see him commit before the end of August.
WR DeaSean Hamilton: One recruit who seems to be open still is DaeSean Hamilton. But, both in-state schools feel confident about where they stand. Hamilton seems to be enjoying the process but I think he commits to an in-state school eventually, perhaps after his senior year. He seems content with taking his officials.
RB Derrick Green: The Hokies have a good chance at landing two five stars this year but their going to need to continue to sway Derrick Green. Mike Farrell of Rivals.com tweeted earlier today that he feels that Clemson, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Michigan, and Penn State are the teams to beat. I would even shorten it to the first three, honestly. Green will likely take his officials and I’ve stated previously that the longer this goes the better it is for the Hokies.
LB Oren Burks: The Hokies need to find a couple linebackers in this class even though they did sign five last year. With Trey Edmunds and Jerome Wright receiving a look at running back first, that shortens the number to three. With Jameion Moss already in the fold, Tech will hopefully take a look at Oren Burks for that final spot. Those who follow recruiting closely know the story. Burks holds a greyshirt offer from Tech and wants to enroll on time. If the Hokies don’t budge with that offer he may go elsewhere. If Tech does change the offer, Burks could commit to Tech at any point. This is a storyline we’ll just have to continue to follow.
A few more names may come out during our camp evaluations but as it stands, these are the eight I expect the Hokies to go after the hardest to fill those final spots.
2014 Class
I’m going to keep this part relatively short just because I think it’s still a little early to dive into the 2014 class. But here are two highlights.
The Hokies have offered WR Javon Harrison out of Lakeland, Florida. He attends Kathleen Senior High School, which was Torian Gray’s Alma Mater. As it stands, the Hokies are his favorite school and seems like they are the team to beat. Michigan and Virginia Tech are his two lone scholarship offers but he’ll receive plenty more by next spring.
Tech has recently offered LB Joe Blue out of Dillon, South Carolina. It’s unclear where the Hokies stand but they are one of five scholarship offers so far. Florida, South Carolina, Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech are the five who have verbally extended offers to him.
Lasting Thoughts
To sum up this lengthy article, I think the Hokies are in for a fun ride of the next two years. The 2014 class is shaping up to be historic. I don’t remember ever seeing this much talent developing in one class before. Also, I wouldn’t count out the Hokies on signing a top 15 class for 2013 either. I think we do land Kendall Fuller eventually and I think we sign Derrick Green next February. Call me crazy but I think Green will stay in-state.
As for 2014, it’s just way to early to get into leaders or favorites because there’s still over 20 months until Signing Day. There’s just too much time for things to change, especially since coaches can’t even have that much off-campus contact with them yet.
As always, we’ll try to keep you updated here at VirginiaTechFan. So, check back for any breaking news.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Justin, I really hope you are right about Derrick Green, but with his lofty ranking, I suspect he drinks Saban’s Kool-aid and dreams of himself being the next Trent Richardson and ends up at Alabama, just like Korren Kirven from this year’s graduating class. Our only hope is if he wants his family to be able to see him play at all the home games, but at least he’s not considering the Boo Hoos. Hopefully a couple of this year’s incoming freshman, including Harris next year, work out for us and we continue the tradition of All ACC, NFL quality running backs that VT has produced the past 15 years.
I haven’t heard Alabama mentioned with him lately but if they wanted to put the full court press on him I’m sure he would consider them. I honestly see it being a Clemson, OSU, and VT race with the Tigers having the advantage right now.
The good news about the rivals camp in Atlanta for us is that Holland Fisher is roomates with Derrick Green. Hopefully they bond being both from richmond and he can get in Greens ear about Tech. I think holland sticks with Tech, also why do you feel Green will stay in state and sign with Tech do you know some inside info you can share. Fuller needs to go ahead and commit to Tech his 4 star corner teammate commited to UVA today.
Just a gut feeling. We have a lot going for us to land Green. He’s in an area that we’ve owned recently. We have our best recruiter on him. Our RB situation is less than stable albeit very young. And we’re one of the top schools to go to if you’re a running back (see David Wilson and Ryan Williams draft selection). The longer this goes the more I think VT becomes a factor.
Green says on his rivals interview today that he’s visiting Bama, Auburn and Ole Miss in July. I see that Bama pulled 2 RB’s in the 2012 class(a 4-star and a 5-star) and that they have 2 committed already for the 2013(both 4-stars). Maybe that plays in our favor since we have nobody committed yet as an RB for 2013, except that Harris maybe coming in that class if he gets his grades in order. Auburn and Ole Miss I suspect are non-factors so that leaves Clem$on and OSU to beat. Clemson’s depth chart looks a lot leaner with just one RB committed this year and none last year, so the “early playing time” pitch is definitely coming at Green from the Kittens. OSU has Meyer, so he’s always a factor, but not known for a power running game as much as other schools. Should be an interesting Top-10 for Green next week. Hope we are in it!
Green loves Clemson right now and if he were to commit right this moment, that’s where he’ll go. But he’s going to take his officials and if Clemson fails to maintain that level of play and goes 7-5 or 8-4 this year you have to wonder if that will change the perception of Clemson to some of these recruits. If we have a great year then that could really help us in this race, which is why I’m saying the longer this goes the better it is for the Hokies.
Also you have to keep in mind that Mike Bellamy will likely return in 2013 with 2 years left to play. There’s no guarantee that Green will be a starter until his true junior year.
i agree about green and osu power backs dont fit meyer’s system usually. why is everyone so sure kyle fuller is leaving early haven’t seen any magazines or websites saying hes a top 20 pick. he might stay to play with little bro how sick would that be.