Last Thursday night, Garner (N.C.) running back recruit Josh Oglesby was in Blacksburg for Virginia Tech’s win over Clemson. It was Oglesby’s first time experiencing a Tech home game in person. The 5-11, 205-pound prospect details his entire experience, which went very well. (Josh will discuss his official visit – which will be for the Virginia game – in detail as well.)
Oglesby, who was recently named to the NC/SC Shrine Bowl, has rushed for 885 yards on 109 carries this season. He has scored 15 touchdowns in helping Garner to a 9-1 season. With a win in the final regular season game, Garner could be a number one seed in the playoffs.
Oglesby plans to enroll at Tech in January 2007. He committed to the Hokies in July.
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**Editorial Note: Josh provided the below info over the phone and the statements were then transcribed for the article.
Pre-Game
“I went to the game with my brother and my sister. I decided to bring them for this game. Going to Blacksburg, it seemed like everyone on the highway was going to the game. Everyone had Virginia Tech stickers on their cars. It was like the whole town was going to the game. We got to Blacksburg and found some decent parking. Everyone was tailgating. I saw some fans interacting with Clemson fans. There was a lot of maroon and orange.
From the parking lot, we walked around the campus a little bit. It was a good gameday atmosphere. The whole campus and university was focused on the game. You could see the support the fans have. Every fan had on maroon and orange. Everyone was so excited and in to the game. I’ve been to games at N.C. State and Chapel Hill, but this was different. On top of that, the campus looked real good.
On the way to the Merryman Center, we stopped by the campus bookstore and picked up some gear. I bought a toboggan and my sister bought a shirt.
We showed up to the Merryman Center. It was about an hour and forty minutes before game time. As soon as I walked in, the assistant knew who I was. I introduced her to my brother and sister. Then she showed me to Coach Hite. I walked around and talked with him. Then I got up with Coach O’Cain and talked with him. Then I talked to the Strength and Conditioning coach. He showed me the weight room. Then I got to talk to Coach Beamer. My sister and my brother got to meet Coach Beamer. He said he was excited to see me at the game. All the coaches seemed pretty confident. They had a good week of practice. It seemed like they felt they had everything they needed for a good game.
After I talked to the coaches, I walked around the Merryman Center. I checked out Mike Vick Hall. I took some pics. We went in the Championship room and we were in there for a while. Then I saw Barquell Rivers. We chilled out and talked about football a little bit. We are both on the Shrine Bowl team, so we talked about that.
We were walked down to the field before the game started. I was on the sidelines, watching warm-ups. Of course, I went to the running backs to see what they were doing. I walked onto the field. It was amazing. Before, I had only seen the field on TV. Being out there with the players and both teams, it was exciting. It made me think about how hard I’ve worked, like my work has paid off. But it also motivated me. I can’t start relaxing. It inspired me to work hard in practice and in the off-season to be able to play.
We went up into the stands and sat down. It was 15 minutes until kickoff. My brother grabbed some Hokie legs and we ate those.”
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The Game…
“Then there came the fireworks and the team running out. I loved watching Branden Ore run out with the flag. It was hyped. It was loud. It was extremely loud. I didn’t know it could get that loud. They had the best entrance I’ve ever seen. It’s obvious that they put a lot of emotion into it.
After Clemson scored the first touchdown, I was looking at the defense to see how they’d react. They didn’t get made at each other like against Boston College. I saw that they sat down Aaron Rouse for a little bit. He is a preseason All-American and they sat him on the bench to let him think about some things. It showed the coaches confidence in their defense and the depth in the secondary. The whole night, I was looking at the offense. The offensive line took care of us. I looked at Branden Ore. He was always over there, talking to the offensive linemen. They seemed to be communicating real well and I think that helped in the running game.
The crowd stood most of the time. The players helped to get the crowd into the game. Everyone was real vocal and excited. I can tell the players feed on the crowd.”
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Post game…
“After the game, I went into the locker room. I went in for the prayer after the game. I saw the coaches give out game balls and awards. While I was in there, I talked to David Clowney and Brandon Ore and Devin Perez. They were all excited about the game. Ore told me to keep working hard my senior year. I congratulated him and told him I liked how he played.
While we were in there, I could hear the fans still there. Some of them were banging on the door and everything. When we walked back to the Merryman Center, the fans were there to give high-fives. I didn’t want to give fives because I didn’t do anything. A few people noticed who I was, though, and called out my name. That showed me how good the fan support is there.
After that, I talked to Macho for a while. I talked to Josh Morgan. Then I talked to Coach Hite and Coach O’Cain before we left.
I’m definitely going to try and make it back to Blacksburg for the rest of the games and the game in Winston-Salem. It was a great experience. I grew up going to Chapel Hill with my brother and sister and they said it was just a different experience at Virginia Tech.”
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