Singningday
The Virginia Tech football team announced the addition of 20 student-athletes, including five prep All-Americans Wednesday.
After all was said and done on national signing day, the Hokies signed seven of the top 13 players in the state and 10 of the top 25 in Virginia, according to the Roanoke Times.
“I think it’s been another very successful recruiting year,” said Tech head coach Frank Beamer. “I like the talent level, the athletic ability of this class. I think we’ve got some guys that are versatile in a position they can play. I think academically, character-wise — it’s very, very good.”
The highly ranked Virginia products include Brookeville High defensive end Zack McCray, ranked No. 5 in the state by the Roanoke Times, Fork Union Military Academy offensive lineman Mark Shuman (ranked No. 7), First Colonial High outside linebacker Nick Dew (ranked No. 8), Fork Union Military Academy offensive lineman Nick Acree (ranked No. 9) and Loudoun County High linebacker Chase Williams (ranked No. 11). They all officially signed letters of intent to join the Hokies.
“These are guys that — a lot of them we saw in our one-day camp,” Beamer said. “We know some things about them first hand, so I think that always helps.”
McCray, Shuman, Dew, Acree and Williams all were SuperPrep All-Americans this year, while McCray and Acree also earned All-America nods from PrepStar.
“I’m particularly proud of the fact that 13 of these players came from and went to school in the state of Virginia,” Beamer said. “I think that continues to be a priority with us. You know, we get our share of the better players from Virginia and I think that has |happened.”
In addition to the five All-Americans, eight other players who hail from the state of Virginia officially signed with Tech Wednesday.
The in-state class features five other players ranked in the Roanoke Times Top 25.
Highland Springs High defensive end Derrick Hopkins (ranked No. 12), Robinson High linebacker Brian Laiti (ranked No. 13), Midlothian High offensive lineman Matt Arkema (ranked No. 18), King’s Fork High free safety Dominique Patterson (ranked No. 21) and Brooke Pointe High wide receiver E.L. Smiling (ranked No. 25) all decided on Tech as their school of choice.
Two local standouts also signed letters of intent Wednesday.
Pulaski County High linebacker Tahrick Peak, ranked No. 30 in the state by the Roanoke Times and Rockbridge County High offensive lineman Caleb Farris (ranked No. 39) signed with the Hokies as well.
“Tahrick, he can run,” Beamer said. “You know, he needs to get bigger and he understands that. So, I think his future is in front of him, but he’s got to get his body a little bit better to take advantage of that and he knows
that.
“Farris — you know, he’s a Virginia Tech guy,” he continued. “He wants to come here and we want him to come here and I think he’s athletic for a guy as big as he is. He really has good feet and that’s what we’re looking at — toughness and good feet and redirection, and I think Caleb fits that perfectly.”
Also included among Tech’s in-state signees is defensive tackle DeAntre Rhodes, who actually signed with the Hokies last February but went to Hargrave, where he is still attending
school.
Rounding out Tech’s 2010 recruiting class are seven players from six different states outside of Virginia and one from the District of Columbia.
“I think the guys from out of state — there’s a high quality of player there,” Beamer said.
The out-of-state class includes offensive lineman Laurence Gibson, who hails from Sierra Vista, Ariz., and comes to Tech after spending some time at Hargrave as well.
Rivals Recruiting ranks Gibson as the No. 2 prep school player in the country.
A version of this article appeared in the Feb 4 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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The first thing they can learn is how whoever makes then schedule doesn't have a brain in his/her/their head(s)... scheduling an opening game in a neutral field, that's worked out great so far. Nice job to the brain trust who planned that one out.
Best of luck kids...
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Yeah, because a matchup of two top-10 teams on national television with tons of hype and exposure make no sense at all. I'd much rather play JMU or William & Mary to start the season, right?
Look, the exposure offered by games against top competition is invaluable for our program. Obviously we'd like to be winning these games, but recruits are looking for teams that play top competition and are on television a lot. And if you're thinking about contending for a national championship, our ACC schedule alone isn't going to be enough.
And relax, VT playing in D.C. against Boise St. is essentially a home game for us anyway.
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No, I'd rather them play what the tenative schedule had them playing - Central Michigan, who closed out their season with a bowl win, in Blacksburg.
Remind me again how that "national exposure" worked out in past seasons against USC and Alabama at neutral fields? VT playing in DC is a home game which is why they won against USC, right? Oh wait...
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Let's see: USC in 2004 - ended up BCS #1 and beat Oklahoma 55-19 in the title game - we lost due to a highly controversial pass interference call. Alabama in 2009 - ended up BCS #1 - we lost after holding a lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. With the exception of the loss to ECU in 2008, a year in which we won our share of squeakers and showed poorly against Furman, I would not say that these neutral site games have gone badly for the program. More to the point of your argument, the outcomes had much less to do with the location of the game and more to do with the fact that we were playing the best talent in college football.
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