Virginia Tech 2012 Recruiting Target List

[bigesse16]

Who? Everyone else is either too slow, raw or has weight to gain. He's about the only player that you don't have to "project" for

I would say Ekanem, Edmunds, and Caleb have more upside than Harris. All of those guys have the size and athleticism to play right away, and project to be stars at their respective positions. Ekanem is one of the best defensive prospects we've ever landed. Caleb probably has the highest upside if he were playing on defense too. And Edmunds is so versatile, he could be star on both sides of the ball. You could even throw Coleman and Clarke in there, but they will need to get bigger. And don't sleep on Jarontay Jones. Kid played against the best competition and was a force in doing so.

 

[bigesse16]

just found this the other day, been lurking for about a week. Great forum, guys. I'll stick my head in here and ask a question or two...

Going back to the discussion of who preps/greyshirts... nobody mentioned Alston Smith, that I saw. I thought I'd heard he was probably in that category a while back. That wrong?

He's still a summer enrollee last I heard.

 

[hunzworth]

I honestly think Foozball is talking how "Game ready" Harris is (i.e. how good/ready he is now)

and

Everyone else is talking "up side". (i.e. how good someone could be in the future)

I agree that i think Harris was one of if not the most "game ready" players we took this year.

 

[ImAHokie]

Just fwiw but a lot of undue speculation on Harris, especially about him going elsewhere if he has to prep. Kid loves VT and loves Shane. If he preps Shane is still going to be all over that kid regardless and I haven't seen or heard of a remote speck of info to suggest Harris won't be a Hokie when it's all said and done.

 

[sparko]

I agree and it does seem like Harris has some big love for VT ... and depending on the reasons for prepping, I don't see him going anywhere else. If it's due to grades, that's on him. If they're asking him to grayshirt because we are now "FULL", well -- that's a different story

... or course, if we were to land a Derrick Green or Ryan Green and Harris prepped, he may be more inclined to go elsewhere .. but I don't think that's gonna happen.

 

[hunzworth]

If Harris does end up having to prep I would be fine if he was the only RB we take for '13.

 

[VTfoozball]

275 is not small for a DT out of HS so I don't know what you're trying to say with that. As for Gayle not many players gain 40 lbs of good weight. If he only gained something along the norm like 20 then he wouldn't be the player he is today. I think any DE prospect around 220 is open for criticism although I wasn't even following recruiting closely when Gayle signed and didn't have an opinion. Some players don't get bigger. If his rivals weight was correct John Graves only gained something like 5-10 lbs while at VT. I would rather VT get bigger bodies and you're lying if you say you don't agree

 

[VTfoozball]

Caleb needs to be left out of the biggest upside conversation. His speed is in the 4.6 - 4.7 range I think. He could still be another Boykin though

 

[hunzworth]

Caleb needs to be left out of the biggest upside conversation. His speed is in the 4.6 - 4.7 range I think. He could still be another Boykin though

= a high 4.4 low 4.5 @ VT

 

[hokiecheme11]

Caleb needs to be left out of the biggest upside conversation. His speed is in the 4.6 - 4.7 range I think. He could still be another Boykin though

The fact that you're saying that tells me you've never seen his tape. He is great with the ball in his hand. He seems explosive to me, and he's got the size to contribute immediately (if he can pick up routes and blocking)

 

[VTfoozball]

He definitely looks fast enough on tape but maybe his competition was making him look good. Bottom line is I have heard his speed is suspect. Not slow but also not what you'd expect with a top 100ish player nationally. He will be a player though and can be even better than Boykin was. But back to my point, Harris is even bigger and faster. I don't see how anyone would think somebody in the 2012 class will be better than Harris. On the same level, ok but not clearly better

 

[Camfantasy]

He definitely looks fast enough on tape but maybe his competition was making him look good. Bottom line is I have heard his speed is suspect. Not slow but also not what you'd expect with a top 100ish player nationally. He will be a player though and can be even better than Boykin was. But back to my point, Harris is even bigger and faster. I don't see how anyone would think somebody in the 2012 class will be better than Harris. On the same level, ok but not clearly better

VT doesn't need a 4.3 guy at split end. They need a big physical guy that can go up and attack the ball at its highest point. That guy would be Joel Caleb.

 

[TagAndBrag]

Caleb needs to be left out of the biggest upside conversation. His speed is in the 4.6 - 4.7 range I think. He could still be another Boykin though

Really? Are we talking about the same guy? ESPN 150, top recruit in the state Joel Caleb, with offers from 'Bama/OK/OSU/ND/UGA/PSU?

They didn't think his speed was "suspect".

I think it would work great if Harris was our 1 RB for 2013. It would space him out from Mangus and Coleman, and give the coaches more freedom to focus on getting back Rolin's attention and wrapping up Fuller instead of chasing Smoke and others. I would have agreed all along about Harris if we were talking about who was the most college ready. That is not the same at upside/room for improvement. Nearly opposite, in fact.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

275 is not small for a DT out of HS so I don't know what you're trying to say with that. As for Gayle not many players gain 40 lbs of good weight. If he only gained something along the norm like 20 then he wouldn't be the player he is today. I think any DE prospect around 220 is open for criticism although I wasn't even following recruiting closely when Gayle signed and didn't have an opinion. Some players don't get bigger. If his rivals weight was correct John Graves only gained something like 5-10 lbs while at VT. I would rather VT get bigger bodies and you're lying if you say you don't agree

I don't agree.....and I am not lying. The style of defense that we play does not carer itself to 320lb defensive tackles. The Hopkins brothers grew into that but hey have a lot more quickness than most 300 pounders because they came in smaller. Tim Sandidge ws similar. That is why I was not too concerned about losing Kirven. We actually drop our Ts into coverage sometimes. Hell Hop got a pic against Bama. I like it. I want big defensive backs and big Mikes. As for the DL, give me long and lean and FAST.

 

[hokiecheme11]

I don't agree.....and I am not lying. The style of defense that we play does not carer itself to 320lb defensive tackles. The Hopkins brothers grew into that but hey have a lot more quickness than most 300 pounders because they came in smaller. Tim Sandidge ws similar. That is why I was not too concerned about losing Kirven. We actually drop our Ts into coverage sometimes. Hell Hop got a pic against Bama. I like it. I want big defensive backs and big Mikes. As for the DL, give me long and lean and FAST.

I agree. If you gave me 4 James Gayles on the line... wow I smile just thinking about it

 

[HokieGhost]

I don't agree.....and I am not lying. The style of defense that we play does not carer itself to 320lb defensive tackles. The Hopkins brothers grew into that but hey have a lot more quickness than most 300 pounders because they came in smaller. Tim Sandidge ws similar. That is why I was not too concerned about losing Kirven. We actually drop our Ts into coverage sometimes. Hell Hop got a pic against Bama. I like it. I want big defensive backs and big Mikes. As for the DL, give me long and lean and FAST.

I agree with you 100%....and I'm not lying either.

 

[NickVT10]

1. 220 for a DE prospect is fine for me. They can easily add 20-30 lbs and 240-250 is great for a college speed end.
2. Foozball, you are putting way too much emphasis on speed. A WR who runs a 4.3 is useless if he cant run a good route. Give me a guy who can use his body correctly (at any position), has good hands, good football IQ and he will be a good WR. Jerry Rice ran a 4.7, Michael Irvin was just under 4.6. Emmt Smith was a 4.55. These guys knew how to play, use their body, and execute without being blazers and this was in the NFL and will be/are Hall of Famers. These kids are coming out of HS with God knows who timing them. They will get faster and stronger at VT anyways.

 

[bigesse16]

He definitely looks fast enough on tape but maybe his competition was making him look good. Bottom line is I have heard his speed is suspect. Not slow but also not what you'd expect with a top 100ish player nationally. He will be a player though and can be even better than Boykin was. But back to my point, Harris is even bigger and faster. I don't see how anyone would think somebody in the 2012 class will be better than Harris. On the same level, ok but not clearly better

Agree to disagree.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I do like VTFoozball though. He is a contrarian voice, but I like good, healthy debate.

 

[Sleepy T]

Damn..Harris looks good but what is with the absolute love affair with him? We got some VERY quality players in the last class (Caleb, Jones, Edmunds, Clarke, JC) and they could turn out to be as big a contributor as he does. I don't think if he was an early enrollee he would see any more PT than anyone else. I certainly don't think he would be the starter come fall. Don't get me wrong, he is solid, and from a sheer size perspective, he is ready now, but he is coming off of an injury and has never played big boy ball either. There is a lot more to playing RB than 22 dive up the gut, or 28 sweep around the end and you outrun or run over everyone.Pass protection, knowing the plays, all that is essentially. IF he wanted to ditch and run there will be another 4 star RB waiting in the wings to come to VT (just like DBs). We haven't had any trouble getting one in the future (can't remember the last time we didnt have a good option at RB)...