Tech’s 757 Haul for 2011 Impacted by Two Factors
by Jay Parchman, recruit757
WR Quinta Funderburk (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
With notable exceptions, Virginia Tech has been THE force to overcome in attracting the top flight quality recruits from The 757. There have been notable exceptions over the years such as Percy Harvin electing to play at Florida from the 2006 class, but as a whole, Hokies’ fans have to relish the traction they enjoy with local football talent.
For the 2011 class, some leakage has already occurred. One reason may very well be a hiccup. Once again, Tech is limited in the number of scholarships they will offer. Some say that Tech will only sign about 15 players in February which is a similar number to the total from the 2010 class.
The limited number of scholarships available showcases the quality of the program that Coach Frank Beamer has built. The Hokies are having little attrition in comparison to other programs, which is a positive. Another factor is that Tech has been successfully redshirting many of the recruits as freshmen, another feather in the cap of Coach Beamer. The only downside is that such class balance puts the Hokies in a situation where they are once again limited in the total number of new players they can accept.
Yet another key factor in Tech’s recruiting is the immediate impact of Mike London’s arrival at the University of Virginia. While UVa’s local recruiting had begun to really suffer under Al Groh, Coach London verbally noted that The 757 would be his area of emphasis in obtaining players.
Coach London’s strategy has been quickly implemented. UVa has commitments from three local players who were also offered scholarships by Tech. Clifton Richardson (ATH 6-1 195) of Menchville, Kameron Mack (WR/S 6-5 200) of I.C. Norcom, and David Watford (QB 6-2 180) of Hampton have all pledged to play in Charlottesville.
Among Tech’s 11 verbal commitments thus far, only one, Dewayne Alford (DE 6-3 220) of Nansemond River is a 757 prospect. Alford has already announced an intention to greyshirt, which means that his scholarship commitment actually counts against the 2012 class. At the present time, Tech has three outstanding offers to 757 players. Many others have interest in Tech, but offers from Blacksburg have been limited since most of the class has already verbally committed.
Of the three confirmed local offers, none of them seem to be leaning towards the Hokies. Quinta Funderburk, the tall long armed WR at Oscar Smith recently narrowed his list to six with the Hokies left out. Funderburk seems to be determined to go out of state as all six of his final choices are elsewhere.
Demetrious Nicholson of Bayside and Travis Hughes of Kempsville still hold offers from Virginia Tech, but recent interviews with recruit757 had Tech in the mix but not at the top for either player. Hughes has spoken glowingly of Butch Davis’ program at North Carolina. Nicholson is said to be leaning towards North Carolina as well.
It would be a mistake to dismiss any quality local player from eventually playing in Blacksburg. But it is also obvious that the word is out on the quality of football in southeastern Virginia. Tech seems to be facing increasing competition in inking those players.
- Jay Parchman
Maryland In Transition With Coaching & Recruitment?
by Jay Parchman, recruit757
Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen (AP Photo)
Ralph Friedgen soon begins his tenth season as the head coach in College Park, Maryland. He entered with a bang going 31-8 in his first three seasons. Since then, however, a cumulative 35-38 record has followed in years four through nine. The bottom was reached last season at 2-10.
Joker Phillips (Kentucky) and Jimbo Fisher (Florida State) each begin the first season as a head coach after serving multiple seasons as an assistant with the designated tag of “coach in waiting”. James Franklin has been granted that same title with 2011 expected to be the last season for Friedgen. Many Maryland fans, however, are growing impatient with the direction of the program.
Examining impact to the recruiting efforts in The 757 is not easy to determine. Three local quality local players were inked for the 2007 class. Each remains at Maryland: Running Back Haroon Brown of Phoebus, O-Lineman Maurice Hampton of Phoebus and Defensive Back Trenton Hughes of Kempsville.
However since then, Maryland’s recruiting success and efforts are hard to pinpoint. The Terps offered scholarships to at least eight local players for the 2008 class and did land a big time prospect at WR with Kerry Boykins of Oscar Smith, but they were shut out locally in the 2009 class from their six offers that can be accounted for. Maryland’s recruiting efforts in The 757 were nearly fruitless for the 2010 class, but they did land one key player in Mario Rowson, a DB prospect from the talent laden Lake Taylor program.
The recruiting surge of new Virginia coach Mike London and staff seems to have impacted the Terps this year. Of the present six offers, two have already committed to play for the Cavaliers – Clifton Richardson and Caleb Taylor. Another, Daquan Romero of Phoebus, states he’ll play for North Carolina.
But good news might still be on the way. The Terrapins have made the trimmed list of five of Travis Hughes (6-1 220), LB prospect from Kempsville. The #1-rated Southside player according to the Virginian-Pilot, Demetrious Nicholson of Bayside, includes the Terps on his long list of suitors. The Terrapins have been recruiting Quinta Funderburk, the long, tall, WR prospect from Oscar Smith. Maryland did not appear on Funderburk’s recent final five.
All of the above players are blue chip caliber recruits and are among the most notable. Maryland is most certainly recruting the area more deeply than it appears.
The Terps are looking to tap the Lake Taylor talent pool again as Maryland Offensive Line Coach Tom Brattan is calling on the Norfolk School to land WR/DB Deandre Moore (6-1 185). It’s still too early in the recruiting season to call Moore’s recruitment, but Maryland is definitely in the mix.
With quite a bit to go, Maryland has their opportunities to make a large dent in the local 2011 class as they did with the 2007 group. A winning season would certainly help. Maryland draws a favorable schedule from the Coastal Division of the ACC. They play Virginia, Duke and Miami from that side of the ledger which is certainly more favorable than drawing three Top 25 teams in Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
With the right bounces, a bowl season could be in reach. That kind of achievement would certainly be favorable for the Terps’ recruiting efforts.
It would also help Coach Ralph Friedgen keep his job.
- Jay Parchman
Expansion: Rumor Mills ON FIRE!
There’s been too much to keep up with this weekend. Rumors have been flying left and right nationwide. It would be fruitless to try to review all of the potential scenarios for you, but suffice it to say, next week will be extremely busy with announcements about new conference affiliations and stunning deals.
Texas A&M seems to be looking for forge their own way. The Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to the PAC 10 deal may still be in place, but at this point it looks like Texas A&M is going to part ways with Texas. That could mean that they stay in some kind of reformulated Big 12 once Texas leaves for the PAC 10 or A&M could bolt to the SEC as they expand.
The SEC has been hotly rumored as attracting Texas A&M in the west, then looking at North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech or even West Virginia to the north and east. ESPN announced earlier today that SEC sources reported that they were not considering Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech or Miami for admission to the SEC. The report went further to express doubt that Virginia Tech would leave a partnership with Virginia.
Rumors have floated that North Carolina legislature has gotten involved with the possiblity of UNC leaving the ACC for the SEC. In that case, there is some thought that North Carolina legislature would lobby hard for the ACC to add East Carolina as a replacement.
Kansas is still looking to figure out what its fate might be. It was rumored that they’d be interested in most any BCS offer including the PAC 10 and SEC, but both conferences have supposedly denied making an offer to KU. Kansas could stay in the Big 12 and become more of a flagship program, especially if Texas and Oklahoma leave. There have been some rumblings that the Big 12 may only lose Colorado and Nebraska, then would keep on as a ten team league or look to expand from there. Rumors have flown that schools like BYU, TCU, Memphis and Houston could find their way into the reformulated Big 12. Exit fees from members leaving the Big 12 could fund a lot of programs if the Big 12 manages to survive this flurry of expansion and conference switching.
One thing’s for sure. This weekend’s been full of manuvering and it’s not over yet. Expect big surprises this week as the dominos continue to fall.
Tajh Boyd Now The Starter at Clemson?
Tajh Boyd of Clemson (Photo: scout.com)
The possibility of Tajh Boyd rising to the starting QB job at Clemson came to light here on recruit757.com back in March. Here’s the original article.
What a trip it would be…. Verbally committing to West Virginia and Chris Beatty… then verbally committing to Phil Fulmer at Tennessee. Fulmer gets fired, Lane Kiffin gets hired. Boyd and his Phoebus Phantoms wins the State Championship in December 2008. In the same month, Kiffin tells Boyd he’s not wanted at Tennessee. Boyd finds a home at Clemson and graduates from high school in June 2009.
In his redshirt season, Boyd sat no better than third overall on the depth chart. Willie Korn was highly recruited and supposed to have the starting QB job. Kyle Parker (also a member of the Clemson baseball team) unseated Korn and never gave up the gig. Korn transferred to Marshall after the season and now Parker has a baseball career to think about.
The MLB Draft opened today and although Parker has three years of football eligibility left, he’s already three years removed from high school and he’s been tearing it up for the Clemson baseball team. Now on draft day, Parker was selected in the first round, 26th overall to the Colorado Rockies.
Clemson’s still fighting to make it to the College Baseball World Series so Parker’s plenty distracted now. What’s the chance that he’ll sign with the Rockies and forgo the rest of his baseball and football eligibility? The chances are good.
If that happens, Tajh Boyd is your new starting QB as a redshirt freshman for Clemson. Welcome to the big time!
Even if Parker comes back for another season, Boyd won’t have to wait long before the starting job is his. Just think, he could have been a Mountaineer. He could have been a Vol. You can bet that Boyd is happy and proud to wear Clemson orange. The waiting’s not over, but the fun part is about to start.
Welcome to a New BCS Reality
Stick a fork in the Big 12 and the Big East. They’re done. At least as far as “big time” football is concerned. The Big East might have a life of college basketball significance ahead of it, but you’ll only see the likes of Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Marquette continue the Big East basketball tradition. Soon enough, all of the Big East football programs will move on to become BCS superschools or non-BCS nobodies.
That’s where college football is headed. Think of it as an asteroid on a collision course with the earth, and there’s no way to stop it. The PAC 10 is on it’s way to becoming the PAC 16, and it’s taking the Big 12 down in the process. PAC 10 Commissioner Larry Scott (pictured left) now has permission from the PAC 10 schools to pursue half of the Big 12. Nebraska and Missouri will migrate to the Big 10. The Big 10 will also suck up a few Big East teams (and Notre Dame potentially) on the way to becoming the Big 16 and stretching from Nebraska to New York City. The ACC and SEC will eventually round out the lot of 16 team super conferences and you’ll eventually have a new BCS Championship plan; complete with an eight team bracket courtesy of four conference championships that will play down to a four team national semi-final and a winner takes all National Championship game.
In order to get there, the ACC and SEC will also have to add teams. Expect there to be a mad scramble to get in before the door closes. If the PAC 10 succeeds in getting Texas and Texas A&M out of the Big 12, then the SEC will have a harder road in getting to 16. Texas Tech, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State may be left on an island in the middle of the plains states. Teams without a BCS affiliation. For the SEC and ACC, they’ll want big schools that expand their footprint but give them continuity.
UConn, Syracuse, Pitt and West Virginia could be most attractive to the ACC. Don’t count out Central Florida and East Carolina, but those schools would take a back seat to any geographically sensible Big East teams that need a home. If the Big 10 were to take Rutgers and Syracuse, the ACC could easily snap up UConn, Pitt, West Virginia and South Florida in order to get to 16 teams.
The SEC would have to make a dash for teams as well in order to keep up with the Joneses. Other Big East castoffs could fit the bill if the SEC would lower it’s sights from Texas, which the SEC still covets. Louisville, Cincinnati, Texas Tech and Baylor could end up in the SEC, just because they’re the only current BCS teams that would get a cursory glance from SEC Presidents. Realistically, Cincinnati and Louisville don’t fit the SEC mold because they’re urban institutions, but when the SEC is forced, they’ll go for teams that are currently “haves” rather than pick up a few schools that are seen as “have nots”.
That’s not to say that a school or two might not flip from the ACC to the SEC. It’s possible. Clemson or Florida State could be talked into jumping. Right now it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
So what about Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Memphis, UCF, East Carolina and all of the other schools that have lived the BCS dream or had hopes of taking part in the money train? It looks like the train is about to leave the station. Now’s the time to fight for a ticket. Otherwise, a number of schools could get left standing beside the tracks, luggage in hand.
Conference Expansion Rumor Mill Turns; Little Local Effect
Jim Delaney, Commissioner of the Big 10
The biggest offseason buzz in College Football is about conference expansion. The Big 10 has announced that it’s studying expansion, perhaps by one, three or even five teams. If The Big 10 expands, other conferences could follow suit. In fact, if any conference is negatively impacted by an expansion of the Big 10, that conference almost has to look to fill the void, which will set off a domino effect of expansion related vacancies and pickups. Will any regional schools be affected?
The Big 10 currently has 11 members. Since Penn State was added in the ’90s, the Big 10 has had 11 teams. The push to move to 12 is due in part to the BCS standard of having two six team divisions so that a 12 team league can have a championship game. Championship games bring in more revenue. The Big 10 is already perhaps the richest conference in all of college football due to the fact that they own their own network: The Big 10 network. If the Big 10 could add a team, they’ll get to 12 teams and they can host a football championship game. The Big 10 might want to go to 14 or 16 teams just to keep other conferences from outdoing the Big 10.
There are rumors afoot that other conferences are considering adding to their numbers as well. The SEC is rumored to be considering adding teams just add to the attractiveness of the league and to attract more revenue. The PAC10 has been rumored to be working on getting to twelve teams. That would also allow them to create a conference championship game. The Big East may follow suit, but they have a more interesting conundrum. The Big East could get picked apart by the Big 10, ACC, SEC and or Big 12. There’s a possibility that a conference like the Big East or Big 12 could go away altogether, especially if a group of superconferences is formed.
According to a Kansas City radio report, the Big 10 offered membership to Nebraska, Missouri, Notre Dame and Rutgers. Notre Dame might not take the offer, but the addition of three teams would get the Big 10 up to 14 teams, take two from the Big 12 and one from the Big East. The SEC is perhaps the only conference that has the clout to pursue the nation’s money printing football machine: Texas. Wherever Texas goes, Texas A&M will follow. That’s been proven. If the SEC takes Texas and Texas A&M out of the Big 12 after Nebraska and Missouri bolt for the Big 10, the Big 12 would be down to eight. There’s also a chance that Colorado could be a team headed for the PAC10. That puts the Big 12 down to seven.
A little closer to home, the Big East could collapse from an eight team football conference into near nothingness. Rutgers could be the first to go with their possible departure to the Big 10. Connecticut, Pitt or Syracuse have been rumored as possibilities as well. The Big 12 could dip into the Big East in a move to keep them from folding. If the Big 12 could hold on to Texas and Texas A&M, they could remedy the potential loss of Nebraska and Missouri by picking up Cincinnati and Louisville. Before figuring that’s ridiculous, you have to figure that there are few other options for the Big 12 to pick up new teams that help their geographic footprint. Houston and TCU are possibilities, but the Big 12 has enough Texas schools already. Memphis could make the leap, but it seems like a longshot.
The ACC is one league that has the potential to be untouched. It’s been discussed that the SEC might want to come after Florida State and Miami, or possibly Clemson, but it doesn’t seem that the SEC is really interested in expanding. If they went after anyone, Texas would offer the most fertile region for expansion.
If the ACC is unaffected, then it’s quite possible that schools in the Mid-Atlantic would maintain the status quo. East Carolina would love to join a BCS conference, but right now the only option seems to be the Big East. Since they have only eight football playing members, the Big East could be the most likely to implode at this point. Then again, Conference USA schools like ECU, UCF, Memphis, Marshall and even Southern Miss have been discussed as potential members for the Big East. Boston College and Maryland have been mentioned as ready to go back to the Big East, but it’s hard to see that happening.
As of now, it seems that it would be a longshot to see any regional university change conferences. Then again, a lot could happen over the next few months.
Boom! Major Committment News!
Daquan Romero (Photo: Diane Cebula)
Another BCS school now has a commitment from a Peninsula District player from the 2011 class! We’ve seen a few commitments from this class already, but this is big news and seems to have come out of nowhere. Who knew that this was coming?
2010 Peninsula District Player of the Year Daquan Romero had numerous offers, but the one offer he was hoping for hadn’t come. Romero wanted to be a Miami Hurricane in the worst way, but the Canes weren’t showing much interest. The 6-0 210 defensive end from Phoebus had his pick of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Old Dominion and North Carolina among others, but it was a visit to Chapel Hill that sealed the deal for Daquan Romero. Romero claims that he fell in love with the campus on his visit to the school and he felt it was time to commit.
Phoebus is a team that’s won back to back State Championships in Division 5 Football, but in the 2010 class, Phoebus failed to send anyone to a Division IA school. Phoebus had running back/defensive back Colby Goodwyn and quarterback/defensive back Paul Morant commit to Old Dominion, plus wide receiver Andre Griffin committed to Hampton University, but no seniors committed to big name schools this past year. The commitment of Romero to UNC changes that for the Phantoms and Head Coach Stan Sexton.
Romero is a key contributor on both sides of the ball for Phoebus, but his future in college is likely at outside linebacker. Romero has the strength and speed for the linebacker position and his height makes him a better fit there at the college level. In the meantime, Coach Stan Sexton claims that he’s going to use Romero to the max in 2010, hopefully on the way to a third straight State Championship.
There’s still another big name for Phoebus that could have a BCS commitment in his future: Defensive End Caleb Taylor. Taylor claims interest in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. 7×7 season starts next week and colleges have the rest of the month to come in for visits. There’s potential for more early commitments before the month is over!
Tarheel Football Ready For ESPN
Tomorrow’s the big day for Tarheel Football. In case you hadn’t heard, or in case you forgot, Carolina’s Spring Game will be on ESPN tomorrow at 3PM. Admission is free and they’re making quite a show of it.
There is a full day’s worth of activities planned including live bands, stuff for the kids, autograph sessions and giveaways. The day starts at 7AM with a four mile run that ends in Kenan Stadium. At 9AM the Carolina Volleyball tournament opens in Carmichael Arena. At 11AM, the #4 ranked Carolina Women’s Lacrosse team takes on Maryland at Fetzer Field. At Noon, Tarheel Town opens and all of the football festivities begin. At 3PM, the Spring Game kicks off and the day ends with Tarheel baseball taking on NC State at Bosharmer Stadium at 6PM.
The national coverage on ESPN should do wonders for the Tarheel football program. Coach Butch Davis has worked hard to get the program over the hump; even in a down year for ACC Football last year the Tarheels couldn’t capitalize on the weaknesses of their conference brethren. Carolina will look to improve on their 8-5 record from 2009.
The Heels lost to Pittsburgh in the Meineke Bowl last December and will look to be more than bowl eligible in 2010. Florida State is retooling, UVA is rebuilding and Maryland’s in the dumps. Miami, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are solid, Clemson and NC State may have unproven quarterbacks, and Duke will look to continue improving. In other words, very few teams in the ACC will have it all put together next year. The Spring Game should be a spring board for an active recruiting season and a step toward improvement for the Tarheels.
Hokies 2011 Recruiting: More With Less
It’s becoming a common refrain. Do more with less. The economy has driven businesses to cut costs, families are cutting back, and in this case, the Hokie Football program has to be efficient as well.
In the 2010 class, Virginia Tech only signed 20 commitments. The annual allowance is somewhere around 25, there are rules that allow more than 25, but for the sake of simplicity we’ll call it a limit of 25. The total limit on the number of scholarship football players is 85 and that limit is a hard number. In the case of Virginia Tech’s recruiting for 2010, they couldn’t give more than 20 scholarships before hitting the limit of 85. In 2011, their work gets even tougher.
By the way the numbers add up, Virginia Tech should have about 15 scholarships to give in the 2011 class. Things can change though. Players decide to go pro early. Sometimes players drop out or transfer. Overall, in 2011 Tech will have to do more with less.
The Hokies already have their first recruit of the 2011 class in Ronnie Vandyke, 6-3 185 DB out of Lorton, Virginia. Tech is already in on almost every top recruit in the state, including a bunch from The 757. With about 14 scholarships left, who does Tech really pursue? It’s a little too early to tell.
Tech is already pursuing Curtis Grant 6-3 220 LB out of Heritage High School in Richmond. He’s the #1 player in Virginia for the 2011 class, according to most services. Virginia Tech is listed as a school of interest to every prospect in Rivals’ Virginia Top 20. Most every kid in that Top 10 has an offer from the Hokies, including Lafonte Thoroughgood of Ocean Lakes, Quinta Funderburk of Oscar Smith, Travis Hughes of Kempsville and Tra Nicholson of Bayside. Clifton Richardson of Menchville has a Tech offer too, but as of now Richardson has verbally committed to Virginia.
That leads us to another contender. UVA will make a dent in the state’s Top 20 this year. Tech won’t take an in-state player with every scholarship and UVA will get a bunch, but that leaves somewhere near half of the Top 20 to go somewhere else. There are also players outside the Top 20 that will land BCS scholarships as well.
The fortunate thing for Tech is that a shortage of scholarships means that they have more players coming back. 15 incoming players means 70 players that are either on the active roster or redshirting this year. Tech will be deep. The season opener against Boise State should be a thriller since Boise State returns 21 out of 22 starters from last year’s team.
College Football season can’t get here quickly enough.
Mike Glennon Gets Spring Reps for Wolfpack
Mike Glennon (Photo: AP/Gerry Broome)
NC State has to plan like they’re going to have a new QB next fall.
Mike Glennon, a heralded QB coming out of Westfield High School in Centreville, VA two years ago, has seen almost nothing but bench time in two years with the Wolfpack. Glennon was the #3 ranked QB in the country coming out of high school in the class of 2008 and has the bloodlines for QB since his older brother Sean was the starting quarterback for Virginia Tech before Tyrod Taylor. Now, because of the potential departure of two year starter Russell Wilson, NC State has to plan for the future.
Russell Wilson has played baseball and football at NC State. This year he will spend the entire spring and summer with baseball, which leaves Glennon as the man under center for all spring practices. If Wilson decides to stick with baseball at the end of the summer, the starting quarterback job could be Glennon’s come September. Wilson has now finished three years in college and could elect to play professional baseball instead of coming back to football with the Wolfpack.
Mike Glennon redshirted in his freshman year and ran the scout squad. Glennon served as a backup QB in his second season, but saw little action. He still has three years to play three seasons so there’s plenty of time for the future to play out. Glennon’s future may be now. The 6-7 220 QB saw playing time in seven games last season, but had only 39 passing attempts for the year.
Glennon will have no lack of targets as four key wide outs return from last year. All-ACC Tight End George Bryan will return as well. Bryan led the team with 40 receptions in the 2009 campaign. Strategically speaking, the Wolfpack should be in a good position for 2010. Glennon will be adequately prepared if he’s asked to take the reins as a redshirt sophomore. NC State could look forward to three seasons with Glennon as their starter. If Russell Wilson returns for his Junior season, the Wolfpack will have two able quarterbacks ready in the fall.