Going over recruiting news, notes and storylines from the previous week…
VT’s Class of 2015 Roller Coaster Ride Continues
What an up-and-down experience this recruiting cycle has been for Virginia Tech, which has now dropped to two commitments in the class of 2015 after Friendship Collegiate (Washington, D.C.) cornerback Ashton White decided to reopen his recruitment. Here is a summary of the commitment/de-commitment news that has transpired so far…
– Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) cornerback Marcus Lewis commits to Tech on November 16 of last year. Lewis de-committed within weeks.
– Woodland (Fort Dorchester, S.C.) defensive end Michael Barnett commits to Tech late last November. Last month, though, he decided to reopen his recruitment.
– White commits to Virginia Tech in December of 2013. ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren first reported this past Saturday that White had reopened his recruitment.
“2015 DB Ashton White (Forestvile, Md) has decommitted from Va Tech. Will visit Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland, Notre Dame, Tennessee & others.”
– Virginia Tech hosts a February 8 Junior Day and scores two commitments on the day, from H.D. Woodson (Washington, D.C.) cornerback DuWayne Johnson and Northern Guilford (Greensboro, N.C.) cornerback Mook Reynolds. Both of those players are solid commits at this point. Johnson seems slightly more solid at this point because Reynolds admitted he may take visits to other schools, but I think both prospects are pretty solid to Tech.
Barnett, Lewis and White are all still considering Tech, as all three basically just indicated they committed too early. I wouldn’t rule out the Hokies for any of the three at this point.
The recruiting process is getting earlier and earlier with freshmen and sophomores now landing football scholarship offers on a consistent basis. That likely will lead to prospects committing earlier, and if that happens instances like those with Barnett, Lewis and White may become the norm.
Offer Updates
A few new offers from last week. Virginia Tech tossed its proverbial hat in the ring for Avon Old Farms (Avon, CT) star Chris Clark, who boasts over 40 scholarship offers. The 6’6”, 250-pound Clark is one of the most coveted tight ends in the class of 2015. Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Maryland (visited last week), Ohio State, Penn State and Virginia (visited last week) are among the other schools that have offered.
Demetric Warren of VarsityPreps.com reported last week that Virginia Tech has offered Isaiah Langley, a 5’11”, 170-pound junior out of Foothill High School in Pleasanton, California. California, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Oklahoma, Southern Cal and UCLA are among those that have offered the talented cornerback.
Early Signing Period?
– Might an Early Signing Period be on the way for FBS football? According to this article, it’s a strong possibility.
Basketball: Praise for Bibbs
Virginia Tech men’s basketball recruit Justin Bibbs received praise in a blog post on ESPN.com. In a Roundtable feature on class of 2014 sleeper prospects, analyst John Stovall’s pick was Bibbs, a 6’5” wing prospect out of Montverde Academy in Florida.
Stovall declared Bibbs as “one of the most improved players in the class,” saying the Tech-bound prospect was “more assertive and aggressive this year.”
For Stovall’s full comments, click here (an ESPN Insider article).
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Commitments? Remember Tom Cruise in ” All the Right Moves”?
An early signing period will be interesting and really change the recruitment dynamic. I think it will hurt the top school like FSU and Alabama, who could fill up their classes early and will have a harder time “stealing” recruits late. It would also make recruitments of Juniors (and sophomores) even more important and move evaluations up even earlier (Sophomore Days?).
As to when the early signing date would be is a big thing as well. Two or three months early seems hardly worth it. Five months early is about September 1st or just the beginning of their Senior year; six months is August, right in the middle of practice. A year seems too early, though.
Assuming early signing day comes to pass and is August-September time frame of the Senior year (definitely my choice, so kids can focus on their high school games), they would have to allow earlier official visits, too. Right now kids can only officially visit during their senior year. With their own football season going, and the college games going on, that makes it tough to schedule. It will be interesting going forward with this. I like the idea that a kid can sign early, but can be let off the hook if a head coach (or maybe even recruiting or position coach) leaves. This will get tricky.
JJ can recognize talent.
Agreed. Plenty of justification for keeping him, imo.