Thank you for winning another one for the ACC.

Guys, my VT staff sources have informed me that the Hokies are expecting a few visitors on campus today. They'll tour campus, facilities and hang out during practice today:

LB Jonathan Smith, Scotland County (NC), two stars, No. 46 in NC

Also, a couple of 2017 guys from Chancellor (Va.) who don't currently have any offers:
WR, EJ Jenkins
DE, Yetur Matos

And a sidebar, Smith will be at the Rivals Camp in Charlotte on Sunday, so I'll get a full look at him there.

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]

Guys, V did have one visitor on hand yesterday, in LC Bird (Va.) three-star ATH Jalen Elliott. But on his way home last night, he was offered by Georgia. Here's the story from our UGA site. I'll also be catching up with him to see how his VT visit was and I'll see him Saturday in Richmond for the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour.

Elliott on UGA

Great first article by our Kelly Porazzo, on the happenings this week with the offense. Thoughts?

Offensive changes

Well he might be a headache to defend in the future.

Guys, I spoke earlier with West Oaks Academy (Fla.) small forward De'Riante Jenkins, No. 121 in the latest Rivals150 for 2016, released yesterday.

Jenkins is a kid VT liked a lot last summer and offered at the end of the summer. But Jenkins was originally a 2015 guy a reclassified to the 2016 class. The Hokies have stayed in touch with his coach, but seem to have lost some interest, at least until they can see him again on the AAU circuit.

Jenkins said he hasn't talked to assistant coach Steve Roccaforte in a while, but that he's interested in VT. The school that's been on him most, though, is Clemson. Jenkins said he's visited there multiple times.

I talked to Jenkins because this is a kid VT has already been made aware of and will probably get on more as the summer progresses. He's one of those that a lot of schools are waiting to get a feel for, before offering.

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]

We have a construction project coming up in Fredericksburg and I'll be moving there. Would like to ask some questions of the premium board about the area and also let folks know we are looking for two assistant superintendents and possibly co-ops from your construction program at school.

I've been on the Auburn board since it started.

Week three of VT's spring football is coming to a close, but this weekend marks a HUGE one in recruiting with the Charlotte and Richmond stops of the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour. Over two-thirds of the Hokies' targets for the 2016 class will be in attendance and we'll be there for full coverage. At 12:30 pm ET tomorrow, come get the very latest with everything and get answers to all your VT questions! Come take advantage of and get the very most our of your subscriptions!

Click HERE for this week's INsider Chat!

Video on assistant coaches Shane Beamer and Stacy Searels on the position moves of Nijman and Caleb:

Position moves

Definitely not a one time proposition........ will be an annual anti up. campaign....

Will VT make it year end - year out over the next 5 - 10 years? longer? Will this effect Beamer's retirement timing?

WIll small schools like Duke & Wake be able to fund fball team rosters of 60-70 guys as VT does?

There have media reports that this will only leave super powers left , that smaller schools with smaller alum bases will drop in classification or drop sports (particularly fball - the money maker & budget breaker)

...the beginning of the end for many programs?

What do you think or expect will happen.?????????

My assessment--------- I think VT will try to comply with the funding and will have success for the first 5 -10 years.... But I feel the landscape of other programs without the revenue streams of the big 5 conferences....will drop in level.....will try to give up smaller sports(non revenues sports) and because of Title 9 (equal funding of women's sports vs mens sports) - womens sports will be totally funded because of such large football (70-90) scholarship rosters. I could see programs cutting back the number of scholies in football.

If you follow economic news reports.....US taxpayers salaries are stagnant. Salaries being cut back---many people struggling to get by. College expenses rising. I think people will try to roll with if for few years but will opt for staying home & watching it on tv (as long as that lasts)..

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN?

Go Badgers. A great game tonight and a great win for the Badgers. I will be rooting for the Cheeseheads for sure. Oh yea, how about those comments by Harrison from Kentucky. This stems from an underlying dissatisfaction to losing to those not like you which basically means..............racism at its core. Incredibly, somehow, someway, in the present day US of old A in 2015, the guy who calls it out and recognizes it and voices the wrongdoing.................becomes the wrongdoer! Incredible stuff? I give this post no more than 24 hours and it's gone. Sad indeed. If it happens one way, "we can't talk about." If it happens the other way, "it's fair game" and a guy like Kamiski would be suspended tonight.

On Wisconsin!

Prediction?
Devils 74, Wisconsin 70.
Objectivity always trumps emotion.
This post was edited on 4/6 6:22 PM by lucustookis

I spoke earlier with St. Joseph's (Pa.) 2017 four-star running back D'Andre Swift earlier just to see how things have progressed with him. Swift is a high four-star in the Rivals100 to watch for 2017, so likely a top 50 player in the country.

Swift has 11 offers, but it's very early with his recruitment right now. He's taken just one college visit total, to Penn State March 28. Swift seems to really like that visit and also liked what his former teammate, 2015 Rivals250 CB John Reid has had to say about the Nittany Lions.

What's a bit surprising, though, is that while Swift said he has a lot of interest in VT, he hasn't heard much of anything from assistant coach Cornell Brown or the staff this year. That will likely change very soon. There hasn't been a bit push in part because Swift has been slow to get his recruitment going, as evidenced by his taking his first college visit not two weeks ago. But Swift said he does like where the program is overall right now and thinks big things are coming for the Hokies.

No plans to visit right now, but Swift said he'll likely visit for camp during the summer. No other visit plans are set yet, either, though the three jumping out that he said he wants to visit this summer are Arizona State, Florida State and Miami.

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]

D'Andre Swift profile

Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but if you haven't seen it, Darius Redman tweets out a short video with his words of wisdon at 9 pm every Sunday. I've retweeted him a few times, but check it out:


This post was edited on 4/8 4:36 PM by Jason Stamm

CalcKnowledge

What a great Saturday night this turned out to be........LMAO.......Coach Slim Ball goes down with his one and dones in tow. I guess you can get a good buy on those stupid 40-0 shirts they were fighting over.....Go Wisconsin!!!!!

Guys, for those who missed it, the Rivals150 for the basketball class of 2016 has been updated. Here's some notable VT targets:

Markelle Fultz, SG, No. 25
Mamadi Diakite, PF, No. 38
Jonathan Isaac, SF, No. 46
Bruce Brown, SG, No. 54
Eric Hester, PG, No. 60
Howard Washington, PG, No. 84
Greg Williams, SG, No. 112
Joe Hampton, PF, No. 115
De'Riante Jenkins, SF, No. 121
Kodye Pugh, SF, No. 145
De'Monte Buckingham, SG, No. 146



Full Rivals150 Rankings

Announced just a short while ago by VT, Yosuah Nijman has moved from DE to OT, while Joel Caleb has moved from RB to WR. Thoughts?

Guys, I spoke a little earlier with Grady (Ga.) four-star safety Marlon Character, who has had VT in his top five for a few months now. Character, No. 195 in the Rivals250, said that's still the case, but he has made one change.

Four of that five are the same, in VT, Georgia, Ole Miss and South Carolina. But he now has Ohio State in that group, instead of Alabama. Character said he just hasn't heard much from the Tide recently and hasn't gotten much in the mail from them.

What's impressive for the Hokies, though, is how much he likes them without ever even visiting. So far, Character has been to South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and Ole Miss.

The big thing for Character with VT is assistant coach Torrian Gray. Character said the two talk very regularly and Gray always tells him how he could play for the Hokies right now. Character said he also loves Gray's history of putting defensive backs in the NFL. He specifically cited Kam Chancellor and Kyle Fuller, though he said he didn't realize until very recently that Fuller went to VT.

This weekend, Character said he'll be visiting Georgia again, where he's been multiple times. And I do think the Bulldogs are the favorite here. But he told me he'll likely be at VT for the spring game April 25. Character said he was supposed to visit Ohio State on Thursday, but that it won't work out, so that's a good sign. But again, for the Hokies to be as high on his list as they are without him visiting and him seeing three of the other four in his top group, that's a great sign for VT. he's alluded to making a decision soon before, but didn't give any indication of that when he and I talked.

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]

Marlon Character profile

I'm surprised nobody has posted this yet, but Cody Grimm has been announced as the new defensive Grad Assistant. Great news!

Guys, I spoke earlier with four-star DE Cameron Brown, who visited VT over the weekend for the scrimmage. Brown has been at Bullis (Md.), but said after the semester, he's transferring to Paint Branch (Md.) because Bullis had gotten to be too much of a financial burden for his family.

This was Brown's first trip to VT. The biggest thing he admitted to me was going into the visit, he thought kinda negatively of VT. He'd always heard that it was "in the middle of nowhere." But once he got to campus, Brown said he didn't feel that way. He thought it a little when he was leaving, but during his visit, Brown said he liked the campus, liked the facilities and liked getting to watch the scrimmage.

Brown said it's been a combination of talking to assistants Zohn Burden and Charley Wiles in his recruitment. He said them, along with Bud Foster, told him he was a high priority for the class, which Brown liked to hear. He also enjoyed talking with coach Frank Beamer in his office.

It's been pretty busy for Brown this spring. He's also visited South Carolina, Wake Forest, NC State, Duke, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Virginia, Rutgers and Pittsburgh. The visits to the NC schools all came during a four-day trip last week. The only visit he has planned right now is Alabama April 18 for the spring game there.

I get the feeling he's open for now, but will be narrowing his list to 8-10 by the end of the month. It looks like VT will get one of those spots, but it's tough to tell if they're higher than that. Brown is also running track this spring and said he has a meet next Saturday. He hopes to get to the Rivals Combine May 10 in Washington DC. He's running track for Bullis, where he played the past couple of seasons, but will be transferring to Paint Branch (Md.) at the end of the semester.

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]

Cameron Brown profile

Guys, just got a text message a little while ago from 2017 Dematha (Md.) four-star RB Anthony McFarland that he arrived at VT earlier today and will be visiting for tomorrow's practice. McFarland is in the Rivals100 to watch for 2017. More coming.

Anthony McFarland profile

What an irony it is that our 7-6 football team was the only team to beat the national champs and our 12-20 basketball team lost to the eventual national champions in overtime. It shows what a slim difference there is between an average (FB) or even poor team team (BB) that gives maximum effort and a great team that doesn't or has a bad day. Hopefully next year will be one with much more consistent effort and execution in both sports aided by an infusion of more talent. I am cautiously optimistic!!!

Guys, I spoke earlier with Hough (NC) three-star WR Corey Sutton, Rivals.com's No. 36 player in NC. He visited VT over the weekend, his first trip to Blacksburg.

Right now, Sutton has four offers, from Colorado State, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and James Madison. The latter came while on a visit there on Friday. He'd spent the first half of the day at Virginia, before going over to JMU. And you guys will like that Sutton said that "UVA was a good visit, but it's a little bit less than Virginia Tech."

Sutton said he loved the VT visit and seeing the Hokies' scrimmage on Saturday. He spoke a lot with assistant coaches Shane Beamer and Zohn Burden. Both told him they basically likes his size, speed and physicalness and will be watching him a lot more. But for now, Sutton is a wait and see with the other targets before he gets a Hokies offer.

Sutton is close with Mook Reynolds, whom he played seven-on-seven with and Adonis Alexander, who's also from Charlotte. I watched Sutton and Mook at the DMV Elite 7v7 tournament last spring. That was actually my first look at him. But he's added a lot more even since that point. But Mook is a big reason why Sutton is even getting a look, so we'll see how it progresses.

Tomorrow, Sutton is flying out to Colorado State for a few days and then he'll be at Wake Forest Thursday, NC State Saturday, then the Rivals camp on Sunday in Charlotte. Sutton will also be at VT's spring game April 25. Long way to go here, but certainly a kid to watch our for.

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]

Corey Sutton profile

Guys, I talked just a few minutes ago with Mallard Creek (NC) four-star DE Josh Brown, who visited VT yesterday. Brown has been committed to Florida State since September, but that sounds like a very open commitment right now.

The visit was Brown's first to Blacksburg and he seems to really have enjoyed it. Brown said he made the trip with his dad and they toured the facilities, watched the scrimmage and then he watched film with Bud Foster. I think some schools have talked about switching him to LB, but Brown said he also liked that assistant coach Charley Wiles told him he would play DE at VT.

Brown still says he's committed to the Noles and that he's solid, but it's hard to call him solid when he visited South Carolina last weekend, VT this weekend and is right now traveling to Alabama with his dad, where he'll spend tomorrow and Tuesday. He is going to Florida State next Friday and Saturday for the spring game, but he hopes to see LSU, Oregon, Miami, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas at some point this summer.

Brown will be back in Charlotte in time for the Rivals camp next Sunday. So I'll get an even better look at him there.

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]

Josh Brown profile

Footage, including from our partners at WSLS, from Saturday's scrimmage:

Highlight video

For those who missed it earlier, coach Frank Beamer after today's scrimmage:

Beamer video