Guys, got another update from VT staff sources and recruits where a few coaches were visiting today, the first day of the open recruiting period:

Assistant coach Stacy Searels started the day at Dematha (Md.), where he visited with Rivals250 WR Josh Ball at Stafford (Va.).

Defensive coordinator Bud Foster was in the Woodbridge area, seeing four-star DE Victor Greene at Courtland (Va.).

Assistant coach Torrian Gray was in northern VA today, stopping by St Frances (Md.) first to see three-star commit Joe Goff.

Assistant coach Zohn Burden was in the Tidewater region, seeing Grassfield (Va.) three-star WR Grant Holloway, Ocean Lakes (Va.) and Lake Taylor (Va.)

Assistant coach Bryan Stinespring was also in Tidewater and stopped by Western Branch (Va.), Oscar Smith (Va.) and Indian River (Va.), the latter to see four-star LB Jaquan Yulee.

Assistant coach Cornell Brown was on the peninsula side of Tidewater, to see Vt commit Cheyton Pine.

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]

This post was edited on 4/15 10:34 PM by Jason Stamm

Just so you guys are aware, those of you coming to the scrimmage at VT tomorrow: BLACKSBURG -[/B] The Virginia Tech football team will hold the second of its three open practices Saturday starting at 10:45 a.m. inside Lane Stadium, but parking will be affected by the University's 3.2 Run in Remembrance.


Because of the race, fans coming to the practice will need to park in the Chicken Hill lot (Lot 5), located at the corner of Tech Center Drive and Southgate, or Lot 4. Lots 1, 2 and 3 will all be inaccessible until after the run is completed and the route has been cleared, which is expected to be right around the start time of the practice. Spring Road, Washington Street and other main roads on the south end of campus will be closed from 8 a.m. until the run is over, thus the Chicken Hill Lot and Lot 4 will be the only lots guaranteed to be accessible.


The only gate open will be gate 3, at the southwest corner of the stadium by the John Moody Flagpole Plaza. Fans will be allowed to sit on the west side of the stadium only. There will be no entrance to the field after the scrimmage.


The run begins at 9 a.m. in front of Eggleston Hall on the Drillfield and winds through campus, eventually going through/past Lane Stadium. Please note that the route does include Lane Stadium by entering through the tunnel that the football team enters through for every home game, but this will close just before 10 a.m. for the scrimmage. At that point, runners will be directed down Spring Road on the outside of the stadium and to turn left into the South End Zone Lot to begin the final portion of the run.


To find more information on the run, click here. http://www.recsports.vt.edu/ events/2015-day-remembrance- 32-mile-run-remembrance


To find the route map, click here. https://www.recsports.vt.edu/ sites/drupal.recsports.vt.edu/ files/pages/2015-03-06%2013% 3A26/2015Map-1.jpg


Tech will have a third open practice/scrimmage on April 18 and will wrap up its spring practice session with the annual Maroon-Orange Spring Game on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m.

Shai's court appearance.

Guys, last month, way before Landon Dickerson blew up, I posted on here that he was one of the top OL targets for VT in the 2016 class. now, I have a little more clarity on DBs.

The Hokies want to take preferably one more, but no more than two defensive backs in the class. I can tell you right now, that over the past few weeks, they've basically drastically slowed down recruiting Atlee (Va.) three-star safety JJ Givens and Lake Taylor (Va.) four-star Wayne Davis. I'm told that they would still take commitments from both, but would rather take others. I'm also told by sources that they just aren't fans of how they move and don't think they would be as good of fits as others still on the board. Davis is still visiting for the spring game.

The top target right now is Rivals250 DB Patrice Rene from Episcopal (Va.), whom assistant coach Torrian Gray visited on Wednesday. The Hokies also love Rivals250 safety Marlon Character from Grady (Ga.) and three-star Jalen Elliott from LC Bird (Va.). But Elliott is a kid they've told that they aren't gonna wait around on. They hope he'll commit soon, but will probably move on if he hasn't by the middle of the summer.

As always, things can change, but this is the current stance right now.

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]

This post was edited on 4/17 11:27 AM by Jason Stamm

Guys, my full interview with three-star safety JJ Givens from Atlee (Va.), who as I noted, was the first in line at the Rivals Camp.

Givens goes over recruiting

Guys, new offer out by coach Buzz Williams and the Hokies today, to Prestonwood Christian Academy (TX) four-star center Schnider Herard, No. 35 in the Rivals150.

Schnider Herard profile

Guys, the main board has already been changed over to the new format. Our boards are next in line. Here's a post that Eric Winter, the head of Rivals, had on the new boards, the other day:


Hey everyone,









Just a quick head's up that Rivals.com will be launching brand spanking new "National" Message Boards early Thursday morning. Starting at approximately 9 p.m. PT Wednesday night, Rivals.com will begin the process of migrating data for the following Message Boards: High School Sports Central and for you National Pastime fans - College Baseball Clubhouse.


Once the migration is complete (approximately 4 to 5 hours with no major complications), the new Rivals.com "National" Message Boards will be live and ready for your enjoyment. The Rivals.com team will monitor the new boards for the next 72 hours, and if all goes well, we intend on launching the new Message Boards across every site in the network (including your home sites) this coming Monday night/Tuesday early am.


Here are some of the new Features & Benefits for the new Rivals.com Message Boards:


1. They are a responsive design[/B]; meaning, they were designed for desktop, tablets and mobile - all in one design and all at the same URL. No need to go to a different address to get the proper version for your device


2. They have a modern, secure and actively maintained framework built for speed & stability

3. There will be no[/B] limit on Thread History, so you can reference old topics or replies at any time

4. There is Private Messaging, Social Profiles and Rich(er) Content - embeddable video, embeddable Tweets, etc

5. You now can set up alerts[/B] and follow users [/B]so you don't miss replies to topics you're participating in or miss great posts from your favorite users. In yourNews Feed[/B] you'll be able to see all of the topics, users, and content that you wish to follow.

6. Dynamic quoting system [/B]so what you select within a thread can be quoted without copying and pasting any code. You select what you want to quote and click Reply over that selection, and it will be put automatically in your reply. You can quote multiple posts[/B] and automatic quoting[/B] is set up so that you can always follow the conversation with a user forgetting to quote.


7. Improved navigation[/B] and search[/B]: quickly jump to the first unread post in a thread or to the top and bottom of each thread. Advanced search features include by keyword, date or thread title.




Once we launch Thursday morning, you will notice a pinned post titled: "Help! How Do I ... for the New Rivals.com Message Boards." Click on that link and you will have numerous threads walking you through everything you need to help make your Message Board experience a truly fun and dynamic one.



Thank you for being a Rivals.com subscriber. Your loyalty to Rivals.com and its local publisher sites is one of the reasons we continue to have the strongest community in the business.


The Rivals.com team and I will have more Product enhancement announcements in May ... and more to come after that.

Hokies, I was still finishing up my last semester at WKU at the time, but I remember exactly what I was doing when I heard the news. I'd just walked into the office at the campus newspaper, the College Heights Herald and every TV was tuned to what was going on. Absolutely horrific set of events that resulted in 32 lives lost.

What were you doing when you heard the news eight years ago?

A few days ago, president Sands tweeted the letter he sent to Malia Obama. He thoroughly explains to her why Virginia Tech would be a fantastic choice. Hitting all of the main points such as best food, great football, and a tight-knit community lifestyle, President Sands hopes to persuade her into being a Hokie. People replied back to his tweet with corrections, approval, and eagarness. The link to his tweet is below.

https://twitter.com/VTSandsman/status/587725621821894656

Guys, I know some of you have asked me about where VT is visiting, as far as recruits. I can tell you from VT staff sources that Shane Beamer and Charley Wiles were in NC today.

Beamer started off the day visiting OL Josh Brown.

Wiles started out the day at Asheboro (NC) to see four-star DE Diondre Overton.

More info coming and I'll be following up with each of these guys very soon.


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]

Guys, here's my full interview with three-star WR Eric Kumah from Forest Park (Va.), who has the same top 10, but the only visit he has planned is to VT for the spring game. Hokies looking like clear favorite right now.

Kumah talks VT, top 10

Guys, four-star Episcopal (Va.) DB Patrice Rene, No. 160 in the Rivals250, told our Rutgers site, ScarletNation.com, that he has a top five of Ohio State, Rutgers, Duke, North Carolina and Virginia Tech. As I mentioned on the post about coaches making visits, assistant coach Torrian Gray visited Rene yesterday. I'll be following up with him very soon to see how that visit went.

Patrice Rene profile

VT has offered 2017 WR Ryan Jones

Guys, we're back at 12:30 pm tomorrow for another big chat. We just finished up the two biggest camps as far as VT recruits, on the camp circuit this year. Even the Hokies' own camps won't have that much talent assembled. Tomorrow, we'll recap the past week, as far as recruiting and spring practice and answer any questions that you have on either or anything else to do with VT. Come take advantage of and get the very most out of your subscriptions!

Click HERE for this week's INsider Chat!

Hard to believe it's been eight years, Hokies. VT asking for a moment of silence at 9:43 AM to honor those who lost their lives on this day eight years ago.




27m27 minutes ago
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Guys, I mentioned it the other day, but kinda under the radar, LB Jonathan Smith visited VT on Friday. I'm told by my VT staff sources that they thought the trip went well, but that Smith was only on campus literally for about three hours, to watch practice. He didn't stay around too long, which they were kinda disappointed in. I don't get a sense that Smith is leaning anywhere right now, though Georgia Tech, where he's visiting Friday, will definitely be a player. We'll see how this one plays out.

Smith talks VT, upcoming

Guys, as mentioned in another thread, Florida State offered four-star OL Josh Ball this morning, but it still looks like the big contenders to VT are West Virginia, Penn State and South Carolina. Virginia was in great shape until Scott Wachenheim left for VMI earlier this year.

Ball gives latest

At long last, four-star CB Wayne Davis will be making his long awaited visit to VT, for the spring game April 25. If all goes well, he could be the next commitment. He'll be visiting East Carolina this weekend, but the Hokies have been the main school he's talked about for a while now and he hasn't visited yet.

I will say, not to put a damper on Davis, but he had to be one of the more disappointing players I saw this weekend. I thought he looked when when I saw him at the state title game in December, but at both camps, he was constantly holding receivers. He pissed a few of them off, who were jawing with him all the way back to the line. When Davis wasn't holding, he looked good, but it seemed like he would panic a bit if he got behind a step or two and just held. He has the physical characteristics to be a great DB and if he got coaching from a guy like Torrian Gray, I think he could be a great college DB. But after the issues he had in camp two days in a row, don't be surprised to see him drop in the Rivals rankings.

Davis on VT, camps

Just wanted to pass on that Florida State has offered four-star OL Josh Ball. Getting ready to post the video interview I did with him in Richmond, but this response from our Mike Farrell:



53m53 minutes ago

Mike Farrell retweeted Adam Friedman
liked his this past weekend, #Hokies tough to beat I think
Mike Farrell added,




Adam Friedman[/B] @RivalsFriedman
#FSU[/URL] just offered a 4-star OL from VA http://bit.ly/1NCRZwk [/URL] @Warchant[/URL] @MichaelWarchant[/URL] @rivalsmike[/URL]2 retweets4 favorites

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Josh Ball profile

JS

Out visiting I believe?
Where are they going and who are the priorities?
Hoping Searels can close Ball and Merritt and Dickerson.


thanks

Picked him right out of the Hawkeye state. Projects at 157, interview and more info in link below

http://iawrestle.com/2015/04/14/top-100-recruit-dayton-racer-of-bettendorf-selects-virginia-tech/

Guys, as we continue to grow and expand, I wanted to officially share the news of our two newest additions to the HokieHaven.com team, Brittany Keup and Kelly Porazzo. Both have already hit the ground running, as many of you probably also saw the story on the defense Friday by Brittany.

I couldn't be more thrilled to have them on board! They'll help out where needed, in team coverage, practices, games, breakdowns, video and recruiting. So basically, they'll both be well versed in everything Hokies. Please join me in giving them warm welcomes to the site!

Brittany's user name is Brittany Keup, while Kelly's user name is HHKellyP


****Brittany Keup is a junior multimedia journalism major at Virginia Tech and has been interested in sports journalism since middle school. She started her journalism career in high school, but started writing for the Collegiate Times in the fall of her freshman year. This past year she has been the co-sports editor of the Collegiate Times and has taken on two other part time jobs as a writing center coach and cycle instructor for Virginia Tech. She has also been a part of VTTV, SGA and on the evaluation team for VT Rec Sports.

Brittany grew up watching college football with her dad since she was little and fell in love with sports early on. Ever since, she has wanted to pursue a career in sports journalism, specifically college football. At one point she hopes to write about college football for some sort of newspaper.


****Kelly Porazzo is a freshman at Virginia Tech majoring in Business and Communications. She's proud to have made the Dean's List this year. She grew up watching sports with her dad and developed a real passion for football and basketball. Kelly was on the dance team for four years at Deep Run High School in Glen Allen, Virginia. Her final two years, she was captain of the team that won championships each year. She cheered on the Hokies this year and enjoyed every moment of it. She is very excited to be joining the Hokie Haven team!

This post was edited on 4/6 11:30 PM by Jason Stamm

Mentioned this in my Insider notes the other day, but here's the interview I did with WR Tino Ellis. He says he's opening up more, but I still think this is a two-horse race between VT and Maryland. And honestly, it wouldn't surprise me to see him commit to either one. It''ll be interesting to see where his DMV buddies commit to, most notably Dwayne Haskins.

Ellis gives latest

Guys, just a heads up that if all goes well, they will be live tomorrow and no later than the end of the week. This has been LOOOOOONG overdue and awaited, but these bad boys are sharp! Absolutely thrilled to get them up and going!

Great read. I'll take VT's d any day, but this year looks extra promising.