Rooting for their team clearly represents one of the big passions in the life of our TechSideline.com community members. This site greatly enhances this never-ending passion through information, analysis and most importantly through communal dialog and networking.

Our advertising approach is different in that we make it abundantly clear in a direct and honest way that your company's commitment of sponsorship dollars is what enables the site to continue existing and improving into the future.

To learn more about advertising on TechSideline.com, please visit our advertising info page:
http://www.techsideline.com/advertising

TechSideline.com is a vital part of a unique collegiate sports network that reaches nearly 2 million individuals per month. Like TechSideline.com, each site in the SportsWar network is an organically grown community and the emotional home for its fans.

To learn more about SportsWar network sponsorship opportunities, please contact [email protected] or visit our online media guide- http://www.sportswar.com. 

Every year on Christmas Day, the Roanoke Times releases their final rankings for the current in-state football recruiting class. Yesterday, the Times named GW-Danville running back David Wilson the top player in the state for the 2009 recruiting class. Wilson has committed to play football at Virginia Tech.

Assuming Wilson signs with Tech in February, this will mark the fifth time since 2001 that Virginia Tech has landed the top rated player by the Roanoke Times.

Not only has Virginia Tech been successful in landing the state's top player, but they have done a good job in developing those players.

When Bryan Randall signed with the Hokies in 2001, it marked the first time that Tech had pulled in the top player in the state. Though Randall never had the luxury of a redshirt year, and he took criticism early in his career, he eventually developed into the 2004 Player of the Year in the ACC, leading Virginia Tech to the conference championship and a berth in the Sugar Bowl.

After his college career, Randall went on to spend some time with the Atlanta Falcons. He now plays in the Canadian Football League.

From his first college football game in 2004, when he went head to head with Reggie Bush, we all knew that Xavier Adibi would be a star. He lived up to the hype, combining with Vince Hall to form the best linebacker duo in Virginia Tech history. He was an All-American as a senior in 2007, and he currently starts as a rookie for the Houston Texans.

Though he's not quite finished with his Virginia Tech career, Macho Harris certainly lived up to the hype. He ranks third in Tech's all-time list in career interceptions, and was recently named a 1st Team All-American by The Sporting News. Harris is one of the top cornerbacks in college football.

He'll have a future on the next level as well. He is currently projected as a second round pick by most experts, and could go as high as the late first round.

Tyrod Taylor was Virginia Tech's starting quarterback by the third game of his true freshman season. That says quite a bit about his talent, smarts, and poise. Though he's not putting up huge numbers at this point, he's flashed enough potential to show that big things could be coming in the future. He'll be Tech's full time starter beginning in 2009, and he'll no longer have to worry about battling Sean Glennon for the starting job.

Those are four good to great players that have attended Virginia Tech. The top recruits who have chosen to attend other schools have had mixed results.

Everybody in the country wanted Ahmad Brooks in 2002. He went on to choose UVA, where he became a starting inside linebacker. Though he was a very good college player, he never quite lived up to the massive hype that was generated during his recruitment. Part of that was due to the injury bug. He is currently a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

Olu Hall played some as a freshman for UVA in 2005, but ultimately left the school. He is now playing for Kansas State, where he starts at outside linebacker, though he hasn't made a big impact. He will be a r-senior during the 2009 season.

Percy Harvin is by far the biggest name on this list. He was the unanimous #1 player in the country, choosing Florida over a host of other big-name programs. He has had a terrific career in Urban Meyer's offense. In three seasons, he has 1,880 receiving yards and 1,730 rushing yards. He is one of the top all-around offensive threats in the nation.

Mike Glennon chose not to follow in his brother's footsteps and attend Virginia Tech. Instead, he selected NC State, where he redshirted in 2008. Unfortunately for Glennon, Russell Wilson was named 1st Team All-ACC quarterback this past year, and he's only a r-freshman. It's going to be very tough to get playing time behind Wilson.

Considering the success rate of #1 rated prospects who attended Virginia Tech, David Wilson has a great chance to succeed in Blacksburg. However, he would have a great chance to succeed no matter where he was ranked.

Wilson was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Virginia. He ran for 2,291 yards, which is a season record at GW-Danville. He ran for 351 yards against Franklin County, which is a single game record. Wilson has great hip explosion, and he holds the National Championship in the triple jump as proof. He chose the Hokies over offers from schools such as Auburn, Alabama and Michigan.