You guys have a great recruiting class coming together. I'm sure you guys are excited about all these players Fuente is bringing in.
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Yep. You guys have had a great run of committments from the state of Virginia the last two or three weeks.Yep. It's great to see that excellent first season already translating into in state recruiting success. Player confidence in Virginia Tech is coming back.
VT is where they should go. (if offered).
Best class since Ryan Williams and David Wilson. Would love to see Tech get Becton, a big offensive lineman from Highland Springs. Our competition is the team that hasn't been to a bowl game in 5 or is it 6 years?
Michigan is our biggest threat for Becton right now. I think we get him though.Best class since Ryan Williams and David Wilson. Would love to see Tech get Becton, a big offensive lineman from Highland Springs. Our competition is the team that hasn't been to a bowl game in 5 or is it 6 years?
Michigan is our biggest threat for Becton right now. I think we get him though.
If you go back and look at all of our classes over the years, they are pretty similar. We might have had one or two that were real good and one or two that were below our norm, but usually we end up with a typical VT class, with mostly 3 stars and a few 4/5 stars, and a final ranking somewhere in the 20s. .
Hunter was a key get, but we are still nowhere near where we need to be as far as dominating the state of Va. is concerned.
2017: 1 of the top 10, 3 of the top 15, and 4 of the top 20.
2016: 0 of the top 10, 0 of the top 15, and 4 of the top 20.
2015: 2 of the top 10, 5 of the top 15, and 6 of the top 20.
2014: 2 of the top 10, 4 of the top 15, and 8 of the top 20.
2013: 3 of the top 10, 4 of the top 15, and 7 of the top 20.
2012: 5 of the top 10, 9 of the top 15, and 11 of the top 20.
1. Implement a system
2. Recruit players that fit said system no matter their star or residency
When Bud landed a 2star Dadi Nicolas I never questioned it because I knew he must have had a quality that Bud wanted for his defense.
When we landed a 4star JC Coleman and tried to run him up the middle every down....Well, Im just glad Fuente is at VT. Im confident he knows what hes doing on offense.
HeaksManley explained it well in his post. The more 4 and 5 stars the better, which factors into my difference makers comment. Sure, there will be always be difference making 3 star and lower guys, but more often than not, it is the highly ranked guys who are difference makers. Here are our number of 4/5 stars for offense and defense over the years:
2017: 3 D, 2 athletes.
2016: 1 D, 1 O.
2015: 5 D, 3 O.
2014: 4 D, 3 O, 1 Ath.
2013: 3 D, 1 O.
2012: 4 D, 2 O, 1 Ath.
2011: 4 D, 0 O.
2010; 3 D, 2 O.
2009: 3 O, 2 D.
2008: 2 O, 2 D, 1 Ath.
2007: 2 O, 1 D.
Sorry, but I am having a hard time seeing lucustookis' point. What am I missing? I do not see how this year's class shows us with more balance than other classes. Seems a lot like our previous classes from an offensive/defensive standpoint and from a 4/5 star standpoint. Looks like 2011 is the exception and we only finished 33rd with rivals that year.
These numbers are about where they should be when you factor how most of our recruits came from Va., and over the years, the rivals top 25 in Va. has had many more defensive guys than offensive guys. This year, 15 of rivals top 20 in Va. are defensive guys.
Star power is important but I still hold that having the system in place that puts the players strengths on display is the most critical. For that to happen, the real evaluation has to be done by the coaches and not a recruiting service (as long as the coach knows what hes doing).
I think what is lost in the discussion is the job VT is doing despite the current state of rival recruiting programs around us.
OSU...always been a big boy but Urban has more interest in the 757 than Tressel seemed to
Michigan...upswing more than 5-6 years ago
PSU...upswing and Franklin is a hell of a recruiter
Maryland...upswing and Beatty recruiting there
UVA...still a instate rival
UNC...upswing from 5-6 yrs ago and Fedora a good recruiter
Duke...slight upswing under new coaches
UT...upswing from 5-6 years ago
Clemson....huge upswing from 5-6 yrs ago
FSU...huge upswing from 5-6 yrs ago
Bama...Saban used to never recruit Va, now he camps out here
Recruiting to VT has probably never been tougher yet Fuente has managed a top 25 class.
Star power is important but I still hold that having the system in place that puts the players strengths on display is the most critical.
You're looking at 4/5 star guys by their recruiting cred. In even our high water mark classes, most of those guys never worked out. Out of seven in 2012, four were busts. Out of eight in 2014 six were busts (at least in terms of their star potential) and one, Marshawn, is an incomplete.
I hate the damn stars. They do not predict the success of the class. I do not accept that Luther Maddy was the result of "settling" for a two star, because we whiffed on higher rated athletes. We saw something there that every else missed, and the guy was a stud from the first time he saw the field.
If you went purely by stars, we should have lost to Clemson in the ACC CG by 70 points. The fact that we played toe to toe with them shows that our real expertise is recognizing underrated talent that comes with desire and a commitment to the team, that our staff then takes and develops better than anyone.
End of rant.....
Derrick Green should have been a Hokie. He fit the power running scheme that Beamer seemed to prefer at the time. CJ Coleman probably should have went somewhere with a spread offense where he could have got the ball in open space. Two very good HS RBs from the state of Virginia, one would have fit the system perfect, the other didnt.
Dadi Nicolas was a 6'3 220lb DE with only a few yrs of HS experience. Rightly so, he was evaluated as a 2star talent. Had he went anywhere else he likely would have never seen the field as a DE. But, he had a 38 inch verticle, 4.6 forty, long arms and room to put on a few lbs, he was the perfect DE in a Foster defense that values pass rush slightly more than run support from the position.
A 4 or 5 star evaluation is just a projection made on potential for a recruit to physically contribute immediately. Even elite HS players need to be coached and put in the position to showcase their talent in the right system.
Is that the RB that signed with UNCheat?As is VT recruiting for 2017. A good class, but missed out on a standout RB.
I will end with this. After watching our offense last season, If Fuente wants a kid thats good enough for me no matter his star power or state of residency. I used to not be that confident in our recruiting purpose on offense. I think he knows what hes looking for to run his offensive system just as Coach Foster knows what he wants to run his defensive system.
Haha! I can't believe you had to have someone here explain to you that more stars usually coincide with more success.