A critical goal of every major college football coach is to dominate the
recruiting of the immediate geographic area. Frank Beamer has always stated that
the Hokies need to control the Commonwealth of Virginia in recruiting to become
a consistent national title contender, and Al Groh, when hired, emphasized that
a recruiting fence needed to be constructed around the state for UVA to become a
national power. The commonwealth had a record 72 FBS (Division 1A) signees last
year, and 85 FCS (Division 1AA) recruits received scholarships, showing the
ever-increasing interest from schools across the nation in Virginia high school
football.

Virginia has always been known for high quality football, particularly in the
Hampton Roads area, but why the dramatic increase in FBS signees this year over
the previous high of 58? As shown in the following table, the state has
experienced a steady increase in D-1A football scholarships over the last eight
years, but why almost a 25% increase in signees over the previous year and a 50%
increase from the beginning of the decade? Obviously, Virginia is seeing more
recruiting interest, as evidenced by a 20% increase in offers from FBS schools
last year, but is this increase a result of the state producing more D-1A
prospects or schools just recognizing the talent in the state? In any event, the
increase in recruiting interest in the Commonwealth appears to be a trend that
is here to stay.

The following table shows the total number of D-1A signees in the state, the
total number of offers by FBS teams (including offers for recruits not signing
with D-1A teams), and the average of the total offers per total signees. The
last two columns represent the number of unique FBS schools that offered at
least one player in Virginia and the number of D-1A teams that officially signed
a player from the commonwealth.

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