The first edition of the TechSideline.com’s Countdown to Signing Day for the 2007 recruiting class comes the week of what will be the first big official visit weekend for the Hokies...and maybe the biggest overall. This weekend, the staff expects to host some talented uncommitted recruits including 4-star ATH Gerald Jones, 4-star WR Jay Smith, 3-star DE Jamar Jackson and DT Bud Tribbey. Five-star QB Tyrod Taylor headlines the committed players in town on official visits, with many more expected to be in unofficially as well.

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Overview…

Virginia Tech has 23 total commitments, 19 of which came in the month of July – a figure that still astounds me. In Rivals.com’s recently released team recruiting rankings for ’07, Tech’s class currently comes in rated eighth nationally. According to Rivals, the Hokies have landed one five star recruit, two four star recruits and 15 three-star players. When talking about this year’s class, you almost have to start with Tyrod Taylor. Taylor, TechSideline.com’s number one player in the state and a five-star recruit, is one of the most highly recruited players to commit in Tech’s history. The 6-1 ½, 200-pound Hampton quarterback has the dual-threat capability Tech loves at the quarterback position and simply makes it look easy out on the football field.

While Taylor’s commitment is a good place to start when reviewing Tech’s ’07 class, it’s certainly not the only major success. Having filled so many key needs so far is another extremely significant success. Heading into this class, the Hokies were looking to fill needs in several areas including offensive line, running back, tight end and linebacker. The staff has addressed them all, though offensive line may be the overall winner. Tech has landed five quality linemen so far with four coming from the state of Virginia. Another, Kellam’s Greg Nosal, is likely to end up at offensive tackle and this would bring the amount up to six in this year’s class.

With so many commitments already in the fold, there aren’t too many remaining targets left on the board. In fact, I’m only projecting the Hokies to take about four or five more commitments. (For those who don’t follow recruiting too closely, a Division 1A program is allowed to enroll 25 players in a given class. Schools can sign more assuming some players prep or grey-shirt, but 25 is the ceiling in terms of how many recruits can enter in one given class.) That’s where this weekend comes in. Several of Tech’s top remaining targets are expected to be in town, so Tech could come even closer to rounding out its class after the weekend. In terms of committed players, Brandon Barden, Davon Morgan, Kyle Nunn, Tyrod Taylor and Patrick Terry plan to be in town. Others are sure to be in as well.

Almost filling out the class by September allows the staff to do several things recruiting-wise. One, it allows the staff to be selective with its remaining spots and to devote its full attention to those kids. Secondly, it allows the staff to concentrate more on the 2008 class. The staff is off to a great start for the class of ’08, having already landed commitments from speedy defensive back/athlete D.J. Thomas and stud linebacker Bruce Taylor.

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This weekend…

This may be the biggest weekend overall considering how few spots the staff has available and that four targets are in town this weekend. The headliner of the four is four-star wide receiver Jay Smith. The 6-3, 200-pound Smith is TechSideline.com’s #3 overall player in the state and has Tech very high on his list. The Hokies could go a long way towards securing a commitment with this weekend. N.C. State, which is where Jay plans to visit next Thursday for the Florida State game, is very high on his list along with Miami.

The two other in-state targets expected to be in town are from the same high school. Defensive end Jamar Jackson and defensive tackle Bud Tribbey, both standouts for Varina High School, will be making official visits to Virginia Tech this weekend. Both impressed the Tech staff during the senior camp this summer. Jackson is being recruited for the ’07 class for sure, while Tribbey is being asked to grey-shirt and become eligible in January of 2008 (meaning he could be counted towards either the ’07 or ’08 class). Jackson is down to Boston College, Clemson, Louisville, N.C. State and Virginia Tech, while Tribbey is down to Syracuse and Virginia Tech. The Hokies have a good shot with both prospects.

The lone out-of-state target, at least at this time, expected is Millwood (Oklahoma City, OK) star athlete Gerald Jones. The 6-0, 190-pound four-star prospect is making the first of his five official visits and he plans to take them all. He will wait a while to make a decision, so it should be interesting to see if there is still room when he decides to commit.

Targets
(These are the prospects we have heard/know the staff is targeting hard with its remaining scholarship spots.)

Before looking at the commitments, take a look at the remaining targets in this year’s class. The numbers crunch could get tricky, but the staff does have some flexibility with grey-shirt possibilities, early enrollment and/or prep school if they land the right kids. Here are the remaining top targets, their recruiting situations as well as TSL’s take on Virginia Tech’s position with each.

Maurice Hampton - OL/DL; 6-3, 275 pounds; Phoebus (Hampton, VA)
Recruitment: Hampton claims offers from Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He lists MD, UNC and VT as his top three right now.
TSL’s take: Hampton could be another grey-shirt target for the Hokies should he want to sign with the Hokies (and should the staff continue to recruit him). Some believe he’ll end up leaving the state, however, with Maryland being a school he spoke strongly about in our most recent interview.

Cris Hill - CB/WR; 5-11, 175 pounds; Highland Springs (VA)
Recruitment: Hill has narrowed his list to Florida, Michigan, N.C. State, Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Hill has based his decision up to this point on unofficial visits he made this summer, prior to the start of preseason practice. He did not, however, visit Michigan or Ohio State, so he wants to use official visits for both of these programs. According to Head Coach Scott Burton, Hill would like to visit those two Big 10 schools during the season. Tennessee and Virginia Tech are in good shape for two official visit spots with Florida and West Virginia battling it out for that fifth spot (N.C. State may be on the outside right now.).
TSL’s take: I like Tech’s position right now with Tennessee, the place where teammate C.J. Fleming has committed, being up there as well. UM and OSU are wild cards since he has never seen either. I do like Tech’s position, but it’s not a done deal just yet.

Jamar Jackson - DE/ATH; 6-4, 230 pounds; Varina (VA)
Recruitment: Jackson has narrowed his list to five schools and is in the midst of making official visits. Over the past three weekends, the standout athlete has been to Boston College, Louisville and N.C. State on officials. He goes to Virginia Tech this weekend for his fourth official and plans to go to Clemson for his fifth and final official visit.
TSL’s take: Jackson said he planned to have Virginia Tech as one of his final official visits because of how much he likes the program. That’s a good sign for the Hokies. I do feel good about Tech’s chances here, but I’ve also heard how Jackson wants to check out all of his options before making a commitment. He has had good experiences so far, so Tech will need to impress to sure up its position.

Gerald Jones - ATH; 6-0, 190 pounds; Millwood (Oklahoma City, OK); Potential positions – WR, DB, RB
Recruitment: Virginia Tech will be Jones’ first official visit experience and it will come this weekend. Other top competitors according to Head Coach Tony Henry are Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas Tech. In fact, Jones has reportedly set official visits with Tennessee and Texas Tech.
TSL’s take: Jones is obviously interested in Virginia Tech, though I believe it could be tough to land him away from programs closer to home. A great official visit experience could change that opinion, though.

Caleb King - RB; 5-11, 185 pounds; Greater Atlanta Christian (Atlanta, GA).
Recruitment: King has yet to narrow his list or set official visits. He has offers from virtually every program in the country.
TSL’s take: Tech is a long shot right now for King and I would expect the five-star talent to sign with an SEC program. And with Darren Evan and Josh Oglesby already committed, Tech doesn't have a need for running backs (although any program could use another five-star recruit.

Corey Mosley - ATH; 5-9, 190 pounds; Henrico (VA); Potential positions: RB, WR, DB
Recruitment: Mosley has received offers from Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He has made many unofficial visits to UVa and attended Virginia Tech’s senior camp.
TSL’s take: At this point, UVa seems to have the lead. Mosley has visited there on a number of occasions and has developed a good relationship with the coaches. Virginia Tech, led by primary recruiter Jim Cavanaugh, continues to recruit hard. With so few remaining spots, grey-shirting could be an issue with Mosley although he has not yet mentioned anything about it. A lot could depend on Jay Smith’s decision. He is interested in visiting both in-state schools before committing.

Tydreke Powell - DT; 6-3, 285 pounds; Hertford County (Ahoskie, N.C.)
Recruitment: Powell says he will make an official visit to Penn State for the weekend of October 14th. As far as I know, no other dates have been set but stay tuned for another update very soon.
TSL’s take: Powell is high on the Virginia Tech program and hopes to make a visit of some kind for a game. UNC, barring a coaching change, seems to be the team to beat right now. He won’t make an official visit to Chapel Hill because it’s so close and he’s been there before, but the Tar Heels could be tough.

Jay Smith - WR; 6-3, 200 pounds; Lake Taylor (Norfolk, VA)
Recruitment: This weekend’s trip to Blacksburg will be Smith’s first official visit. Next week, Jay plans to head to Raleigh for N.C. State’s Thursday night game versus Florida State. According to Jay’s father, Mordecai, Jay is ready to make a decision and could have one soon. Mordecai says that Jay could well make a decision while on a visit, so don’t be surprised if he makes a decision within the next two weeks.
TSL’s take: N.C. State was the early leader and has been at the top throughout, however a slow start to the season has once again put Coach Chuck Amato in the hot seat. The coaching uncertainty does not help the Wolfpack, but it does help the Hokies. I still think the final decision comes down to one of these two programs and, with the coaching uncertainty at NCSU, Tech has to like its chances. I wouldn’t count out N.C. State, however.

Bud Tribbey - DT; 6-1, 288 pounds; Varina (VA)
Recruitment: Tribbey is down to Syracuse and Virginia Tech. Tech is offering him as a grey-shirt (eligibility would start January 2008, so he could be part of either the ’07 or ’08 class).
TSL’s take: Last week, Tribbey said he remained torn between Syracuse and Virginia Tech. A good sign, at least in my opinion, is that Bud has only scheduled one official visit and that’s to Tech for this weekend. He says he may visit Syracuse officially, but wasn’t certain. I take this as a positive for Tech and the staff no doubt hopes to seal the deal this weekend.

Tony Tucker - DE; 6-2, 225 pounds; St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)
Recruitment: Tucker talked the most about making official visits to Boston College, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech in a recent update. He plans on going to Virginia Tech for the November 25th weekend (game against UVa).
TSL’s take: At this point, I believe the top two schools are Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. He seems to like Tech’s defense an awful lot and this is without having made a visit to Blacksburg. He does talk about Georgia Tech quite a bit, though, so they definitely seem to be a primary contender as well.

Doug Wiggins - DB; 5-11, 183 pounds; North Miami Beach (Miami, FL)
Recruitment: Wiggins, who has offers from many top 1A programs, claims to be wide open right now.
TSL’s take: I certainly think Virginia Tech could pull out an official visit here, although I do think it will be tough to land him in the end. Tech has a good connection as Wiggins’ coach is friends with Coach Wiles and Wiggins does like Tech’s defense a lot, but he will be a tough get. Wiggins is almost a must get for the hometown Hurricanes, who are going hard after him.

The Commitments

Here is the list of commitments, sorted by the initial projected position…

QB – Tyrod Taylor
RB – Darren Evans, Josh Oglesby
WR – Danny Coale, Patrick Terry
TE – Brandon Barden, Chris Drager, Rhett Ellison, Andrew Lanier
TE/OT – Greg Nosal
OL – William Alvarez, Jaymes Brooks, Blake DeChristopher, Khalil Latif, Kyle Nunn
DT – Kwamaine Battle
DL – Courtney Prince, Justin Young
LB – Quillie Odom, Hunter Ovens, Barquell Rivers
DB – Davon Morgan
DB/LB – Alonzo Tweedy

Click here to view the recruiting cards of Tech's 2007 class commitments

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Commitment spotlight: Offensive Linemen

As I stated above, I think Tech has done a tremendous job landing offensive linemen in this year’s class. Tech fell short of fill the need in the ’06 class, but has not been the case in ’07. Here is a look at the commitments.

Will Alvarez
6-5, 310 pounds
Hylton
Woodbridge, Virginia
TSL rank: 3-stars; #7 in VA
Rivals rank:
Scout rank:
Comments: TSL has Alvarez rated as the top offensive lineman in the state. When he’s on, he’s very, very good and he has a lot of upside. He’s big and he moves very well. The primary knock on the Hylton standout before his senior season was consistency on the field and in the weight room. On the field, he seems to be having a good season as I have read several times how Hylton was successful in running the ball on his side of the line. Alvarez has some work to do academically but has a chance to qualify. He projects as an offensive tackle.

Jaymes Brooks
6-2, 295 pounds
Denbigh
Newport News, Virginia
TSL rank: 3-stars; #13 in VA
Rivals rank:
Scout rank:
Comments: I consider Brooks to be the most athletic of all the OL prospects. Brooks has good potential as well, with his size being the only question mark. He is a solid player on the high school level and a hard worker (he is a solid student who should easily qualify). Brooks does plan on making all five official visits following his senior season, but I would be surprised if he signs anywhere other than Virginia Tech. He projects as a guard or center.

Blake DeChristopher 6-5, 295 pounds Clover Hill Midlothian, Virginia TSL rank: 3-stars; #10 in VA Rivals rank: Scout rank: Comments: Virginia Tech was the first to offer DeChristopher, who added about 30 pounds to his frame since his junior season. DeChristopher is an all-around solid prospect – good size, good athleticism (maybe underrate in this department), good strength (29 reps of 185 pounds) and good ability. Of Tech’s offensive line haul, he is closest to a sure thing in my opinion. He projects as an offensive tackle.

Khalil Latif
6-3, 290 pounds
Manchester
Midlothian, Virginia
TSL rank: 3-stars; #11 in VA
Rivals rank:
Scout rank:
Comments: Latif is solid as a rock physically and plays with a mean streak out on the gridiron. He projects as an offensive guard on the next level. In my opinion, he runs a close second to Brooks in terms of overall athleticism. He has good acceleration and quickness. Latif has some work to do academically.

Kyle Nunn
6-6, 270 pounds
Sumter
Sumter, South Carolina
Rivals rank:
Scout rank:
Comments: Nunn earned his Virginia Tech offer with an outstanding performance at Tech’s senior camp. He could project as a tackle or guard on the next level. He’s having a very good senior season, earning area offensive lineman of the week twice. Nunn, who also has offers from North Carolina, N.C. State and South Carolina, will make an unofficial visit to Virginia Tech this weekend. Right now, he is a solid commitment to Virginia Tech but there have been rumors that he may want to make official visits. We’ll see if anything changes on that front following the weekend.

Another lineman?

Greg Nosal, a 6-7, 255-pound tight end for Kellam (Virginia Beach, VA), could easily and may likely end up as an offensive tackle at Virginia Tech. He is being recruited initially as a tight end, but don’t be surprised to see him switch spots. Primarily a blocker for Kellam, a move to offensive tackle would be a natural one for Nosal.

Also, the staff continues to recruit Phoebus offensive lineman/defensive tackle Maurice Hampton. The 6-3, 275-pound Hampton lists Tech in his top three currently along with Maryland and North Carolina. He may be targeted as a grey-shirt if he wants to come aboard.