Two Targets Set To Announce
This week, Virginia Tech will find out where two of its top remaining class of 2014 targets will be headed. First up is 6’5″, 275-pound Brady Taylor , an offensive tackle prospect out of Bishop Ready in Columbus, Ohio.
After recently narrowing the field to three, Taylor tweeted that “There will only be 2 hats on the table” when he reveals his decision in front of family and friends on Monday, July 29. Kentucky and Virginia Tech are the two schools left standing for Taylor, who will announce his choice at approximately 6 pm. Gone from the list is West Virginia.
All four of Virginia Tech’s current offensive line commitments are likely to play on the interior line. If he commits, Taylor would be the first true offensive tackle recruit in Tech’s class.
On Saturday, Stonewall Jackson (Manassas, VA) rising senior athlete Greg Stroman will announce his college choice at a 2 pm press conference at his high school. The 6’0″, 165-pound athlete will choose Duke, Virginia, or Virginia Tech.
Stroman earned a full scholarship offer from Virginia Tech following a strong performance at the Hokies’ one-day camp on June 2. Tech was the first major offer he received, with UVa following suit one week later. Stroman has taken unofficial visits to all three finalists, including multiple visits to Charlottesville and Blacksburg.
The consensus is that the speedy athlete will likely stay in-state. The big question is which in-state program will he choose? It’s a toss-up in my opinion.
As the leader of Stonewall Jackson’s offense, Stroman passed for 2,038 yards with 21 touchdowns and rushed for 1,013 yards with 14 scores his junior season. He also plays cornerback, the position he is being recruited to play by Tech and UVa.
Last Week’s News & Notes (Class of 2014)
– Wide receiver target Noah Brown of Pope John XXIII (Sparta, N.J.) made two unofficial visits this past week, heading to Ohio State on July 24 and Vanderbilt on July 26. Multiple outlets now report that Ohio State is the team to beat for the 6’2″, 210-pound rising senior.
I’ll check in this week with Brown for the latest, including where Virginia Tech stands for his signature. Earlier in the summer, he revealed a top eight that included Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Southern Cal, Vanderbilt, and Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech made the final six for another Pope John XXIII standout, rising senior tight end Ryan Izzo . Izzo is also considering Florida State, Iowa, Rutgers, Southern Cal, and Wisconsin.
– Providence (Charlotte, N.C.) rising senior wide receiver Austin Proehl seemed all set to decide between VT and Wake Forest… until North Carolina came through with an offer. On Sunday night, Proehl tweeted that he had accepted the Tar Heels offer.
Virginia Tech offered Proehl at its July 13 camp.
– New Castle (PA) wide receiver/safety Malik Hooker has narrowed his list to six schools per ESPN.com. The schools still in the running for the 6’2″, 185-pound prospect are: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia.
– Spring Valley (S.C.) rising senior linebacker Christian Miller has verbally committed to Alabama. He originally committed to Florida before reopening his recruitment. Virginia Tech, which reportedly had offered, never seemed to be a serious player here.
VT Recruiting Recap
To date, Virginia Tech has received 14 verbal commitments in the class of 2014. The position breakdown includes 1 quarterback ( Andrew Ford ), 1 running back ( Marshawn Williams ), 1 wide receiver ( Jaylen Bradshaw ), 1 tight end/defensive lineman ( Xavier Burke ), 4 offensive linemen ( Eric Gallo , Billy Ray Mitchell , Colt Pettit , and Tyrell Smith ), 1 defensive end ( Vinny Mihota ), 1 cornerback ( Terrell Edmunds ), 1 safety ( CJ Reavis ) and 3 athletes ( Javon Harrison , Travon McMillian and Shawn Payne ).
Place-kicker Michael Santamaria says he has accepted a gray-shirt scholarship opportunity as well.
We expect this class to end up in the 20-22 range in terms of overall prospects.
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I try to get You guys goin a little bit, stirring the pot. I thought that Va. Tech was good enough now, that these guys would love to come to Blacksburg. But, Tech still has to recruit just like anybody else, and work just as hard. I thought that WE had reached a level where Va. Tech offers, and everybody wants to be a part of the Magic of Lane Stadium, it is a bummer sometimes. Bud Foster and Frank Beamer are Nationally known names, who wouldn’t want to continue the legacy? These Auburn coaches(a longtime Power) will only help, and Moorehead is really wowing folks so far. Va. Tech has some of the finest Football and Basketball facilities in the country, bar none. I just wish that every Superior Athlete in this State would get on board with that, I hate to lose these homegrown Superstars, as there is no longer any reason to go to Ohio State, Carolina, Bama, or anywhere else. Va. Tech is as good as anywhere, and it’s Home! P.S. I never wet the Bed, never even sucked my thumb, although my older Brother who graduated from U.Va. did both.
Great get!! Great start for the new coaches!! Like the fact that our recruiting area seems to be growing.
Welcome to the Hokie Nation Mr. Brady Taylor.
To all the negative nattering nabobs…..You can’t see the sun shine if your head is up your ass!
Actually they do see the sun shine because their head is so far up their ass they see the world through their belly button. LOL.
Mike Gentry better get ready, He’s got some work to do. All of our OLineman are big, but not a “Can’t Miss” prospect in the bunch. Did I already say Big? Stroman looks like a Track Star, as in Skinny. Hopefully all will grow. The Tech Sideline has always harped on the fact that Va. Tech has always Overachieved with the Talent that We recruit, that We rarely land the Jadaveon Clowneys of the world. I am now almost convinced that We just can’t get these guys, even from our Home State. When We do get a Vick or a Tyrod Taylor, or a Macho Harris(Program Changers), We can’t sustain or duplicate it. I have become convinced that alot of these guys(mostly Black), do not dig the environments of a Town west of Roanoke, they wanna go to much bigger Metropolitan areas, through no fault of Va. Tech. I think that Southwest Virginia just does not row their boat, just too rural and off of the Beaten Path. Every once in a while, Tech will shake their fist at the “Big Boys,” but until We get a Nike(Oregon), Oil Baron(Okla State), or Under Armour(Maryland, who will get better), We are always gonna be looking up. This year’s Recruiting has been devastating, especially with London at UVA , who has been a disaster up there, but is killin us on the recruiting trail. We need a New, Energetic Mindset in Blacksburg, real quick. This is a Monster Year in Virginia for Great Players, and We get virtually none. There is a Cancer somewhere in the VT Program, or maybe We will always have to just keep on Overachieving with the 3 Stars that We get, and realize our Limitations, of which there are plenty. I salute our Guys that have led Us to some Big Victories over the years, as We will get no better, perhaps even worse.
Yep, you have your head so far up your ass you see the world through your belly button. What is this “We” stuff??? What is your jersey number? do you play on offense or defense? What position do you play? Are you a starter?
Did you wet your bed last night? Actually, your post is sooooo ridiculous that it is not deserving of a reply, except for not letting people like you, who take every opportunity to slam the program, go unchallenged.
With so many letdowns already this year, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to get overly excited about any recruits left on our board and/or any pending announcements. Very hard to read 17 and 18 year old kids and even harder to understand some of the decisions they make, especially in regards to programs who cheat and are on sanctions or facing them in the future!!
If you look at our class this year, we have some terrific kids with a ton of upside. Some are highly rated (not that much should be put into the *stars*), and all seem to really want to be hokies. While there are some big misses (Hand stands out), we have some equally talented prospects (Walker and Dnadi) who would make this one terrific defensive class.
agree 100%
No need to despair. It’s like this every year.
VT routinely offers 60+ kids a year and can only take commitments from 20-25 each year. So by definition, about 2/3 of the kids that we offer in any given year will elect to go elsewhere. So we have “letdowns” each & every year, and yet at the end of the day we’ll still wind up with a good class.
It’s like that for every other D-1 program in America too, with a few rare exceptions like Alabama, who can pretty much choose who they want these days.
We only have perhaps 7 or 8 spots left in this year’s class and we have a lot of offers out to good players that have yet to decide and who are seriously considering us.
We’ll be fine.
I agree. This is a good group already. Adding B. Taylor, Nnadi and Walker would make it even better. N. Brown and Izzo would be icing on the cake. And that’s without taking into consideration those players who seem to come out of nowhere every fall. Although it was disappointing to see Hand, Holmes and Park go elsewhere, I never thought any of those players were VT’s to lose. We were well-positioned, but didn’t have the kind of lead we had with say Logan Thomas or D. Wilson.
The one that really sticks in my craw is Jayln Holmes. That kid was almost ready to give a commitment to VT a year ago. But then Curt Newsome, who was butt-hurt about being fired, got in his ear and made sure he wasn’t coming to VT.
Where’s that info on Newsome comming from? He was treated with a lot of respect at VT considering the poor play of the OL and his recruiting prowess never materializing. Alot of that can be attributed to UNCheat’s tactics but head to head we nosedivied in the 757 area when Newsome took over from B.Stinespring. For a guy who got the chance of a lifetime it seems like he should have a look in the mirror before blaming the school that handed him the keys to the kingdom of Va. recruiting.
Not to worry – long term (like in a year or two) Newsome will be nothing more than an assistant at a D-1a school.
VT at #15 per 247. Quite a few 4 star recruits and we always get a few 3 stars who develop into “4 star” players. Why such a negative post?