Realy cool work done by our friends at WSLS. They have had a banner available for fans to sign and presented two of them to Frank Beamer yesterday:
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Announced today by coach Frank Beamer. Senior DE Dadi Nicolas has been suspended for the first half of the UVA game Saturday for making contact with referee Ron Cherry during the UNC game Saturday.

Cool vantage point of VT entering the field Saturday for the UNC game, from our friends at WSLS. I've shared it on our Facebook front page:
https://www.facebook.com/HokieHavenrivals/

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, it seems like the perfect time to give some of the country's big boys a chance in the spotlight. No matter how much turkey and stuffing might be on your family's table, if you're inviting one the following big bodies, you better not plan on having any leftovers. In this week's First and 10, we give you the top 10 "buffet busters," prospects from around the country that are just as big as they are talented.

You can read the full story here.

OG
Richard Merritt | 6-4, 338
Washington (D.C.) Archbishop Carroll
Merritt has not been in the best shape, but there is no questioning how effective he is on the field. His strong punch, lateral quickness and ability to drive defenders off the ball is very impressive for a player his size. Florida, Auburn and Virginia Tech look like they are in the best position with Merritt for now, but he has yet to set up any official visits. -- Friedman -

: )
I would love to hear the latest a greatest on our coaching search ?

You know me. The claim I made above will be supported with facts and very...very..little emotion.

1. I am perplexed how ignorant SOME people are. Its incredible how a person hears the words, " Bud can't recruit," then they actually believe it without any fact checking, then they are ignorant enough to repeat it to others ten times.

2. Fact 1. I placed on this board last year a review of VTs defensive recruiting rank since 2001. Notice I wrote...Defensive Recruiting. One can actually take the overall recruiting class ranking, then weigh the recruit ranking of each player, then separate this from the overall mean recruiting ranking as a class, and get a recruiting ranking for the defense, and one for the offense. It's not complicated math folks. Its Statistics 101.

Fact 2. The Defensive recruiting classes at VT since 2002 have averaged 15th in America. From 2011-2015, the last five years, VT has averaged 23rd in America in OVERALL recruiting. During these 5 years, our Defensive recruiting has averaged 12th in America and O recruiting averaging 34th. Think about these numbers.

Fact 3. I know, 2016 incoming class will rank around 42nd in overall recruiting and are below average and someone will take a one year sample for the 2015 linebackers and ignorantly say, "Bud can't recruit LBs." Fact is....did you know that Edmund's was a four star LB and was moved to offense. Did you know than Devon Van Dyke was a four star and All American and suffered career ending injuries. Those two would be 1 and 2 on the depth chart in the middle right now if things would have been different.

Another fact.....The last five years....not this yr, but 2011-15, VT has averaged 13th in America in Defensive Efficiency and three of those five years we were top 10 and all of them top 25. This fact also disproves the emotional, but tactless claim that our " D is getting worse."

Final Fact. There is no data to support Foster can not recruit. It is quite the opposite. The problem has been on the offensive side of the ball where the supposedly great recruiter in Stinespring is once again, struggling. The numbers support this. Now, you can argue that Foster is not the one recruiting defensively and other coaches are. That's fine, but even if true....it does not matter because he is the boss or CEO of the defense. They are getting it done. More important, I don't think many people understand the importance of having a winning defense and great scheme on the field related to recruiting. That is key in recruiting and our D recruits itself. The same applies offensively. We can not recruit offensively because of our O scheme and historical performances as a unit.

I meant to post this with another subject title earlier. My bad. Anyway, some may find this interesting regarding the recruiting rankings of the teams that are probably going to be in the college football final four playoff, and for one's that maybe have a tiny, tiny chance. All of these are from 2011 through 2015 (5 seasons) per rivals recruiting rankings.

Carolina's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
16, 42, 44, 23, 28. Average for the last 5 years is 31st.

Clemson's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
8, 14, 14, 13, 4. Average for the last 5 years is 10.3.

Oklahoma's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
14,11,15,15,14. Average for the last 5 years is 14th.

Notre Dame's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
10,20,3,11,11. Average for the last 5 years is 10.5.

Alabama's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
1,1,1,1,2. Average is 1st

Baylor's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
46,45,31,35,43. Average is 40th.

Stanford's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
22,5,64,14,18. Average is 25th.

Oklahoma State last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
28,32,36,27,38. Average is 32nd.

Iowa's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
30,43,53,59,58. Average is 49th.

Michigan State's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
31,41,40,22,22. Average is 31st.

Ohio State's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
11,4,2,3,9. Average is 6th.

Michigan's last 5 recruiting classes per rivals from 2011 through 2015.
21,7,5,31,50th. Average is 23rd.

Virginia Tech- ranks 24.8 in recruiting over the last 5 years.

Conclusions from above. Some are facts. Some are opinions and these are" on paper" opinions only.
1. Iowa and Baylor are not winning a national title, but Baylor has one heck of a coach because they've been at it for a while now, not just one year like Iowa, but they've been at it for a while with at least....what appears on paper, inferior talent.
2. North Carolina and Oki State and Michigan State are equally talented, but not talented enough to win a title.
3. Michigan and Stanford and Virginia Tech are equal in talent.
4. Notre Dame is actually very talented and equally talented as Clemson and both talented enough to win it.
5. Oklahoma is less talented than Notre Dame and Clemson, but not by much.
6. Even compared to Clemson and Notre Dame, Bama's talent is completely on another level and you can see, couple that talent with a very good coach, and you have a juggernaut that's going to be favored to when it, if they get in the college playoff.
I realize the rankings above and my conclusions are simply on paper and not on the field.

Rbarnh3356@aol.com
678-576-8014
Randy
Thx!

Per FBS Outsiders which uses Defensive Efficiency to Rank Defenses.

We rank 21st in America in D, and 79th in O. What goes into this statistic? 6 difference formulas which includes......the strength of the opponents unit you are playing, success rate which looks at each individual play of the game and the timing of it for the given down, explosiveness of the individual plays which heavily leans on yards per play allowed or yards per play gained and this area accounts-gives weight for a defense playing a fast paced O like Oregon, or gives weight for an offense that plays fast paced......meaning.....lets say your O gained 450 yards, but it ran 90 plays, this stat accounts for that an subtracts-penalizes the 450 yards which look good, but took 90 plays to attain. Additionally, redzone O and D and drive finishing ability are weighed and specifically a D giving an O a short field or vice versa. The ability to flip field position is weighed as is garbage time and critical time adjustments.

Conclusions....
1. There is a statistical formula that accounts for the strength of our opponent and you can agree or disagree with the stat, but again, the stat is what it is. To say, "if we played in the Big 12". Again, this stat says otherwise.
2. Critical timing of each play....not just ONE play. This is accounted for. For example....if it's tied 17 to 17 in the third quarter and our O gives our D a short field after a 3 and out and our O gets the ball at midfield and then goes three and out.....this matters. It is weighed and equally critical to one play such as a TD pass given up by the D in overtime. For example, the first three running plays that gain 5 yards in OT by our offense are weighed and MATTER. This stat measures for such a thing.
3. Foster deserves some kind of bonus or reward the job he's done this season. This is insanity to have a Defense this banged up rank inside the top 20 in America. We play UVA next week, and I think Foster cracks the top 20 by seasons end. This is just insane. Can you imagine? All the talk about, "this is the worst D at VT since 2003 and maybe since 1992, and still.......still.....the guy puts up a top 20 spot? Guys, Foster is a commodity. Even this year, when the O is finally, supposed to have closed the gap or possibility even NOT be the liability anymore and with the talk about the D being the liability this year...........well.....here we are again, the usual 4 to 1 ratio of O and D. Historically, our D is about 4 times higher in ranking than the O. This year...21 for the D. 21x4 =88. Our O is 79th right now. Give it time. It will get there, lol.

Guys, I know VT linebacker great Corey Moore did other interviews before the game Saturday, but I caught up with him for a one-on-one exclusive. He talks about coach Frank Beamer and what he meant to the Hokies. I also asked Moore his thoughts on the next coach. I told him, maybe not specific names, but what characteristics did the next coach need to have. He then gave a ringing endorsement for Mark Richt.

Full interview here: http://rvls.co/1SXUasD

"Sources tell FootballScoop that Dan Mullen is a serious candidate at Virginia Tech."

This has certainly came out of nowhere, any validity to this from this in the know?

Wont be playing the 1'st half against UVA.

So that "commitment" is no longer a term of art or a word awaiting content, I would like to propose the following:

1. Along with their registration with the NCAA clearinghouse, athletes are given a "committed" option on that site or a recruiting page.
2. When an athlete is ready to "commit" to a school (for example, maybe the athlete no longer wants to be bothered by phone calls and texts), he goes to his NCAA page and clicks the "committed" button.
3. By doing that the athlete, who is in complete control, effectively ends all communication from other schools to the athlete.
4. Schools have access to the pages and can see which students are or are not committed.
5. Students, of course, are free to contact schools as they wish. The NCAA has no control over that.
6. Schools, however, are not allowed to contact, or have ANY communication with "committed" athletes, regardless of who initiates said communication.
7. If a student wishes to open his or her recruitment, that is, to end his commitment, the student athlete simply goes to his NCAA clearinghouse page on clicks the "committed" button immediately changing his status to "uncommitted."
8. By unclicking the committed button, the athlete automatically sends a text and an email to the school formally depending upon that athletes commitment, notifying the school of the change.
9. The school is given notice and immediately knows where it stands or does not as the case may be.
10. Schools that communicate with athletes who are committed elsewhere should be considered guilty of a major recruiting infraction.

As it stands now, kids are encouraged to be duplicitous by the nature of the recruiting process. Coaches also are pressured by circumstance to cultivate the deceit.

The word commitment is robbed of all meaning, and puts coaches at a tremendous disadvantage.

I think this might be a way to preserve the power of the athletes, but also somewhat empower the schools – if knowledge is, in fact, power.

I can think of a number of reasons why such a system should be in place, but none why against it. All I know it is, the current system is unsatisfactory and I believe there has to be a better way.

Thoughts?

Saw on Twitter footballscoop.com is reporting Dan Mullen to be a serious candidate. Also said to expect a hire within the next week. Anyone have any news?

As always, what's posted here, STAYS HERE. Don't de-value your own subscription by giving away information to others who don't pay like you do. It's also a violation of our terms of service and will result in the termination of your subscription.

Guys, I didn't think I'd have information every day, but this week, a LOT has changed and been going on behind the scenes. Here's the latest:

I spoke to a VERY trusted source who's been following the Missouri coaching situation. As a lot of you know, the Tigers and Hokies have been looking at a lot of the same candidates for the coaching vacancies. One of the coaches both have looked at is Memphis' Justin Fuente.

My source told me today that "Virginia Tech is the one Fuente likes." For whatever reason, Fuente doesn't have any interest in South Carolina. And while he's still interested in Missouri, I'm told that he's unsure of the sjaky situation there with the administration, since the president and the chancellor both resigned/were forced out last week.

I then checked with a very good source in the VT administration that told me that was very good news to hear when I relayed it. I'm told VT is "shuffling the deck" right now and keeping an eye on any other coaching changes that pop up. And when the regular football season concludes over the next few weeks,AD Whit Babcock and others will be on the move to talk with the candidates they have at that point. Just another confirmation on my post from yesterday that Fuente is as close to a front-runner as there is right now.

The other news I got from my source with the Missouri situation is that should Fuente be hired at VT, other assistant coaches are already aligning themselves with him. Barry Odom is the defensive coordinator at Mizzou and is considered a very strong candidate for the head coaching job there. But should he not get the job, I'm told that it is "highly likely" that he joins Fuente's staff. Odom was Fuente's coordinator at Memphis from 2012-14, Fuente's first three years there. The other coach who would likely join Fuente is Missouri safeties coach Ryan Walters, whom Odom loves and whom he brought to Memphis last year and to Missouri with him this year. That should also tell you something when coaches start aligning themselves with future positions.

The other news I wanted to pass on is with Temple's Matt Rhule. I spoke with a very trusted source in Philadelphia, who told me "I'd be more surprised if he leaves than stays" with the Owls. Rhule has been there since 2006, the head coach since 2013, so he's got deep roots there and has been a big reason Temple's program has been elevated like it has.

My sources tell me that Rhule has been intrigued by Virginia Tech, but his bigger aspirations are to get to the NFL in the near future. My sources live Rhule and told me "he gets it." But they get the sense that something would really have to jump off the page for him to leave the Owls, so he's not necessarily looking to leave, though he would for the right job. Rhule hasn't been talked about a lot with the Hokies, but he's certainly in the mix. Right now, though, he's well behind where guys like Fuente sit.

Tons of talent on offense. Dwayne Lawson at QB. Travon McMillian,Shai McKenzie,and Marshawn Williams at RB. Sam Rodgers at FB. Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips at WR. Bucky Hodges at TE. That is a great nucleus of young talent. Fix that O-line and we'd be in serious business.

The same could be said about the defense. Ken Ekanem back at DE to go along with the younger talents of Trevon Hill and Houshun Gaines. We are loaded at DT. Nigel Williams,Ricky Walker,Steve Sobczak,and Vinny Mihota to go along with newcomer Tim Settle. A bit worried about LB. Very thin there. Hopefully the new coach can bring some in with him. Pretty stacked at corner but i'm 99.999% sure Kendall Fuller is going pro. Facyson,Reynolds,Edmunds,and Johnson is plenty of talent. Safety we will be young and not as stacked as i'd like but some young talent in Adonis Alexander and Jahque Alleyne.

Overall its a nice blend of some youth and some experience. Hoping the new coach can bring in some premiere recruits with him. Recruiting is the life blood of any program. I am hoping the new coach will take full advantage of the talent we have in the state of Virginia.

We're projected to play MSU in the Belk Bowl. How crazy would that be!?!

Guys, just wanted to share a few videos from the ACC Network, on Frank Beamer carried off the field, Metallica's intro video and Buzz Williams honoring Beamer:
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Whit wants to make another big splash like Buzz but problem is none of the coaches we have talked about is big enough. Chip Freaking Kelly, now there is a name for you and he is all but done in Philly looks like. He would be another one i think might be able to give us a quicker turnaround especially with Bud. He should bring in some offensive power and he would have a few tools to work with out of the gate. He is gotta be top choice. Nobody else out there could touch him. Jason, what ya think?

I just hope we are serious about this. They will have big time talent on their roster in 3 years. They may b under investigation but they will have talent.

In case you guys missed it from earlier, from our Wisconsin site on three star VT commit Myles Wolfolk: http://rvls.co/1PIZdz6

Was anyone else on the edge of their seat?! I sure was! North Carolina had the lead up until the last four minutes. Trailing behind 14 points, Virginia Tech managed to tie the game with one minute left. The Tar Heels wouldn't let up in overtime. The Hokies fell just short of a win 30-27. Jason and I have TONS of coverage coming for you - photos, videos, stories, everything!

I loved that even though VT didn't get the outcome they hoped for, the players were still good sports and proudly carried their coach off of the field after he gave thanks to the 65,000 fans present at the game. Hopefully they can pull out a win against UVA next week to get Beamer his 23rd consecutive bowl game.

What are all of y'alls thoughts on Frank Beamer's last home game as coach?

As always, what's posted here, STAYS HERE. Don't de-value your own subscription by giving away information to others who don't pay like you do. It's also a violation of our terms of service and will result in the termination of your subscription.

Guys, no official visitors this weekend for VT, with the uncertainty with the coaching experience. Still a number of unofficial guys will be on hand, which should show that most of them are interested in VT regardless of who the coach is. Here's the rundown, with recruiting coach at the end:

WR Divine Deablo, Mt Tabor (NC), three stars, No. 72 WR, No. 20 in NC -- VT COMMIT -- Wiles
DE Jimmie Taylor, SW-Onslow (NC), three stars, No. 25 WDE, No. 24 in NC -- VT COMMIT -- Wiles
CB Troy Pride, Greer (SC), three stars, No. 11 in SC -- VT DECOMMIT -- Gray
WR Sam Denmark, Hanahan (SC), three stars, No. 13 in SC -- VT COMMIT -- Beamer
Safety Reggie Floyd, Stonewall Jackson (Va.), three stars, No. 18 in VA -- VT COMMIT -- Gray
ATH Donovan Williams, Hylton (Va.), three stars, No. 31 in VA -- UCONN COMMIT -- Foster
LB Emmanuel Belmar, Collins Hill (Ga.), two stars -- VT COMMIT -- Gray
OT Jarrett Hopple, Nansemond River (Va.), two stars -- VT COMMIT -- Searels
OT Patrick Kearns, Darlington (Ga.), two stars -- VT COMMIT-- Searels
DT Silas Dzansi, Hylton (Va.) -- DELAWARE ST COMMIT -- Foster
DT Eric Crosby, Ocean Lakes (Va.) (2017), four stars, No. 106 in Rivals250, No. 7 DT, No. 3 in VA -- Burden
DE Tyjuan Garbutt, Riverbend (Va.) (2017), four stars, No. 171 in Rivals250, No. 3 WDE, No. 6 in VA -- Foster
WR Tahj Capehart, Ocean Lakes (Va.) (2017) three stars, No. 13 in VA -- Burden
LB Rayshard Ashby, LC Bird (Va.), (2017) three stars -- Beamer
TE Jarrett Powell, Hylton (Va.) (2017) -- Foster

I have no idea if this means VT already has made it's choice or if we are just the first choice for a few coaches. But Via Adam Rittenberg, Virginia Tech is most likely to be the first to make a hire.

Former Hokie Michael Vick was on the sidelines of today's game to show his support for Beamer. Vick played as VT's quarterback for 1999 and 2000. He is currently playing in the NFL for the Steelers.

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