Virginia Tech 2013 Recruiting Target List

[Camfantasy]

Oren Burks picked up an offer from Nebraska.

 

[Rocky]

I think you're underestimating the impact coaches have with these kids. The recruiting process can be very overwhelming for kids, so coaches are there to help provide guidance. Also, college coaches are limited to how often they can call kids. Instead, they communicate through the high school coach. I don't know the ins and outs of recruiting to say that high school coaches will limit who can communicate with their players, but I know there have been scenarios where kids are offered weeks in advance, but their coach holds off in telling them.

And its not just coaches. It's former teammates who are now with UVA who can help persuade a recruit to a school too. Bayside is very pro UVA, so while Mizzell may not go to UVA in the end, he will most likely not end up at VT. He may go OOS, but that's a better bet than VT.

Lets agree to disagree.

I coached in the 757 for almost 30 years. Not football, but soccer. Ive had five all americans, olympic team players, national team players, college player of the year, etc etc etc. My U19 team had 13 players that were state, regional, or national team players. That meant, two state team players (who could have played for anybody) were required to substitute. All garnered Div 1 scholarships. Give these premier players some credit. I know what it takes to get to where they are. They know what they can achieve, and they know when smoke is being blown up their asses. They play along, because HS coaches are involved, but thats all. If anything, AAU and Travel coaches have far more sway, and I can tell you, in all my years, I never swayed any of my players. They all made their own decisions. If anything, the players manipulate the HS coaches, just to hold them at bay. The sway the HS coaches have is in making nominations to the district team, and pushing and supporting players at the end season coaches meeting. Thats where the district POYs are selected, and thats where reputations are made. Once the season and the district teams are announced, the sway of the HS coach essentially dissapears. My son went through the same thing. Any running back with aspirations of the pros, who is trying to decide between Tech and UVA, really has a simple choice. Just look at Taquans own words. Thats where the truth lies, not in any supposition of sway that a HS coach might have or not have. Give these kids some credit. After all, with any luck at all, Taquan will be a millionaire, and his best chance of achieving that will be to play on an ACC champion, go to BCS bowls, and play on a winner that has a chance of being in the top ten. UVA is not even close, and I give Taquan the benefit of the doubt regarding brains.

 

[hokiegrad]

I for one hope that Rocky is right.

 

[bigesse16]

I hope he's right too, but I would bet that we'll be disappointed if we follow his reasoning because I don't think Mizzell is.

 

[Sleepy T]

I think Rocky has decent reasoning. I will choose to be cautiously optimistic in regards to Mizzell's recruiting. I certainly think we are in it..and may have as good a chance as anybody in the end. We will see how it all plays out.

The same could have been said in regards to Oscar Smith High School (Richard Morgan) up until the commit from JC this past year (in comparison to Bayside). For many years everyone said that Morgan was anti-VT supposedly because of how Greg Boone was "handled" (in regards to what was said/promised in regards to his position and where he eventually ended up).

The commitment from JC Coleman tells me that:

a) The relationship is not that bad between OFSHS and VT and/OR
b) JC didn't give a damn what his coach(es) said and he went where he was most comfortable, where he thought he had the best opportunity to play early, and where the situation was best in regards to getting him to playing on Sunday's.

I am not so naive to think that SOME coaches don't try to sway players to one in state school versus another. I'm really not sure and a bit confused of what the agenda is there and what the coach has to gain..but there is no doubt, it happens. Coaches/Schools develop relationships with each other and they play off of that. Similar to a recruiting firm in North Carolina that recruits alot of kids from VTech vs. GTech for employment.

But that doesn't mean that they have NO chance to get Mizzell. The cards are probably stacked against us..but never say never.

 

[bigesse16]

I agree and I think Rocky's reasoning was very sound. The problem is that I don't think it will play out that way because Mizzell is not following it. And I don't know 757 recruiting well enough to know the situations well enough, but I've heard enough to give educated "guesses." To me, Oscar Smith and Bayside are two different scenarios. Oscar Smith players were going OOS vs. going to UVA. It's easier to make that up. We also came close to landing a few (Evan Hailes). I think we are doing a good job with Bayside, but they have such a pro-UVA pipeline going right now it will be tough. But RB is a position we could use to our advantage, so I'll hope I'm wrong.

 

[MattB4VT]

i will never understand the whole bayside-uva thing.... as a coach, dont you want the best for your players? RB and DB are the two positions which VT will always be light years ahead of uva. that said, why would the bayside coach push smoke and/or blanding somewhere they would be inevitably holding themselves back? with that, the fact that the they are a RB and a DB, maybe... just maybe, the ties may not be unbreakable.

 

[jeffro151]

RB and DB are the two positions which VT will always be light years ahead of uva. .

lol

You are always good for a laugh or two every day. Thanks.

 

[NickVT10]

always ahead, can't say that. for the near future, yes

 

[MattB4VT]

lol

You are always good for a laugh or two every day. Thanks.

purely sarcasm, but still worthy of rep!

 

[ImAHokie]

The commitment from JC Coleman tells me that:

a) The relationship is not that bad between OFSHS and VT and/OR

Greg Boone - c/o 2005
JC Coleman - c/o 2012

That is a long, long time to be absent any players from a major AAA powerhouse. It took one hell of an effort by the staff to break down the walls put up at OSHS by its staff.

 

[Rocky]

i will never understand the whole bayside-uva thing.... as a coach, dont you want the best for your players? RB and DB are the two positions which VT will always be light years ahead of uva. that said, why would the bayside coach push smoke and/or blanding somewhere they would be inevitably holding themselves back? with that, the fact that the they are a RB and a DB, maybe... just maybe, the ties may not be unbreakable.

You have hit on the basic issue here. If it doesn't seem right (a coach not having his players best interest in mind), then it likely isn't right.

ALTHOUGH, and I say this from experience, HS coaches can screw players that have ruffled the coach somehow. I know personally of one region players of the year and state first team player, not even being nominated for all district by their HS coach in the beach. Coaches have the impression that THEY have made the player what he is, when in truth, they simply inherited a star. Lots of egos in the coaching ranks, and not all of them are beyond vindictiveness.

I should have mentioned this earlier. My experience with college choices by players is this: The very first pick out of their mouth (around ninth or tenth grade), is usually the one they ultimately select. I had two players who wanted to go pre med, and were offered by the Hofstra coach, They both turned it down to attend the school of their teenage dreams, in spite of it ultimately not being in their best interest in the long run.

I worked annually with Sam Okpodu, the former girls soccer coach at Va Tech. We would assemble the best teams from VA, MD, and NC for a border war tournament at Tech. That way, Sam could host and look at the best talent from a three state area, and hopefully land a couple. In almost ten years, I had ONE player select Va Tech, and she was a legacy. The rest, as far as I know, all went with their hearts, and played at their dream school.

Also noteworthy, they always seem to gravitate towards home. Witness the Sims rumors. He could go just about anywhere.


Thats kinda what I think I heard from Mizzell, that gut reaction. Its familar, its his dream, its close to home, and it is now a possible reality.

OK, Im done.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Micah Kiser to the other school in Virginia....really good get for them

 

[sparko]

is a good get for them .. with Kiser, Harris, and Simms coming, CML will have an ACC crown in the bag within 3 yrs .. sheesh .. or so UVA fans think.

 

[EvanGWatkins]

Micah Kiser to the other school in Virginia....really good get for them

Yep he will be a good one...

 

[jeffro151]

Smoke has named his leaders, UVa and WVU.

 

[ckhokie]

Smoke has named his leaders, UVa and WVU.

double gross.

 

[iv_hokie12]

I don't understand the preoccupation with Smoke. Yeah he is a good player, but with our last class of RBs is that really a big deal? We can easily afford to skip a year there. Then again with Bayside being Bayside I doubt we get Blanding either.

 

[VTfoozball]

As long as we keep all the RBs from 2012 I don't care about a RB in this class. And I think it's pathetic about the coach or coaches steering all their players to one school. Both the fact that they are doing it and that the players are listening. I'd hope I'd have the sense to see through their agendas if it was me

 

[EvanGWatkins]

As long as we keep all the RBs from 2012 I don't care about a RB in this class. And I think it's pathetic about the coach or coaches steering all their players to one school. Both the fact that they are doing it and that the players are listening. I'd hope I'd have the sense to see through their agendas if it was me

DJ Reid