Early this month, one year after Hokie fans were enraged by recruiting analyst Tom Lemming's photo shoot in Charlottesville, the Tech coaching staff welcomed Lemming to Blacksburg for a similar shoot. The shoot was held on Sunday, May 5th under beautiful, sunny skies, and by all accounts was a big success.

Lemming, who produces his own recruiting publications and covers recruiting for ESPN, conducts a number of photo shoots each year in which he gathers top prospects from a region to a college campus in order to take some shots of all the players for his publications. Last year, he was contacted by UVa coach Al Groh about doing a shoot in Charlottesville, and Lemming shot pictures of the top prospects from the state of Virginia on UVa's campus on May 12th, 2001.

The move was a smart and aggressive one by Groh, and although there were many reasons why UVa's recruiting class ended up being so highly rated, the photo shoot, which gave top prospects the chance to get together and talk and be wooed by Groh and company, certainly contributed to the Cavaliers' recruiting success. 25 players attended the shoot, and 12 signed with UVa. Five signed with Tech.

The photo shoot rankled Tech fans, who (to put it nicely) questioned Lemmings' involvement in the shoot and his constant hyping of Virginia's recruiting class throughout the fall and winter. Lemming wound up ranking UVa's class #5 in the country, and while others also gave their class a high rating, Lemming rated it higher than everyone else.

The whole process seemed sordid to Hokie fans and turned many of them against Lemming. But recruiting often makes strange bedfellows, and the Hokie coaching staff, instead of throwing darts at Lemming, embraced the idea of doing a similar photo shoot at Blacksburg this year. Lemming was quoted by the Richmond Times-Dispatch the day before last year's UVa shoot as saying, "I talked to [Virginia Tech coach] Frank Beamer today, because they were concerned it was all for Virginia. I told him, 'I'll do it at Virginia Tech next year.'"

Lemming stayed true to his word. Led by new Tech QB Coach Kevin Rogers, who knew Lemming from Rogers' days at Notre Dame, Tech set up a photo shoot in Blacksburg with Lemming and held it May 5th, nearly one year after the UVa shoot.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Blacksburg, and the Hokies pulled out all the stops. Tech coach Frank Beamer and Tech President Charles Steger spoke to the recruits, and the VT coaching staff pulled aside approximately half of the assembled players (along with family members that were accompanying them) and spoke with them one-on-one.

The recruits got a tour of the Merryman Center (including Legends Hall and the weight room), the Tech practice fields, Lane Stadium, and the Virginia Tech campus.

The photo shoot paid almost immediate dividends, as the Hokies accepted a verbal commitment from Centreville High School (Clifton, VA) offensive lineman Matt Welsh the following Tuesday. Welsh, the #3-rated player in the state by Doug Doughty, had attended the VT Spring Game and liked the Hokies before the photo shoot, but apparently, being on campus that day pushed him over the edge into committing.

The photo shoot also was directly responsible for Tech's second commitment of the 2003 recruiting class, DE Kory Robertson from Magna Vista High School (Ridgeway, VA). Robertson had never seen Tech's campus when he attended the photo shoot, and he liked it enough that when the Hokies extended their scholarship offer about ten days later, he immediately accepted it. There is no question that Robertson's attendance at the photo shoot was a big factor in his commitment.

In addition to Welsh and Robertson, 46 other players attended the photo shoot. That's a total of 48 players -- BeamerBall.com reported 46 players, but Doug Doughty and other sources said there were 48. The large majority of them were from the state of Virginia, and yes, we managed to get our hands on the complete list of players

Or at least most of them. Our list is 46 of the 48 players. You might wonder if perhaps the 48 quoted by some sources is an error, but no, we have been told that two of the players' names are not being revealed, and their identities are being guarded as closely as nuclear weapons secrets. Okay, bad example, but they are being kept under wraps.

The list we got included 38 players from Virginia, 3 from North Carolina, 2 from Tennessee, 1 from Ohio, 1 from Maryland, and 1 from Pennsylvania. 14 of the top 15 juniors in Virginia on Doug Doughty's list were there, and 17 of top 25.

The complete list of players appears below. After the table, we'll highlight a few of them in the following text. There's no rhyme or reason for talking about the players we're going to talk about, so don't read anything into it.

1.) Xavier Adibi, DE, 6-3, 215, Phoebus High School, Hampton

Xavier is, of course, the brother of current VT defensive end Nathaniel Adibi. He is profiled elsewhere in this issue, and in that profile, he names VT and Maryland as co-leaders, but on Rivals.com three weeks ago, he gave VT a slight lead over Maryland. Virginia has not offered yet, but an offer is "imminent," according to one report. Adibi made Lemming's early Top 100 list on ESPN.com as a linebacker.

2.) Vince Hall, LB, 6-1, 230, Western Branch High School, Chesapeake

Hall is this year's stud in-state linebacker, and he joins Adibi as one of only two players from the state of Virginia to make Lemming's Top 100 list. Hall has already eliminated Virginia from consideration and has named Tech and Tennessee as co-leaders, with a large pack of schools following close behind. Rated the #1 player in South Hampton Roads by the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.

3.) Matt Welsh, OL, 6-5, 275, Centreville High School, Clifton

Welsh is a Virginia Tech commitment and one of just three OL's the Hokies have offered a scholarship to (Tripp Caroll out of Charlotte, NC -- who favors the Hokies and is one of the top players in North Carolina -- is the second, and Marshall Ausberry from West Springfield High in Springfield, VA, is the third).

4.) Kenny Lewis Jr., RB, 5-9, 185, GW-Danville High School, Danville

Lewis is the son of former Hokie running back Kenny Lewis. The Hokies have not yet offered Lewis, and it's not clear if they will, but Lewis favors Tech. He has no offers at this point.

8.) Eddie Pinigis, OL, 6-8, 285, Jefferson-Forest, Lynchburg

At this point, Pinigis has not been offered a scholarship by the Hokie coaches, but a lot of college coaches like him and his potential.

10.) Noah Sutherland, DL, 6-5, 245, Kellam High School, Virginia Beach

Sutherland so far has been offered a scholarship by East Carolina, but no one else. Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Maryland are also recruiting him. Rated the #2 player in South Hampton Roads by the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.

11.) Brett Warren, LB, 6-2, 205, Centreville High School, Clifton

The Hokies have offered Warren, the brother of current Hokie Blake Warren, a scholarship, and according to Rivals.com, Tech is the only school to offer so far. Warren is reportedly a very, very heavy Tech lean at this point.

12.) Philip Brown, CB, 5-11, 185, Phoebus High School, Hampton

The Hokies lead for Brown, who is by far the best cornerback in the state and who has prototypical cornerback size in the mold of Ike Charlton and DeAngelo Hall. The Hokies lead over Maryland, Virginia (his only other offer besides VT), and WVU.

14.) Chris Ellis, DE, 6-5, 230, Bethel High School, Hampton

The Hokies are very high on Ellis at defensive end and feel that he is underrated. Tech recently offered Ellis a scholarship, and the Hokies lead for his services, over a pack of teams that includes Virginia (also offered), Maryland, Syracuse, Georgia, Notre Dame, and East Carolina.

15.) Roy Norfleet, RB/LB, 6-0, 200, Western Branch High School, Chesapeake

Norfleet's only offer at this point is from ECU, and at this point, that makes them his favorite, over a pack of schools that includes VT and UVa. Rated the #3 player in South Hampton Roads by the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.

20.) Isaiah Gardner, RB, 5-11, 185, Salem High School, Virginia Beach

Gardner's stock is rising fast, and according to a recent article in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, the Hokies have offered him a scholarship. If Virginia Tech truly did make an offer, then it was very recent, because our Tech recruiting sources say that as of last week, Gardner had not been offered by VT. Rated the #4 player in South Hampton Roads by the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.

The Hokies have offered scholarships to:

DB Chase Anastasio (6-1, 170, Robinson HS, Fairfax)
OL Marshall Ausberry (6-5, 311, West Springfield HS, Springfield)
TE/DE Duane Brown (6-5, 250, Hermitage HS, Richmond)
TE John Kinzer (6-4, 235, Robinson HS, Fairfax)
TE Nick Marshman (6-6, 258, Turner Ashby HS, Bridgewater)
DT Carlton Powell (6-3, 260, Great Bridge HS, Chesapeake)

QB/ATH Chris Hawkins, 6-3, 185, Southern Vance HS, Henderson NC: The Hokies like Hawkins as a QB and have offered him a scholarship.

LB/TE Vincent Redd, 6-6, 245, Elizabethton HS, Elizabethton, TN: Elizabethton is Shawn Witten's high school. Redd has a VT offer and made Lemming's early Top 100 list as a defensive lineman.

FB Joey Razzano, 6-0, 230, Milford High School, Milford, Ohio: The son of former Hokie and former Cincinnati Bengal Rick Razzano, Joey has a VT offer (along with at least four other schools) and has named the Hokies and Ole Miss (where his brother is) as his co-leaders. He is the top fullback in Ohio and was named as the #25 player in the state of Ohio by G&W Recruiting.

DT John Shaw, 6-4, 275, Spring Grove High School, Spring Grove, PA: Shaw is one of VT's top defensive tackle targets, if not the top DT target. He made Lemming's Top 100 list as a defensive lineman.

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