Virginia Tech has received both good and bad news since the last Defense War Room. First the bad…Tech lost out to Ohio State for Piscataway (NJ) cornerback prospect Malcolm Jenkins and did not make the cut for West Catholic (Philadelphia, PA) defensive tackle Marques Slocum.

Now, for the good news… Tech will likely get official visits from two of the top prospects in the state of Maryland – Randallstown defensive end Melvin Alaeze and cornerback Jamari McCollough. Alaeze and McCollough want to make official visits to the same schools and may end up signing with the same school. Virginia Tech joins Maryland as two schools the two star talents say they will officially visit.

Also, Tech made the initial cut for Jack Britt (Fayetteville, NC) cornerback Brandon Ghee. Ghee, who has narrowed his list to Tech, Clemson, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wake Forest (no particular order), will cut his list to two next month. Tech is in great position for another cornerback prospect in Dorian Porch out of Gordon Central High School in Calhoun, Georgia. The Hokies are the clear leader right now for Dorian, who may decide very soon according to his head coach.

With the loss of Rod Council to Louisville, cornerback becomes a bigger need for this year’s recruiting class. In addition to Ghee, McCollough and Porch, Tech is also heavily involved with Freedom High School (NC) standout Jordan Hemby and Hackensack’s Danny Oquendo. Several “athletes” who could end up at cornerback on the next level include Jahre Cheeseman, Montario Hardesty, Willie Harriott and Victor Harris.

A new name has surfaced from the defensive end position. Braxton Kelley, a 6-1, 220-pound prospect out of LaGrange High School (GA), has an official offer from Virginia Tech. He also has offers from Kentucky and South Carolina.

Next month, look for the recruiting news to pick up considerably as prospects begin taking official visits. Coaches can start calling recruits as well, as September 1st thru November 27th is an Evaluation period.

The following players have received scholarship offers from and have serious interest in Virginia Tech…

The Skinny: Wall committed to Tech for the 2004 class but did not qualify academically. He will attend Hargrave Military Academy for one year beginning late summer/fall of this year and plans on signing with Tech in February of 2005. Wall remains very much committed to Virginia Tech.

Wall is a defensive end with excellent athleticism for a player his size. He played wide receiver for HD Woodson as well, a testament to his athletic prowess. Look for him to play defensive end for Coach Prunty at Hargrave as well.

The Skinny: Melvin says Maryland and Virginia Tech will more than likely be two of his official visits. Other schools in the hunt for the final 3 spots include Penn State, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, USC, Miami, Florida and Florida State. Alaeze likes Tech, and the Hokies have 2 things going for them right now: 1) They have offered and impressed Jamari McCollough. Melvin and Jamari plan on visiting the same schools and may attend the same school. 2) Location.

Maryland will be tough to beat, and of course you can’t count out any of the aforementioned schools either.

The Skinny: Brown plans on narrowing his list soon, possibly within the next few weeks. He wasn’t able to visit Tech this summer, but wants to visit for a game this Fall. Brown still seems interested in Tech, but the Hokies probably have some ground to make up since he has not yet visited.

The Skinny: Jeff still has not narrowed his list of schools down. He originally wanted to do so by the start of his senior season, but now it’s anyone’s guess as to when he will do it. He doesn’t know much about Virginia Tech, but the fact that they are in-state may help the Hokies land an official visit.

The Skinny: Friday may make an official visit to Tech on the weekend of September 11th. That is the weekend Elan Lewis is supposed to visit as well. Tech is the favorite here, although Maryland, Syracuse and Virginia remain in contention.

The Skinny: Michigan may be tough to beat here. Florida, Florida State, and Tennessee have offered as well, providing tough competition for anyone. Virginia Tech has to get him up for a visit to have any chance. He seems to want to visit Tech, but if Michigan is one of his first visits, don’t be surprised if he commits to the Wolverines before making all of his trips.

The Skinny: Kelley is open right now according to LaGrange Head Coach Steve Pardue. If Georgia were to offer, they would be tough to beat. Right now, it looks like Braxton may wait in his recruiting process to see which other programs come in with offers.

The Skinny: Turner’s coach says Turner reminds him of former Virginia Tech great Corey Moore. Turner’s offer sheet is certainly very impressive. It may be tough to get him out of the SEC and Miami has offered as well, however Tech is in the picture right now.

Official Visits: Alabama, Ohio State, Tennessee

The Skinny: I haven’t been able to reach Doug recently, but as far as I know he did not visit Tech this summer. Alabama, Ohio State and Tennessee may be the favorites, as Doug indicated that he wanted to make official visits to all three.

 

None

The Skinny: Johnson likes Virginia Tech, but still remains open in the recruiting process. He wants to focus on recruiting following his senior season.

The Skinny: Weston all but eliminated Virginia Tech in his last update. He seems to be looking elsewhere, and Tech looks like a long-shot right now.

 

The Skinny: Simmons is the hardest hitting prospect in the state. A devastating hitter, he plays the middle well and really runs well from sideline to sideline. Deveon earned all-state honors for his junior year performance. As a junior, he finished with 91 tackles, 42 tackles-for-loss, and six sacks. He helped Landstown to a Group AAA State Championship game appearance.

“Deveon is about the most explosive player on defense I’ve ever seen,” Landstown Head Coach Chris Beatty said. “When he hits people, he runs through them. He covers so much ground and he has unbelievable instincts that you just can’t teach. He also has tremendous athletic ability. Nebraska’s coach called him a Lawrence Taylor-type player. He’s obviously not as big, but he makes the same type of plays sideline to sideline as well as getting to the quarterback.”

The Skinny: Demetrius Taylor is very fast with solid size. In addition, Taylor is a strong player.

“He can run like no one his size,” Kellam Head Coach Chris DeWitt said in an earlier interview. “He’s our fastest sprinter. He runs a 4.5, but we’ve timed him under 4.5 before. He can bench press 355 pounds, and his squat is huge. We do hang-cleans, and Demetrius can hang-clean 325 pounds, which is our highest ever.”

As good of a season as he had last year as a two-way player, an opposing coach indicated Taylor was very dominating as a sophomore. That year, Taylor only played linebacker.

“Taylor was a good running back, but he’s an even better linebacker,” the opposing coach said. “He was awesome when he only played linebacker his sophomore season.”

Taylor, who was receiving interest programs including Michigan and Notre Dame, chose Tech over an offer from Duke. He was recruited as a Mike linebacker.

The Skinny: Cushing doesn’t want to eliminate anyone just yet, but Virginia Tech looks to be a long-shot.

The Skinny: According to Southern Durham Head Coach Gordon Walters, Gamble has Clemson, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Miami, and Florida State on his final list. Tech seems to be in good shape, with South Carolina as the primary competition.

The Skinny: Hayes, who is one of the top prospects in the state of New Jersey, may be close to setting his official visits. Virginia Tech has some work to do and must get an official visit to have a chance.

The Skinny: Nicholson narrowed his list to 10 recently – Clemson, FSU, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech. Nicholson says other teams still have a good chance, however, and did not rule anyone out.

Most insiders believe UNC (where Derek’s father played) and FSU (where his brother AJ plays) are the top two teams here. Derek insists he doesn’t have any favorites at the time.

 

The Skinny: Ghee has narrowed his list to 5 schools. He will next cut his list down to 2 schools, and will then take official visits to each. Following his official visits, he plans on making a commitment. Tech has a good chance of making the top 2 because of their Engineering program as well as Ghee’s relationship with the coaching staff. Education is a major factor in Brandon’s decision.

The Skinny: Hemby showed off his tremendous speed during the above camps and left each school with a scholarship offer. Hemby is open right now, but says he will make official visits to each of his 4 official offers.

The Skinny: According to teammate Melvin Alaeze, McCollough plans on making official visits to Maryland and Tech. Alaeze and McCollough plan on making official visits to the same schools and may end up signing with the same school. If that is the case, Maryland and Virginia Tech are very serious contenders here.

The Skinny: Oquendo has unofficially visited Maryland and Rutgers this summer, and plans on taking trips to Boston College and Virginia Tech before the school year begins. Oquendo says Maryland and Rutgers are two likely official visits, with the other 3 being wide open. He seems to think favorably upon the state of Virginia (liked Virginia Tech and Virginia earlier this year), but Tech needs to get him down for a visit of some kind. Maryland and Rutgers may have the early inside track, but Oquendo plans on taking his time in the recruiting process.

The Skinny: Virginia Tech is the clear leader right now for Porch. Gordon Central Head Coach Bill Long believes Porch may decide very soon, and if he does, it will be for Virginia Tech.

 

The Skinny: Martin is a hard-hitting and savvy safety prospect. GW-Danville Head Coach Dan Newell had this to say about his star prospect.

"I defer to what the colleges tell me, and they like the way he plays the run from the safety position. Cameron really fills the alleys. It's one thing to get there, but he gets there and he's a fearless tackler. One coach described him as ferocious. He's not the biggest guy yet, but he plays with great leverage. Cameron has deceptive closing speed. He gets his hand on a lot of passes."

He chose Virginia Tech over offers from UVa, Boston College, Tennessee, Maryland, NC State, UNC, Wake Forest, and West Virginia. I have him rated the number 9 overall prospect in the state of Virginia.

The Skinny: I’m hoping to get an update on Pope very soon. Andre seems to want to play his college football in the south, but Tech may not be as far south as he wants. Clemson and North Carolina may have the edge over Tech right now.

The Skinny: Wardlow wants to narrow his list down to 4 or 5 schools by the end of August. He enjoyed his visit to Tech earlier this summer, and Tech has a good chance of landing in the top 5.

The Skinny: Cheeseman recently named Virginia Tech as his leader over Penn State, Tennessee and Virginia. Penn State would be second. Jahre wants to take 4 official visits and then make a commitment. Tech leads right now, but an official visit to Tennessee looms and Jahre immediately moved Penn State to the forefront of his list after receiving an offer this week.

The Skinny: The Hokies offered Hardesty during the spring evaluation period per New Bern Head Coach Chip Williams. Williams, who feels his star may be a better cornerback on the next level, believes Hardesty is open among the schools who have offered.

The Skinny: Willie attended Virginia Tech’s July 10th camp and had a good time according to his father.

“We enjoyed it,” Willie’s father said. “I think Willie really liked it down there.”

Harriott will narrow his list by the end of the summer. Right now he is open among all of his schools, although if Florida State or Miami offer, then they could be tough to beat.

The Skinny: The best player in the state of Virginia has narrowed his list to the twelve schools listed above. He has no leaders among the twelve. Right now, Macho would like to take all five official visits following his senior season.

Virginia Tech is recruiting Harris “for whatever position he wants to play” per Highland Springs Head Coach Scott Burton.