(Note from Will:  this is the second article I have written about the 1998 Virginia Tech Football Recruiting Roundup held at Boomer's and Greg Roberts Sports Club this past weekend.  This article concentrates on the recruits and the films that were shown)

The film clips of the players consisted of 2-4 clips for each player, and the clips were presented in four groups of five players each.  At the time the recruiting roundup was held, RB Keith Burnell of Chesapeake had not signed yet, so we didn't get to see film of Keith. But we did see the other players in this class.

I don't recall any particular impressions of many of the players that we saw. That's probably a function of the clips themselves, because many of the clips we saw were either a little fuzzy or not very memorable.

The kids all looked good, although some looked better than others. Most of them looked like men among boys, and you could see the speed and size that drew the coaches to these players, particularly in the skill positions.

Here are the groups, and the comments I have on them. But first, a note to the recruits, their fans, and their families: just because I don't mention a particular recruit doesn't mean he's not going to be a good one! It just means I don't recall his clips. I was hanging out with friends at the same time I was trying to take notes, so forgive me if I skip over anybody.

These kids all played quarterback and/or defensive back in high school, and that's why they were grouped together. Among the players who were recruited as quarterbacks, Noel and Turner were both big kids who really stood out in the films (they are 6-2 and 6-3 and are both listed at 210 pounds). Noel and Turner were shown passing the ball from the pocket, while Vick was shown rolling out and running, in addition to passing.

All passing clips were impressive, of course (the coaches aren't going to show us clips of our recruits throwing interceptions). Coach Cavanaugh, who recruited Vick, told us that regardless of what you see elsewhere, Vick is 6-1, 185 pounds. He is not 175, as has been reported some places, and he is not 205, like I read in one publication. As a matter of fact, Vick is slightly thin and needs to bulk up a little before I'll feel comfortable with him using his running ability and taking hits.

T.J. Jackson was an impressive athlete (#16 recruit in the state of Florida, according to one recruiting service), and I'm looking forward to seeing him play for Tech. The coaches say that he'll get a look at Rover next year.

For some reason, I think DB Willie Pile may prove to be the real sleeper of this class. He wasn't very highly rated (#31 in the state, according to The Roanoke Times), and he was tacked on late to the class, without much fanfare. But he's got good size (6-2, 190) and in the clips that were showed, he had good speed and acceleration.

The coaches seem to be extremely high on Travis Turner, the Group A Player of the Year. Turner committed to Tech early, but John Ballein said that if he had held out and announced late like Jake Houseright, he would have received national attention and would have been a big-time recruit. I keep hearing this a lot from the coaches, so keep an eye on Travis. Travis will get a chance at quarterback, but he's a good enough athlete to play elsewhere.

Out of this group, Parham, Suggs, and Whitaker really stood out, mostly because of the clips that were shown.

Suggs was shown peeling off a long TD run up the middle against Hampton in the Group AAA championship game (by the way, nice uniforms, Crabbers - who were your design consultants, the Denver Broncos?). Suggs's stats speak for themselves - over 2700 yards and 30 touchdowns this past year - but perhaps his best stat was the 270+ yards rushing he had against an excellent Hampton team.

One of the Whitaker clips had to be seen to be believed. Ronyell had a long run for a TD in which he shook off tacklers, cut back across the field, accelerated down the middle of a pack of defenders, and then dragged a crowd of about five opposing players into the end zone. The coaches are as high on Whitaker as they are on Turner, saying that he has the potential to be a "big-time" college player. Me, I like Ronyell because he resisted persistent recruiting efforts from the UVa coaching staff, who wanted him to renege on his commitment to Tech.

One of Parham's clips really made an impression on me. On the play, Parham ran a corner route, and the defense blew the coverage. Terrell broke open into the corner of the end zone and was all by himself. The quarterback lollipopped the ball to him, and when it came down after about ten minutes, Parham did not let it drop into his gut and trap it there, like poor receivers will do. Instead, he reached up with his hands and caught the ball out in front of his face. And when the ball hit his hands - BAP! - it stuck there. He showed good footwork on the play, too.

The other two players in this group, Cobb and Johnson, are both 6-3. Cobb will start out at DB, and Johnson will play WR.

I didn't take any notes on this group. Anthony Nelson, a weightlifting legend that stands 6-4 and weighs 320, is the real star of this group, but the buzz is that he may not qualify. Pray for Anthony, folks. Pray for him to get the grades and test scores. He could be Tech's next legendary offensive lineman.

Marchant and Nihipali are the JUCO's from Dixie Junior College, and the coaches said that among JUCO players, they were our #1 and #2 targets. Nihipali, who stands 6-5, is called "Shorty," and the coaches say that he is further along than Marchant at this stage. At least one of these guys - more than likely Shorty - may crack the starting lineup this year.

Owens is an excellent wrestler, and that's a quality I've always felt is very useful in football, because one of the things it teaches an athlete is leverage - how to gain it, and how to use it. Owens just flat bulled over anyone who got near him in the clips we saw.

Hicks is listed at 6-3, 260, and in his clips, he looked like he was five feet wide and strong as an ox. He has yet to qualify … so do some more praying, Hokie fans.

Although the program listed Franklin as a DL, the clips showed him playing offensive line, and he really impressed me. Franklin showed excellent awareness of where the defensive players were, and he was relentless, never giving up on his blocks.

In one clip, Franklin was blocking for a QB who had rolled out, and Franklin picked a defensive target out and chased him all over the field in an effort to keep him off the quarterback. In another clip, Franklin knocked down his defender on a running play and then turned and blocked two other guys who were trailing the play. I repeat myself: the kid is relentless.

Now, Jake Houseright. I have one thing to say: ohbabyohbabyohbabyohbaby!

Wow. I was expecting Houseright to look good, but I wasn't expecting to be blown away. Jake is a big kid (6-3, 220) who is remarkably agile and explosive for a young kid that size. The first clip showed Jake returning a punt. He caught the ball, ran sideways, and showed some great footwork in tiptoeing over a tackler who was diving at his legs. Then Jake turned North-South and just blew up the sideline for a long gain.

In another clip, Houseright was playing fullback, and he took a handoff and exploded up the middle like he'd been shot from a rifle. Jake gained about 2000 yards and scored 25 TD's as a fullback this year, if I remember correctly.

The coaches then ran a montage of quick defensive clips that showed Jake terrorizing an assortment of outmanned Group AA players. Houseright was the Group AA Player of the Year, which means that the Hokies landed the A and AA Players of the Year in Turner and Houseright.

When asked if Houseright would start next year, the Hokie coaches coyly said, "Oh, he'll have a chance to start next year. All of these kids will have a chance."

In Closing

This is the first one of these recruiting roundups that I've been to, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Boomer's and Greg Roberts Sports Club did a great job of putting on the show, and John Ballein and Coach Cavanaugh were fun to listen to in person. I wish each and every one of you could have been there, and I hope you enjoyed this recap and that it proved to be informative.

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