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Virginia Tech's football camp finished up on Wednesday, July 17th, and the buzz out of camp this year surrounds Goose Creek (SC) running back Rodney Kinlaw, who TSL sources say was the most impressive camper out of the 600 players who attended.

Kinlaw is from the same area in South Carolina that produced former VT player Pierson Prioleau, as well as Penn State standout Courtney Brown and former Georgia Tech QB Joe Hamilton.

Due to a new NCAA rule, coaches are not allowed to offer scholarships to players at their summer camps, but VT offered Kinlaw one as soon as he got home. Sources tell us Kinlaw is very excited about the Tech offer, but VT will face stiff competition from in-state schools Clemson and South Carolina, as well as Northwestern and Penn State. Of that group, all have offered scholarships but Northwestern.

Meanwhile, Milford, OH fullback Joey Razzano appears to be on the verge of committing to VT. Rivals.com's Mike Farrell is already reporting Razzano as a commitment, based on some comments Razzano made to Farrell, in which he said that he was going to announce his choice next week and that VT would be the place he was going. Our sources tell us that as of Thursday night, Razzano had not contacted the Tech coaches to commit.

Chris Horne, who writes recruiting articles for TheSabre.com and TechSideline.com, spoke to Razzano yesterday, before Farrell reported him as a commitment, and Razzano told Horne that he was "leaning to Tech." Razzano did not make it to the VT football camp this week, because he stayed back home to continue rehab on a fractured foot, an injury he suffered last season. He had already seen VT on several occasions and did not feel the need to visit the campus again.

Razzano (6-0, 230, 4.7) told Chris Horne that his primary strength as a fullback is his blocking, but that he can run and catch the football out of the backfield, as well.

"I want just to get faster this summer," said Razzano. "I am doing physical therapy on my foot, hoping to just get in shape by the end of the summer. I haven’t played in a long time, so getting in shape is important. I also want to get faster and build up."

We'll let you know when and if Razzano's commitment becomes "official."

2003 Recruiting Database Up and Running

We're still working on a massive revamp to our recruiting database that we'll launch in a few weeks, and for now, we have stocked our old database with recruits for the 2003 class. Take a look at the TSL Recruiting Database Page and click "Display Prospects to see what we've got so far.

At this point, we've got just under 50 players in the database, with a few more to be added. Some time in August, we'll roll out the new database, and it will include loads more information, plus rankings from various recruiting services and other goodies. Keep an eye out for it, because it will blow away anything we've ever done before.

Football Right Around the Corner

Believe it or not, football is right around the corner. Virginia Tech's first game is only 37 days away, and the hysteria kicks off next Wednesday, July 24th with Big East Media day. The pundits will once again gather in New Jersey and pick the Miami Hurricanes to win the league.

The only question for Hokie fans is where the writers will slot the Hokies, somewhere between #2 and #4. Look for Pittsburgh, Boston College and Syracuse to get a lot of respect this year. The media will probably pick Tech #3 or #4, based on uncertainty at the QB position, losses on defense, and road games at Miami, Boston College and Syracuse.

The Big East media has never been one to go out on a limb, but we think that Boston College, with a whopping 17 starters returning from last year's 8-4 Music City Bowl championship team, will get the nod at #2, which would be quite a departure from years past. Not only are the Eagles a good team with a lot of starters returning, but they've got Big East "swing" games against Syracuse and Virginia Tech at home.

We're predicting that the media polling will go this way (remember, this is our prediction for the media's prediction, not our prediction -- got it?):

1. Miami
2. Boston College
3. Syracuse
4. Virginia Tech
5. Pittsburgh
6. West Virginia
7. Rutgers
8. Temple

We also predict that the voting between Syracuse and VT for #3 and #4 is going to be tight and could go either way.

Here at TechSideline.com, we've been taking it easy and kicking back this summer (yeah, right!), but here in less than a week, it's going to be show time, with preseason articles, previews, and team breakdowns, all leading up to the season opener against Arkansas State on Sunday, August 25th. Stay tuned to the web site and get ready to rock for Hokie football 2002!

Next Week's TSL Extra

The next issue of the TSL Extra will be out on Tuesday the 23rd or Wednesday the 24th. Here are some of the articles we're planning:

Rating the 1990 Recruiting Class: the first in a series of articles that ranks Virginia Tech recruiting classes of the 1990's, using a numbers-based formula. Don't miss the first installment of what we promise will be a fascinating series that answers the question once and for all: What class is Virginia Tech's best recruiting class ever?

When You're Talking Playoff, It's About the Money: Jim Alderson writes that the biggest hurdle to instituting a playoff for college football is not figuring out who will play in it, but who gets the money.

We Do the Hokey-Pokey: Wayne Crump brings us an interesting article about the origins of the word "Hokie." Nonsense word? Maybe not.

VHSCA Report: Chris Horne reports on VT players in the VHSCA All-Star game.

A Player's View: William and Mary-bound Alan Wheeling played for the West in the VHSCA All-Star game. We get his take on the VT recruits that he practiced with, played with, and played against.

We've got other articles in the works, and it should be another great issue.
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