Virginia Tech did not receive one verbal commitment in the month of June. The Hokies have rebounded nicely so far in July.
Two days after receiving a pledge from Virginia Beach (VA) Salem defensive end Trevon Hill, the Hokies have scored a commitment from 6’4”, 215-pound Damien Dozier, a defensive end prospect out of Raleigh, North Carolina.
I'm excited to announce my commitment to be a Virginia Tech HOKIE see ya in Blacksburg.#HOKIENATION #2015 #blessed
— Damien Dozier (@TheDDozier) July 7, 2014
Dozier, the son of late NC State linebacker Damien Covington, said last month that primary recruiter Cornell Brown was one of several positives for Virginia Tech.
“With Tech, specifically I have a really good relationship with my recruiter, [Cornell] Brown. He would also be my position coach, which is cool,” Dozier said in a June 18 article on TSL. “I like that they are very family oriented. It seems like one big family there. I’m comfortable around the players, which is something I’m looking for. They are good in the major I want, which is Business.”
Following a productive junior season at Virginia Episcopal School (Lynchburg, VA), Dozier impressed on the camp circuit this spring, including at Tech’s one-day camp last month. He recalled that the Tech experience “went well. The one-on-one part of the camp was probably best for me. I got a chance to meet up with coaches I had had conversations with before. In drills I got to work with some of the coaches I’d be working with if I went to Tech. That was nice.”
Dozier attended Enloe High School in Raleigh (N.C.) before transferring to Virginia Episcopal School for the 2013/2014 school year. He reclassified at VES, where he repeated his junior season and thus became a member of the class of 2015. Dozier told TSL last month that he plans to attend a public school in Raleigh this fall with the intent of graduating in December and enrolling in college in January.
An important part of a Virginia Episcopal squad that captured the 2013 VISAA Division 1 state title, Dozier racked up close to 130 tackles with seven sacks from an outside linebacker spot. Virginia Tech is recruiting him to play defensive end.
The former VES standout’s decision gives Tech two defensive end recruits in the class of 2015. The scholarship projection at defensive end for the 2015 season looks like this:
Seniors: Dadi Nicolas
Juniors: Dewayne Alford, Ken Ekanem
Sophomores: Seth Dooley
Class of 2015: Damien Dozier, Trevon Hill
Look for the Hokies to take four defensive ends in this class. This latest commitment possesses a good frame as well as plus speed, as he claims to have run the 40 in the 4.6-second range. He also offers some versatility in that he saw a lot of time at linebacker at VES but has also played with a hand on the ground. In addition to being a good football player, Dozier is also an accomplished wrestler. He went 33-0 and captured the Division 1 state championship earlier this year.
Click here for Dozier’s highlights from the 2012 season, which he spent at Enloe. Below are highlights from the 2013 season, which again he spent at VES (he is no. 7).
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I have been reading Bitters OSU game preview, and I realized that VT really hasn’t talked about it. Maybe I am remembering things incorrectly, but it seemed to me that since at least Spring 2013, the coaches had beem talking about prepping for Alabama.
OSU is game 2 on the schedule, and probably even more of an offensive juggernaut. Does VT have that same pregame focus that they did last year? I thought that was part of what drove VT’s toughness prep. You know, give them a target to shoot for- OSU!
I thought he was being recruited as a LB?
Where did you get 2 star? I haven’t seen anyone rate him less than a 3.
Hope he makes us forget how many stars he had.
Surprised with those numbers, making the rounds at camps, an individual state title in wrestling and a state title in team sport that he’s only ranked as a 2 star player. That oughta put a mighty big chip on his shoulder because he sounds like a high 3/low 4 star kid. Is it just that he didn’t have that many offers?
Regardless, glad to have you Dozier. Time to show the rankings services that they didn’t do their homework on you.
92″ wingspan!! That’s incredible – must be a misprint…
Didn’t know he wrestled as well. Will be a huge plus for him along with going through spring practice. He’ll have an advantage with his wrestling background with understanding hand control, leverage, and aggression. If he can put on some weight he might be an early contributor.
I’ll accept that about soccer goalies. But that’s one guy per team, where in football, all 22 guys on the field will be better players with stronger hands.
Wrestlers also generally have good balance and body control, understand leverage (the physics kind), and know how to get a guy on the ground. Good tool set for a defender.
-Alpha ’99
Ask Tim Howard or Germany’s Krul what the value of good hands are in soccer.
Being a wrestler means he has very strong hands. Never underestimate the value of strong hands in sports.
Well, every sport except soccer.
Will he play HS football this fall or did the “reclassification” mean his HS eligibility is used up?