Top Line Targets Expected At JR Day (Updated)

Virginia Tech will host another class of 2015 recruiting event tomorrow. The last one, which occurred on February 8, yielded verbal commitments from defensive backs DuWayne Johnson and Mook Reynolds. It remains to be seen if the staff enjoys similar success in terms of commitments, but certainly some talented prospects – including two of the Commonwealth’s top overall prospects – are expected in Blacksburg on Saturday.

The below list is by no means a complete one, but it is a rundown of those top targets we have confirmed so far.

(Update:  Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, VA) defensive lineman Channing Hames has been added to the list)

Ricky DeBerry Jr., LB/DE, St. Christopher’s (Richmond, VA)

DeBerry has narrowed his list down to 20, eliminating 40-plus schools that had offered as well.  The 6’3″, 245-pound rising senior included Virginia Tech in his top 20.  There doesn’t appear to be a clear favorite or favorites for DeBerry at this point; however, if you go by the conference breakdown of his final 20, he certainly likes the SEC, which is represented by eight programs:  Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M.  Five ACC schools, including Tech, Clemson, Miami, North Carolina and Virginia, made the cut for the 4-star prospect.

I don’t expect a DeBerry decision to come any time soon and he could well wait until after his senior season.

– Gage Cervenka, DT, Emerald (Greenwood, S.C.)

Recent visits for Cervenka include Clemson, N.C. State and Wake Forest.  He now has offers from all three schools after Clemson came through on April 2.  Miami just offered as well.  The 6’3″, 280-pound prospect is accomplished wrestler as well as football player.

– Brian Chaffin, OL, Charlotte Christian (Charlotte, N.C.)

Already selected to play in the Under Armour All-American Bowl, Chaffin, who recently earned 4-star status from 247Sports.com, is one of the top centers in the class of 2015.  In addition to Tech he boasts offers from Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State, Northwestern and Wake Forest, among others.

Chaffin visited Virginia Tech back in February, so this will be a return trip.

– Darius Fullwood, DE, Good Counsel (Olney, MD)

Fullwood is one of the top defensive end prospects in the class of 2015.  Ohio State, which was named by Fullwood as his favorite in this article on March 29, is obviously a top contender. Virginia Tech, Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Michigan State and Penn State are among the other scholarship offers the 6’4″, 230-pound prospect is considering.

Fullwood hails from the same high school Hokie rising sophomore corner Kendall Fuller attended, so look for Fuller to give him quite a bit of attention.

Channing Hames, DL, Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, VA)

The 6’5″, 250-pound Hames, a rising senior, has offers from Boston College, Connecticut, Old Dominion, Virginia and West Virginia.  Virginia Tech has not offered but could well come through this weekend.

Deshawn McClease, RB, Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA)

Not saying McClease will commit this weekend.  We don’t have any info indicating such a move is imminent, but McClease is a player Virginia Tech has been targeting for some time and he has visited Blacksburg several times before.  Maryland, North Carolina and Wake Forest are among the other offers the 5’8″, 180-pound prospect is considering.

McClease tweeted that he will arrive at Tech today.

Josh Sweat, DE, Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA)

Sweat looking on at a Virginia Tech camp in June of 2013
Sweat looking on at a Virginia Tech camp in June of 2013

If 247Sports 5-star prospect Josh Sweat stays in-state, Virginia Tech would be his choice.  He certainly has his choice of out-of-state schools, though, and is seriously considering those as well.  Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, UCLA and USC are among the many out-of-state schools that have come through for the speedy 6’5″, 230-pound end, who attended one of Tech’s camps last summer.

Keyvone Bruton, S, Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA)

Bruton, a teammate of McClease and Sweat, is one of the class of 2016 prospects expected in attendance tomorrow.  Having seen all they need to see, the Tech coaches have offered Bruton a scholarship already.

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  1. So it sounds like McClease is very much a Tech lean at this point. Would be good to net him and get him working on Sweat and Bruton.

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