Virginia Tech football’s 2014 recruiting class has dwindled by two. Last Friday, cornerback prospect Cequan Jefferson revealed via Twitter that he is headed to Temple University.
“I will like to announce That i will be going to Temple University” – Jefferson wrote.
As a senior at Henrico High School (Richmond, VA), Jefferson signed a letter of intent with Virginia Tech in February of 2013. He enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy (VA) in August of 2013 after being denied admission to Tech. Jefferson was aiming to gain admission to Tech this month, but it appears he fell short.
This morning, Bishop Ready (Columbus, OH) senior offensive tackle Brady Taylor switched his verbal commitment from Virginia Tech to Ohio State. Taylor revealed the news on Twitter.
“Growing up I was always told to follow my dreams. I am officially committed to THE Ohio State University.” – Taylor wrote.
He added: “Virginia Tech will ways have a special place in my heart and I apologize for letting #hokienation down, this was the best decision for me.”
Taylor took an official visit to Ohio State this past weekend after landing an offer from the Buckeyes earlier in the month. The news is not a surprise as many felt Taylor would switch to Ohio State after the offer came through. Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes’ decision to leave Tech for the same position at LSU likely solidified the talented prospect’s decision.
Virginia Tech now has four offensive line commitments in the class of 2014 – Eric Gallo, Billy Ray Mitchell, Colt Pettit and Tyrell Smith. TSL will have much more from the four remaining commitments this week, so stay tuned for the latest on their commitments and thoughts on Coach Grimes’ departure.
In total, Virginia Tech now has 26 commitments in the class of 2014.
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Whenever I see an out of state kid commit to us I don’t believe it until the fax is received on signing day. It happens every year. Remember FSU, ASU and USC commits flipping. I’m not “unhappy” for the kid. He broke no NCAA rule; I get it. I just don’t think its right and I don’t have to like it. Being happy for a co-worker who moves on is a different animal altogether. The difference is they honored their original commitment. Brady Taylor did not.
Class? Where’s the class in making a commitment then backing out. Oh by the way, I’m leaving my wife for a younger hotter chick, but I apologize for doing so. This is why good ole coach Hite hung up his cleats and why coach Beamer is right in pushing for an early signing period in football. Class? How bout keeping your word.
I would bet most folks not named Tim Lewis are simply happy for the kid.
I wonder if Tim has the same reaction when one of his friends or co-workers switches jobs.
18 year old kid. Id go there too if they offered me given the state of our offense and Grimes’ departure. How can u possibly blame him!?
No hard feelings to either of these young men. Things change in life.
No surprise re Taylor..I hate we lose him, but can’t fault him one bit considering he got his offer from his childhood favorite! Same for Jefferson..Oh well, you can’t lose what you never had!
For me, there’s no emotional investment over Jefferson if he can’t qualify to get in. The developing story we must keep eyes on is the wake-effect left from Grimy’s Tiger-jump. The trickle down has begun- Lets keep Fingers crosssed we don’t get caught in more RipTides between now and Feb 5th.
Agree with stevetheking….it is very classy of Taylor (an 18-year old) to address that he recognizes his news is both bitter and sweet but reinforce his respect for the HokieNation that he had to follow a childhood dream. Goodluck to him.
I still see 4*Recruit OL Bentley Spain from Charlotte is still available and so is 5*Recruit OL Damien Prince from Maryland. They both must be waiting on a specific school and havent gotten the indicators they are waiting for. I can’t help but think the longer their uncommitted status goes, the higher liklihood VT can become part of the conversation.
Pretty classy of Taylor to apologize to Hokie fans.
Good luck to him!
The rules of admission are spelled out fairly clearly on the NCAA website. It is a sliding scale of SAT and high school GPA, and is the same for all division 1 schools. So it has nothing to do with one school having higher general admission standards than another school. Division II gets a break but not Division I. There is no limit on attempts, and I guess this is where the overbooking of scholarships come into play. How long do you hold open a scholarship offer with the uncertain prospect of the recruit qualifying. Obviously Temple is willing to dangle more than the Hokies. Bless them. It is too bad we lost this one but I doubt Temple really has gained anything either.
Yes, the fact that some schools have admissions standards for athletes that are higher than NCAA minimums has quite a bit to do with it. Jefferson could still have qualified for VT, but it would have taken a higher standardized test score to do it and the earliest he could have been admitted was this summer. This is because VT’s admissions requirements are higher than the NCAA’s minimums.
Temple can take him now because their requirements are lower and so he decided to take the proverbial “bird in hand”.
VT ranked Number 69 academically among all American universities by U.S. News. Temple- at 121. Probably some of the reason for the differences in admission lies with the factors involved in those rankings plus the fact the VT apparently requires more math that many schools.
I’m pretty sure a hokie grad cleans the toilets at Temple. WTF?
Maybe he’s a big Mark Levin fan?
Check your academic rankings again.
I wondered this as well. How did he get in at Temple but not VT?
Because Temple’s admissions requirements for athletes are lower than VT’s.
Temple is a respected institution Disappointing to see Jefferson can gain admission there but not Tech
I don’t remember the exact numbers, but a few years back, at least half of Temple’s starters were either juco transfers or non qualifiers out of high school. I can see how someone would/could not get into VT but still qualify at Temple.
Pretty simple…they take partial maybe non-qualifiers…he can still keep trying to qualify NCAA – wise throughout this semester…or he could’ve gone back to FUMA. Just because he’s enrolled doesn’t mean he will be eligible this fall.