VT put out a brief just a little while ago that medical hardships have been approved for Luther Maddy, Kalvin Cline, Brandon Facyson, Desmond Frye and Braxton Pfaff. This means that each of them have been granted an extra year of eligibility.

It's officially March, which means it's time to start talking about spring football.

I figured this would be a good place to begin a comprehensive thread re: this year's depth chart. This is all based on the final 2014 depth chart.

Some holes to fill and a lot of room for discussion on which young guys take a step forward when practice begins. Where are the strengths & weaknesses? Overall, this seems to be an experienced team.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE STARTERS (parentheses are guys named as backups on 2014 depth chart)
OL
Tackles: JR Augie Conte, ??? (SO Parker Osterloh, SR Wade Hansen)
Guards: SO Wyatt Teller, ??? (JR Alston Smith, SO Kyle Chung)
Center: ??? (SO Eric Gallo)

TE: SR Ryan Malleck, SO Bucky Hodges (???)
WR: SO Isaiah Ford, SO Cam Phillips, SR Demitri Knowles/JR Carlis Parker (SR Kevin Asante)

RB: SR J.C. Coleman, SO Shai McKenzie/SO Marshawn Williams (JR Trey Edmunds, JR Joel Caleb)
FB: JR Sam Rogers (???)

QB: SR Michael Brewer (JR Brenden Motley)

RETURNING DEFENSIVE STARTERS
DL
Tackles: SR Corey Marshall, SR Luther Maddy (JR Nigel Williams, JR Woody Baron, SO Ricky Walker)
Ends: SR Dadi Nicholas, JR Ken Ekanem (JR Dewayne Alford, SO Seth Dooley)

LB: SO Andrew Motuapuaka*, SR Deon Clarke (???, SR Ronny Vandyke)
OLB: ??? (SR Josh Trimble)

CB: JR Kendall Fuller, JR Chuck Clark/SO Brandon Facyson (SR Donovan Riley, SO Greg Stroman)
ROV: ??? (JR Der'Woun Greene)
FS: ??? (SO C.J. Reavis, SO Anthony Shegog)

KICKING GAME
K: SO Joey Slye (SO Carson Wise)
P: SR A.J. Hughes (JR Mitchell Ludwig)

* (played well enough over 4-game starting stretch to warrant returning starter status)

TOTAL
8 returning offensive starters (with the QB being the most discussed over the next few months)
8 returning defensive starters (9 if you include the fact VT plays with 3 CB most of the time)
plus both kickers

Guys, if you missed it, VT hit a last-second shot yesterday to beat NC State in the first rd of the ACC Tournament. Here's the highlight of that shot:

Hokies' buzzer beater

Guys, this is always a good topic, but since the Nike deal was mentioned on another thread, what's anyone's thoughts on uniforms for VT? I hear the black jerseys that were worn against Boise a few years ago, regularly as a favorite.

Guys, I'm kinda surprised none of you have mentioned it, but VT won the ACC indoor track championships yesterday, held at Rector Fieldhouse. Any thoughts?

Shai charged will contributing to the delinquency of minors. Bummer.

Guys, I was waiting around on coach Pat Mason yesterday and he lit into his players after their 8-3 loss to College of Charleston. Mason chided them for a lack of leadership and called their play "embarrassing."

Here's his full post-game video after the game:

Mason post C of C

Guys, I spoke earlier with 2016 point guard Anfernee Munnings, who VT offered earlier this year. Munnings played this past season at International School of Broward (Fla.), but tomorrow, he's actually transferring back to where he was his first two seasons of high school, Lake Placid (Fla.). Munnings said he wants to move back, to spend one more year with his family before he goes off to college.

Right now, Virginia Tech is the only school to offer Munnings, but he's received interest from Florida State, South Florida, Providence, UAB, Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic and Florida International.

Last week, before the Miami game, coach Buzz Williams and assistant Steve Roccaforte actually went to Broward to watch Munnigns and his teammate this season, Rivals150 four-star forward Jonathan Isaacs, practice. But Munnings said he left school the day before and didn't know the coaches were coming, so he wasn't there.

It's still a bit early with Munnings. He said he doesn't know a ton about the Hokies, only what the coaches have told him. Munnings said he didn't know that Dell Curry played at Virginia Tech and that stood out to him. But Munnings has been watching the Hokies ever since they offered him and said he likes the offense and defense they play.

This summer, Munnings will be playing AAU with Florida Elite and said that sometime in June, whenever he gets a break, he wants to visit VT and Providence. He's already visited FSU and USF, but now, it's kind of a wait and see thing with him, to see how his new move also affects his recruitment.

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Anfernee Munnings Profile`

Guys, hopefully we won't have any issue with CoverItLive this week, but we're back again for our weekly chat at 12:30 pm ET tomorrow (Friday). CoverItLive never emailed or sent out anything, but that was totally on their end. Still, I apologize that our chat last week was abruptly cut short. In the six years or so I've used CoverItLive, I've never had it go down like that.

Anyway, happy to answer all your Hokies related questions tomorrow, so bring 'em on! Come take advantage of and get the very most out of your subscriptions by joining us! As always, replay will be available for those who can't make it.

Click HERE for this week's INsider Chat!

this board shows conflicting rivals college football recruiting rankings.....showing 6 ACC teams in top 25 --- miami ,fsu, clemson, duke, ncst and vt (in order)....in top 25.........but when you click on expanded listing... get a similar but conflicting info screen......in viewing this ranking listing on numerous occasions.....the one constant seems to have VT just inside top 25 with Hoos about 20 places behind in the mid 40's-. Hopefully, these recruiting rankings will translate to having similar representation in the national top 25 polls . I don't think I remember the ACC having 6 teams in the college top 25 on a reoccurring basis.

usually the expanded listing is consistent with the abbreviated main page listing......however todays listings have discrepancies.......but given that late winter/early spring is when recruiting reaches its boiling point as high school athletes are being heavily courted/ bombarded (some say hounded & harassed). I'm sure the recruiting volativity at this time of the year makes it difficult to maintain the listing..

Certainly, if these rankings remain consistent from year to year....the ACC 's power index should start to close the competitive talent gap with the mentally /morally bereft SEC, where players are frequently mentally unprepared for the rigorous challenges of earning a legitimate college degree... they are treated like cattle--- processed & discarded if they can't produce ---
reinforcing the stereotype comedy skit on the old Ed Sullivan - or similar variety/comedy shows where the college football allstar team players introduce themselves & announce their school... ... there is always one who has his helmet on sideways obstructing his face who introduces himself as "Tom".

I take it there's 0 chance here? It doesn't mention where he wants to transfer; but he's from AZ.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12419537/matt-hegarty-transfer-notre-dame-fighting-irish

year. Good effort team.


This post was edited on 3/4 6:13 PM by BigDaddyHokie

Jason,

If I recall correcly there was a thread on the board last year about the Nike contract. It wasn't very lucrative, didn't cover every sport, and was coming up for renewal this year. I have also heard that Nike is looking to "refresh" all of the striped unis this coming year.

Questions:
1) Have you heard anything about our contract? Is it going to be upgraded or will Whit move us to Adidas like he had with Cincy?
2) Presuming we stay with Nike, have you heard anything about Uni changes? I hate the stripes (particularly on the pants/helmets) and optimistically am hoping we go back to something 90's or 2000's-esque.

Thanks in advance.


This post was edited on 3/4 12:22 PM by latency24

UVA won the game fair and square.Congrats to them. They have a very well disciplined team and they should go far with it. I will be rooting for them .
This year our team lost most of our league games and yet they offered much hope because of the way they played in almost every game. I hope people don't expect them to be the national champs next year because we have a long ways to go. They will be a lot better though. My hope is that we can show up at least in the middle of the ACC pack.

Guys, I spoke earlier with South Charleston (WV) 2017 defender Derrek Pitts. We have him listed as a linebacker because that's what he played last year, but VT and just about everyone else is recruiting him as a safety. He played at linebacker due to an injury on his team last season, but played safety as a freshman on varsity.

Pitts visited VT for the first time on Saturday for the Hokies' junior day, where he received his fifth offer. He also has offers from Auburn (first offer), Clemson, Pittsburgh and Charlotte.

With VT, Pitts said he loved seeing the facilities, the locker room and sitting down with coach Frank Beamer when he offered. Pitts also spent a lot of time sitting down with assistant coach Torrian Gray, who's recruiting him. They broke down film and Pitts said he likes how Gray coaches. He also said he's watched the Hokies when Michael Vick played. Pitts must have watched old film, though, since he was a baby when Vick was in Blacksburg. The first thing he told me, though, was how VT is just over two hours away from his home, which he seemed to like.

I'm a bit surprised that West Virginia and Marshall haven't offered, since big-time prospects don't come out of WV very often. Pitts said his coach said a WV offer is coming and he's visiting there for junior day March 15, likely when an offer will come. He also wants to visit Clemson and Auburn later this spring.

Still very early here, but getting Pitts on campus already and being one of his early offers is big. This is a four-star kid who will likely pull in close to 20 offers, if not more.

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Derrek Pitts profile

Guys, for those of you who saw my visitor list from this past weekend, you know one of the bigger names at VT for Saturday's junior day was Roswell (Ga.) three-star LB Tyrone Hopper. He's now the No. 47 outside linebacker in the country and has seen a big spike in his recruitment over the past few weeks.

VT offered Hopper during the first week of February. And when I talked to him a couple of weeks ago, he was very excited about that offer. Since then, though, he's been offered by Tennessee, Louisville and Cincinnati.

This weekend was Hopper's first visit to Blacksburg. Hopper said he enjoyed sitting in the same room and talking personally with assistant coach Torrian Gray, who's been recruiting him, defensive coordinator Bud Foster and coach Frank Beamer. Hopper said they all told him how much they liked and wanted him and how they also wanted him to make another visit this spring and/or summer. He also liked the campus and facilities and everything he saw.

Hopper will be at Tennessee for junior day Saturday and hopes to get to Louisville over the next few weeks as well. He also wants to get to VT again, though no date has been set for that. Hopper said he's "keeping it open" right now, but I still get the sense that if the Hokies aren't the team to beat, they're right there for that top spot with him.

Full story coming, but 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.[/B]

Tyrone Hopper profile

Sorry I'm a few days later than normal, but as we've done with all the commits, here's our full breakdown of Quillen and what he means to VT:

Quillen analysis

Guys, I spoke earlier with a name to watch for 2017, Grimsley (NC) athlete Brelin Faison-Walden. He doesn't have any offers yet, but visited VT for the second time over the weekend for the junior day.

This was his second trip, as he also visited for the Hokies' game against East Carolina last fall with his buddy, 2015 signee Mook Reynolds. As you can tell, I'm sure, there's at least one guy that VT gets every class that seems to know everybody. Mook is that guy for 2015. And Faison-Walden said that's the biggest reason he's hoping to get a Hokies offer.

Faison-Walden is being recruited by assistant coach Charley Wiles. Basically, Wiles and a few other coaches told him they like his film, but want to see him work at camp to see if they wanna offer or not. So expect Faison-Walden at camp this summer. He's a true athlete right now, as he plays inside linebacker, outside linebacker, safety, cornerback, running back and wide receiver for Grimsley, but said he feels like his future is at cornerback.

Again, no offers, but Faison-Walden has received interest from Clemson, East Carolina and Appalachian State. He'll be at ECU's junior day next month. He'll also be at the Rivals Combine in DC in May, so I'll get a better look at him there, too.

Full story coming, but 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.[/B]

Brelin Faison-Walden Profile

Thought you guys might find this humorous:


39m39 minutes ago
@JaquanYulee2 UNC football recruiting described in one pic

hey guys i know this is off topic, but i wanted to post here to help you all out. i live in las vegas and work in the service industry. its the time of year people start planning for a trip here. everybody always asks me if i have a hookup for rooms. well yes, now i do. go to www.RyanTaylorVegas.com and fill out the room inquiry and you will receive a link with the hotels and the discount percent from the major travel retail sites. its usually 10 to 30%. if you have any questions about it you can email me at ryan33@rocketmail.com or call the corporate office phone number thats on the site.

i did a side by side comparison for a room at new york new york on may 1-4 with my site and one of the major retailers. my site was $400 cheaper. basically the price of your flights. thank you all, hope to hear from you and see you out here in vegas!

Here's last night's post game video from Buzz, for those interested:

Buzz on BC

Anyone watching this one? Sparse crowd here with the 9 pm start, but I'm calling the Hokies in this one.

Guys, I spoke earlier with Bishop O'Connell (Va.) three-star OL Jay Jay McCargo, who's really become one of the VT's top OL targets for the 2016 class.

McCargo has 16 offers now and has become one of the top targets in Virginia. He was at VT Feb. 7 for junior day. For that visit, McCargo said it was "what we expected it to be." He said he really likes assistant coach Stacy Searels and defensive coordinator Bud Foster and said he can't say anything bad about them. McCargo also likes that they told him he was one of their "prime guys."

But while the Hokies are in good shape, they're a bit behind a few others. McCargo spent a lot of time talking about Duke and how he liked that visit. But he said the schools really 'resonating' with him right now are North Carolina, Tennessee, Penn State and Clemson. Those are also the schools he wants to see this spring, along with Auburn.

It helped a lot to get him down for the Feb. 7 junior day, as far as VT is concerned. But the Hokies have a lot of ground to make up still and right now, it's hard to see him picking VT. No set date, but my guess is he won't decide until this summer at the earliest.

Full story coming, but 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.[/B]

Jay Jay McCargo profile

Thought you Hokies would find this, um, interesting.



ACC football officiating bias

Guys, a big offer today for VT, for 2017 Sherando (Va.) OLB Dylan Rivers. Update coming very soon.

Dylan Rivers profile