There were two 4-star recruits from the 757 who announced their commitments on Saturday. How did Virginia Tech do on the recruiting trail this week?
Tahj Capehart Commits to Virginia Tech
The Hokies picked up a commitment from 4-star wide receiver Tahj Capehart on Saturday, signaling a shift in the right direction for Virginia Tech in the 757 area of Virginia.
https://twitter.com/Tahj__/status/761948677275545601
Besides the fact that the graphic Capehart shared to announce his commitment is pretty cool, Capehart’s commitment means a lot to Virginia Tech’s Class of 2017. Capehart is currently the only 4-star commitment the Hokies have for the ’17 class per the 247Sports Composite rankings, though 247Sports itself also ranks quarterback Hendon Hooker, tight end Drake Deluliis and tight end Dalton Keene as 4-star prospects.
Capehart, who mainly plays wide receiver at Bishop Sullivan High School in Virginia Beach, VA., joins a crowded group of wide receivers in the ’17 class for Virginia Tech. Capehart, Sean Savoy, Hezekiah Grimsley and Kalil Pimpleton were all recruited as wide receivers, and athletes Malik Willis and Caleb Farley could also play there. With all of these commitments, the Hokies could be done recruiting wide receivers for this class.
’18 quarterback DeJuan Ellis commits to Virginia Tech
Capehart wasn’t the only Virginia Tech commit last week, as the Hokies picked up their second commitment from the 2018 class in quarterback DeJuan Ellis.
Ellis is listed around 6-feet and 160-pounds, and is a 4-star prospect out of Owings Mill, MD. Ellis has played his last two years of high school football at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, VA, but will transfer to the McDonogh School in Owings Mill for his final two seasons.
247Sports lists Ellis’ 40-yard-dash time at 4.35 seconds, which is incredibly fast for a quarterback. Ellis is a little small for the quarterback position right now, but with two years left before enrolling at Virginia Tech, he could easily make that up.
When Ellis arrives in Blacksburg, he’ll be in a large group of quarterbacks. Josh Jackson, Jack Click (walkon), Chase Mummau (walkon) and Hendon Hooker should all be on the roster, along with Ellis. Fortunately for the Hokies, Dwayne Lawson’s transfer shouldn’t hurt them too much with future depth at the position.
Jordan Williams headed to Clemson
Jordan Williams also announced his commitment on Saturday, but instead of staying in-state, Williams is headed to Clemson.
Williams, a 4-star recruit from Cox High School in Virginia Beach, VA., had 29 scholarship offers from schools like Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio State and Oregon. Virginia Tech was in Williams’ top-four list, alongside Clemson, Virginia and Tennessee.
Justin Shorter commits to Penn State
Class of 2018 wide receiver Justin Shorter announced his commitment to Penn State on Saturday. Virginia Tech was in the running for the New Jersey native, who is a 4-star prospect with 16 scholarship offers.
Three more football offers
Virginia Tech offered three recruits last week: Warren Thompson, Benjamin St-Juste and Amari Burney.
Thompson is a member of the Class of 2018, and a 4-star wide receiver. At 6-foot-4 and 185-pounds, Thompson would be much taller than any of the wide receivers that the Hokies have commitments from for the ’17 class.
Thompson, from Seffner, FL., has quite the offer list. He has 20 scholarship offers at the moment, all but three of them from Power 5 schools. The most notable schools recruiting him are Florida, Miami, Florida State, Louisville, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Penn State, Georgia, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
St-Juste is currently a Michigan commit, and though he is a 3-star cornerback according to 247Sports’ Composite rating, the network has him as a 4-star prospect in their own ranking. Michigan and Virginia Tech are his only reported offers as of now. St-Juste committed to Michigan on June 23.
Burney, another Class of 2018 wide receiver, is a 4-star prospect out of Clearwater, FL. Burney has 15 scholarship offers and all but two of them are from Power 5 schools. Florida State, Florida, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee and Wisconsin are his most notable offers.
Price-Noel picks up Virginia Tech offer
Jahbril Price-Noel is a 6-foot-6, 185-pound shooting guard out of Scarborough, Canada. He’s a Class of 2018 recruit, and at this point has only three reported scholarship offers. Binghamton University and American University are the other two schools who have extended an offer to Price-Noel.
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Not to be cynical, but I wonder when was the last time VT offered a recruit to announce in a Lambourghini? All else being equal the last minute sales pitch woos a lot of kids.
It seems VA Tech, and often UVA, are listed in many of the recruits final 4-5 schools they are considering. How much of that is legitimate versus having Tech and UVA listed only because they are the instate schools and it’s considered politically correct to include them even if they are not really serious about attending either school? As we have all seen, VA Tech has come up the bridesmaid with many of these recruits who ultimately leave the state which makes one wonder if we are really being considered that strongly or if the lists are only window dressing.
It probably just depends on the kid. Some guys might feel that obligation to include in-state schools, but I doubt that’s most of them. I truly believe that at one point, Jordan Williams was seriously considering VT. However, that changed at some point during his recruitment.