Varina’s 2007 class was exceptional, as five Blue Devils signed letters of intent with Division 1A programs. The 2008 class will not be as fruitful, but there is one player who could end up signing with a 1A program. He is Justin Thorpe , a 6-0, 195-pound athlete who already has two 1A offers to go along with a number of 1-AA offers.

Varina offensive coordinator Blanda Wolfe took some time to discuss Thorpe’s recruitment.

“So far, he has been offered by Duke, JMU, Richmond, Eastern Michigan and Liberty,” Wolfe said. “All of the bigger schools want to see him play this season. A lot of them are confused and don’t know exactly where to play him. They need to figure out if he is a receiver, running back or defensive back. He just hasn’t played much defensive back for us, but we will use him in some situations this season. Hopefully that will help him.”

Virginia and Virginia Tech, led by primary recruiters Mike Groh and Jim Cavanaugh, respectively, are two of the 1A programs expressing serious interest (Boston College and Rutgers are a few others). Neither has offered yet, but both figure to follow Thorpe’s senior season closely.

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