Virginia Tech received 31 letters of intent from football prospects today,
the largest recruiting class in Frank Beamer's tenure at Virginia Tech. The
class includes 22 players from the state of Virginia, also a record for Beamer
at Tech.
Although not all of the recruits will be enrolling this year, it marks the
biggest recruiting class Tech has ever signed. The class features a number of highly-touted players, and as usual, a few
sleepers that have an opportunity to defy the experts and excel at the college
level.
Virginia Tech's recruiting class is headed up by seven 4-star recruits,
including four of the top five players in TSL's
Virginia Top 30 list.
The #1 player in the state is offensive tackle Vinston Painter. The Hokies
also signed #2 Dyrell Roberts of Smithfield and #3 Ryan Williams of Manassas,
completing a clean sweep of the top three in the state. #5 is wide receiver D.J.
Coles of Goochland. The only top five player in the state that is not heading to
Blacksburg is quarterback Mike Glennon, brother of Sean Glennon. He is headed to
NC State.
The Hokies signed one other top 10 recruit, #9 Marcus Davis of Ocean Lakes
High School. Davis was considered an athlete for most of the recruiting process,
likely a future receiver. However he played quarterback his senior year of high
school and was very impressive, out-dueling Florida State commit E.J. Manuel in
one of his games. Quarterback will be Davis' initial position at Virginia Tech.
The top five in-state signees are offensive players. None of these players
are expected to play on the defensive side of the ball for the Hokies. A couple,
such as Ryan Williams and Dyrell Roberts, have a chance to contribute in their
first season. Roberts is the most likely candidate, given Tech's needs at wide
receiver.
Virginia Tech also signed 4-star linebacker Quillie Odom from Hargrave
Military Academy. Odom was originally a member of the 2007 recruiting class, but
failed to qualify. Since then he has bulked up to 225 pounds and has developed
into a standout linebacker for Hargrave.
Another 4-star recruit is Myrtle Beach linebacker Bruce Taylor. Taylor
verballed to the Hokies way back on September 14, 2006 over offers from UNC,
South Carolina, Florida State and Clemson. He has bulked up to 6-3, 240, and
could possibly play defense end for Virginia Tech.
The final 4-star recruit, who decided on Virginia Tech this morning, is
defensive end Leon Mackey of Hargrave Military Academy. Mackey fills a major
need on defense and has the chance to play right away.
Tech's class also includes some sleepers that the coaching staff evaluated
and decided to offer. Some of these players are underrated because they
committed to Virginia Tech so early, before other coaches had a chance to fully
evaluate them. Examples are Eric Martin and Jeron Gouveia.
A complete table listing every signee of Virginia Tech's 2008 recruiting
class is below. We'll have more detailed coverage of this class in the coming
days, beginning tomorrow with Chris Horne's breakdown and analysis of all 31
players.
2008 Virginia Tech Football Recruiting Class |
|||||||
| Pos | Name | Stars | Ht | Wt | Hometown | State | Status |
QB |
Clayton, Joseph |
|
6-2 |
205 |
Richmond |
VA |
VT Signee |
QB |
Davis, Marcus |
|
6-5 |
215 |
Virginia Beach |
VA |
VT Signee |
RB |
Gregory, Tony |
|
5-11 |
185 |
Virginia Beach |
VA |
VT Signee |
RB |
Williams, Ryan |
|
5-10 |
205 |
Manassas |
VA |
VT Signee |
WR |
Barber, Ben |
|
6-0 |
200 |
Alexandria |
VA |
VT Signee |
WR |
Boykin, Jarrett |
|
6-2 |
190 |
Matthews |
NC |
VT Signee |
WR |
Coles, D.J. |
|
6-3 |
198 |
Goochland |
VA |
VT Signee |
WR |
Dunn, Randall |
|
6-3 |
212 |
Virginia Beach |
VA |
VT Signee |
WR |
Fuller, Austin |
|
6-2 |
195 |
Richlands |
VA |
VT Signee |
WR |
Pressley, Kendrick |
|
5-10 |
170 |
Sumter |
SC |
VT Signee |
WR |
Roberts, Dyrell |
|
6-2 |
190 |
Smithfield |
VA |
VT Signee |
TE |
Martin, Eric |
|
6-3 |
235 |
Woodbridge |
VA |
VT Signee |
OL |
Painter, Vinston |
|
6-6 |
315 |
Norfolk |
VA |
VT Signee |
OL |
Via, Michael |
|
6-6 |
260 |
McLeansville |
NC |
VT Signee |
DT |
Hopkins, Antoine |
|
6-2 |
280 |
Highland Springs |
VA |
VT Signee |
DT |
Tucker, Dwight |
|
6-2 |
275 |
Oviedo |
FL |
VT Signee |
DE |
Hamlette, Isaiah |
|
6-4 |
250 |
Stafford |
VA |
VT Signee |
DE |
Jones, Joe |
|
6-3 |
245 |
Virginia Beach |
VA |
VT Signee |
DE |
Mackey, Leon |
|
6-5 |
275 |
Newark |
DE |
VT Signee |
LB |
Boyce, Xavier |
|
6-4 |
200 |
Virginia Beach |
VA |
VT Signee |
LB |
Gibson, Lyndell |
|
5-11 |
220 |
Virginia Beach |
VA |
VT Signee |
LB |
Johnson, Jake |
|
6-2 |
235 |
Falmouth |
VA |
VT Signee |
LB |
McCoy, Derrick |
|
6-3 |
210 |
Amherst |
VA |
VT Signee |
LB |
Odom, Quillie |
|
6-2 |
225 |
Manassas |
VA |
VT Signee |
LB |
Stephens, Allen |
|
6-1 |
240 |
South Boston |
VA |
VT Signee |
LB |
Taylor, Bruce |
|
6-3 |
240 |
Myrtle Beach |
SC |
VT Signee |
CB |
Rose, Peter |
|
6-1 |
180 |
Amherst |
VA |
VT Signee |
CB |
Whitley, Eddie |
|
6-1 |
175 |
Matthews |
NC |
VT Signee |
CB |
Williams, Lorenzo |
|
6-2 |
198 |
Fayetteville |
NC |
VT Signee |
S |
Gouveia, Jeron |
|
6-2 |
184 |
Ashburn |
VA |
VT Signee |
JATH |
Becton, Nick |
|
6-6 |
290 |
Wilmington |
NC |
VT Signee |