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A Random Look at Where the Hokies' Recruiting Class is Ranked
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com

With the crush of signing day this week, it has been hard to take a look around at anything else, but I did manage to surf around a bit to see where the Hokies' recruiting class was ranked.

The answer is, not very high.

Getting at recruiting rankings is not as easy as it used to be.  A lot of the information is pay information, or the services I used to check have disappeared or merged, or they don't rank -- or haven't yet ranked -- teams beyond the top 25.

I was looking at a TSLMail from a couple of years ago (TSLMail #18, February 8, 2002), in which I listed rankings from:

• SuperPrep
• PrepStar
• Rivals.com
• CNN/SI
• CollegeFootballNews.com
• The Pigskin Post

Of those services, SuperPrep has now joined TheInsiders.com -- new since 2002 -- and Pigskin Post has ceased to exist, swallowed up by Fox Sports, along with CollegeFootballNews. CFN still cranks out lots of content, but Pigskin Post no longer does.

SuperPrep still does team recruiting rankings on TheInsiders.com, but only the Top 25 teams so far, and the Hokies are nowhere to be found there.

PrepStar does team rankings, but if you want to see anything beyond the top 10, you have to subscribe to their web site -- and we don't.

Rivals.com does rankings, of course, and there we find that the Hokies' class is ranked #41 in the country, in terms of total points, which is a formula involving star rankings and number of commitments. If you sort that linked list by "Avg. Stars" (click the column heading) you find that -- aha! -- the Hokies are ranked #25 in the nation in terms of average star rating per recruit. VT was hurt in the overall rankings by having a class of less than 20 players.

Moving on to CNN/SI ... well, all they do is reprint TheInsiders.com's Top 25 list, which is SuperPrep's Top 25 list ... we're just running in circles here, aren't we?

CollegeFootballNews.com -- now part of FoxSports.com -- lists just the Top 25 classes, and the Hokies aren't on their list.

So what does that leave us with? A handful of lists, and the Hokies not ranked in anyone's Top 25. The only list that goes beyond 25 teams, Rivals.com, has VT at #41. That tells us that the Hokies are generally regarded as being outside the top 25 in recruiting rankings, with a low player count of 19 players (according to most services) contributing to that.

What about how the Hokies did against their future (as of July 1, 2004) conference foes in the ACC? (If you like reading that the Hokies are going to be in the ACC, as I do, I'll wait a minute while you go back and reread that sentence.  Done? Okay, let's continue).

Scott Kennedy of the Insiders threw the 12 ACC and 12 SEC teams into a pot and ranked them 1-24 (sorry, I don't know if that's a pay link or not, since I'm a subscriber), and the Hokies ended up #14, middle of the pack of two of the toughest football conferences in the nation. Caveat: Kennedy's list does not include Boston College, since they won't join the ACC until 2005, but it does include Louisville of CUSA/the Big East ... oooookay.

Kennedy, with the help of the Insider's numerical player ratings, ranks the Hokies ahead of future conference mates NC State (#15 out of 24 on his list), Virginia (#16), Clemson (#18), Duke (#21), and Wake Forest (#23). He puts them behind Miami (#2), Florida State (#3), Maryland (#7), Georgia Tech (#12), and UNC (#13).

That means that, according to Kennedy's rankings, the Hokies are smack in the middle in this year's ACC recruiting -- 6th out of 11 teams.

If you go back to the Rivals.com rankings, the news is about the same, where the Hokies are #7, just a narrow margin behind UVa.  Remember, the Rivals rankings are done on "total points," which means that the number of recruits makes a difference, so VT's 19 signees, which is among the fewest in the ACC, hurts them in the rankings.

Here are Rivals.com's team rankings for the 11 teams that will be in the 2004 ACC:

There you have it: regardless of where you look, the Hokies' 2004 recruiting class isn't regarded as a dog, but it also doesn't crack any top 25 lists. And for the most part, it sits smack dab in the middle of the ACC.

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-- Will Stewart

VT Football 2004 Recruiting Roundup
by Chris Horne, 2/6/04, 2:25 pm
Virginia Tech did an excellent job of filling needs on the offensive side of the ball in the 2004 class. Running back and wide receiver were considered positions of need heading into to the season, and they shored-up both of those positions with dynamic prospects.
in TSL Pass

2004 Football Schedule Posted
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 2/6/04, 9:40 am
The 2004 football schedule has been released and has been posted on TechSideline.com. It features seven home games, the BCA Classic versus USC on August 28th, two Thursday night games, and a season-ending tilt at Miami on December 4th.
in Football

Hokies Shock #23 Providence, 69-57
by Chris Coleman, 2/4/04, 11:35 pm
Blacksburg, VA -- The Virginia Tech Hokies (9-10, 2-6) used a strong defensive effort combined with great offensive performances by Bryant Matthews and Coleman Collins to snap a five game losing streak and upset #23 Providence (14-5, 5-3) Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum, 69-57.
in Men's Hoops

Hokies Sign 14 to Letters of Intent
Class of 17 Includes 3 Early Enrollees
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 2/4/04, 3:10 pm
Virginia Tech received no major surprises in football recruiting Wednesday, and they even got some good late news, as highly sought-after wide receiver Eddie Royal, the #2 player in the state, signed with the Hokies. 14 national Letters of Intent came into the Tech football office by 2:00, bringing the 2004 recruiting season to a close at 17 players, including three early enrollees in January 2004.
in News and Notes

Kublina, Hokies Trample Seton Hall, 64-40
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 2/4/04, 12:35 am
Blacksburg, VA -- The Virginia Tech women, led by Ieva Kublina's 23 points, put Seton Hall away early in this one, winning for the fourth time in the last five games, 64-40. The Hokies bolted to a 17-4 lead and never looked back.
in Women's Hoops

Hokie Hotline Notes for February 2, 2004
by Phil Noftsinger, 2/3/04, 11:20 am
Bill Roth began the interview portion of the show discussing Bryan Randall’s play and how many Hokie fans have been impressed with his increasing abilities. Roth mentioned that he doesn’t seem intimidated by playing against these tough Big East teams like Syracuse. Greenberg mentioned that Randall shouldn’t be intimidated playing at Syracuse.
in Hokie Hotline Notes

Seth, Willie, and Marcus
by Jim Alderson, 2/3/04, 12:15 am
This past week was not the best of times for athletics at Virginia Tech. The Hokie Nation was buffeted with one piece of bad news after another, from a very bad basketball loss to recruiting hits to disquieting news surrounding a very high-profile football player. The good news is that in less than six months Tech will be in the ACC. The bad news is most everything else.
in TSL Pass

Mayo, Hall to Announce Today
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 2/2/04, 10:35 am
The winner of the annual Virginia-Virginia Tech in-state recruiting battle will be decided this week, starting today, when #1 Olu Hall (defensive end, Robinson HS, Fairfax) and #5 Jerod Mayo (linebacker, Kecoughtan HS, Hampton, VA) make their college choices known.
in News and Notes

Orangemen Jump on Hokies and Roll, 76-64
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 1/31/04, 11:10 pm
Syracuse, NY -- Syracuse built a huge lead, weathered a run by the Hokies, and then pulled away at the end for a 12-point win in the Carrier Dome. The loss, Tech's fifth in a row and seventh in their last eight games, drops Tech to 8-10 overall, 1-6 in the Big East.
in Men's Hoops

VT Women Dispatch Syracuse, 75-60
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 1/31/04, 9:55 pm
Syracuse, NY -- Ieva Kublina led all players with 23 points and 10 rebounds, as the Virginia Tech women broke open a close game late in the first half and controlled the action throughout the second half, defeating Syracuse 75-60.
in Women's Hoops