Breaking Down VT's 2005 Recruiting Class: Defensive Lineby Phil Martin, 7/8/05 Defensive Ends Depth at defensive end has to be a concern for 2006 since Tech only has two recruited players – Noland Burchette and Chris Ellis – returning. After spring practice Tech awarded another scholarship to walk-on Orion Martin, but depth at defensive end remains a major concern. The Hokies needed to sign three defensive ends in this class – one weak-side end with some size; one strong-side rush end (Stud in Tech’s system) with good speed to rush off of the edge; and one hybrid end with the size and speed to play both positions. At a minimum Tech needed to sign a strong-side and weak-side end, or Tech would have to move a player to defensive end to provide depth. Here are the defensive ends that Tech offered last year:
*Wall would be counted as a 2003-2004 recruit but for our purposes he will be discussed as an in-coming recruit. VT DE Signees
Prediction: Wall will need some work on technique, but he is talented enough to contribute immediately for the Hokies. He should see the field as a true freshman and move into the two-deep in his second year. I would expect Wall to become a two-year starter for Tech. Steven Friday, from Hampton – Phoebus HS, is an aggressive speed rusher with a great deal of potential. He played some linebacker last year, but his future is at defensive end. Friday needs to gain some size before he sees the field in college, but he has the frame to put on some weight. He is a disruptive player that is a perfect fit for Tech’s Stud End. Friday signed with the Hokies over offers from North Carolina, N.C. State, Syracuse, Maryland, UCLA, Virginia, and West Virginia. Prediction: Friday may have to spend a year at prep school, though the latest information is that he may qualify after all. After a year of weight training, either at VT or Hargrave, Friday should contend for a spot in the two-deep. Friday is a potential multi-year starter at Tech. Non-VT DE Signees Melvin Alaeze (Maryland), from Randallstown, MD, has phenomenal speed for a player his size. Alaeze can beat you with speed or power and shows a variety of moves in his pass rush. He still needs to work on his fundamentals against the rush, but Alaeze should be an immediate impact player in college because of his pass rushing ability. Alaeze signed with Maryland after a heated battle with Virginia Tech. Reportedly, he actually favored the Hokies and felt that he fit into the defensive scheme better at Tech, but his father wanted to see him practice and have him close by. In the end, Alaeze decided to stay with his parent’s wishes. He was also offered by Southern Cal, Miami, Florida, Florida State, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, UCLA, and many more. Doug Worthington (Ohio State), from Athol Springs, NY – St. Francis Academy, is a tall, rangy defensive end with outstanding athletic ability and great size. He is also an excellent basketball player and those skills got him noticed for football for both defensive end and tight end. Worthington was widely recruited and chose Ohio State over offers from Penn State, Alabama, Tennessee, Boston College, Maryland, Virginia, LSU, Michigan, Florida, Notre Dame, and many more. He was interested in Tech but never made it to Blacksburg for a visit, so the Hokies were never in strong contention. Everette Brown (Florida State), from Wilson, NC – Beddingfield HS, is another outstanding athlete that is a prospect at both defensive end and tight end. Brown is exceptionally quick and possesses a number of moves in pass rushing, but he needs to become stronger at the point of attack. However, he has the frame to gain a great deal of weight after a couple of years in the weight room. Brown signed with Florida State in a close battle with North Carolina and the Hokies. He also had offers from Penn State, Tennessee, Miami, Auburn, Georgia, and many more. Barry Turner (Nebraska), from Nashville, TN – Brentwood Academy, is an exceptional athlete that was recruited as a defensive end and outside linebacker by most schools. He has an outstanding speed rush but needs to gain some size to play defensive end. Turner joined a teammate in choosing Nebraska over offers from Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Colorado, Auburn, Miami, Florida, LSU, Georgia, Alabama, and several more. Tech was in the running but never got an official visit from Turner. Jeffrey Fitzgerald (Virginia), from Richmond – Hermitage HS, has great size and good athletic ability. He was injured early in his senior year, but he should be fine for next season. He also played tight end, but defensive end should be his future. Fitzgerald signed with Virginia and should fit in well as a defensive end in the 3-4 scheme. He has the size required to play a two-gap system and the mobility to become a good pass rusher. Fitzgerald chose the Cavaliers over Virginia Tech and Maryland with other offers from Syracuse, Nebraska, Boston College, West Virginia, Penn State, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas State, North Carolina, Michigan State, and Pittsburgh. Dakota Walker (South Carolina), from Mays Landing, NJ, was a sleeper who gained a great deal of interest late in the recruiting year. He is another speed rusher that has the potential to gain a great deal of size. He was recruited as a defensive end or outside linebacker depending on the defensive scheme of the school. Walker originally committed to Rutgers, but opened his recruiting late in the fall to considerable interest. He joined a teammate in committing to South Carolina over the Hokies. He also had offers from Tennessee, North Carolina, Purdue, Iowa, N.C. State, and several more. Antonio Appleby (Virginia), from Virginia Beach – Salem HS, is an impressive athlete with good size and strength. He was recruited as a defensive end, tight end, or linebacker depending on the college’s needs. As a junior in high school he played defensive end and tight end, but for his senior year he played middle linebacker. Appleby was less instinctive in a stand-up role and I believe his future would be better at defensive end or even tight end, but he signed with UVA as a linebacker. He was reported to be leaning to the Hokies before a summer visit to Charlottesville. Appleby committed to the Wahoos after the visit, disappointing the Tech coaching staff. He also had offers from Maryland, North Carolina, Syracuse, West Virginia, and Duke. Braxton Kelly (Kentucky), from La Grange, GA, is an aggressive, productive player for one of the top high school teams in Georgia. He is undersized but has produced some big numbers in high school. He plays defensive end but his size is more suited for linebacker. Kelly signed with Kentucky over offers from Virginia Tech and South Carolina. I’m not sure if Tech recruited him that hard, but he could have a solid college career if he can adjust to playing linebacker. DE Conclusions Virginia Tech filled their immediate needs by landing a versatile defensive end in William Wall and a strong-side (Stud) end in Steven Friday. The Hokies would like to have landed another defensive end in this class, but have to be happy with Wall and Friday. Melvin Alaeze signing with Maryland was probably the biggest recruiting loss of the year. The most surprising change of events in recruiting last year was probably the sudden commitment of Antonio Appleby to UVA. Statistically, the “won-loss percentage” for this position was 50.0%, rating Tech as average for this position and I would agree with that assessment. Tech’s depth chart at defensive end looks fairly thin for 2006, so this position will surely be a priority in the next recruiting class.
Defensive tackle is generally one of the most difficult positions to recruit in football (along with offensive tackle). Virginia Tech’s depth chart in 2006 shows a rising star in Carlton Powell returning along with two unproven talents in Barry Booker and Kory Robertson. Obviously, Tech needs additional depth and was looking to sign three defensive tackles in this class. Here are the defensive tackles that Tech offered last year:
VT DT Signees
Prediction: Render could be a real surprise in this recruiting class and, with Tech’s current depth chart at DT, he could see the field this year. Physically he has the tools to contribute immediately with the only question being how quickly he picks up the techniques and learns to maintain leverage. Hivera Green, from Conway, SC, is an extremely talented defensive lineman with great size and agility. He needs to get stronger and become more effective at the point of attack, but he has exceptional speed for his size. He was heavily recruited and chose the Hokies over Clemson and South Carolina with other offers from Michigan, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Alabama, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia Tech, and a few more. Prediction: Green has the frame to weigh 300 pounds and should be a force in a couple of years once he learns to use better leverage and to release from blocks. Green will need to redshirt his first year and should be a strong candidate to see the field in a couple of years. Cordarrow Thompson was a teammate of Antonio North at North Stafford HS. He is a physical and aggressive defensive tackle with exceptional size and strength. Thompson would get my vote as the defensive sleeper of the year out of Virginia Tech’s recruits. He plays with good leverage, releases from blocks well, and shows good hustle. Thompson originally committed to Syracuse in the summer with the Orange being the only team to offer him a scholarship. After a coaching change at Syracuse and having a stellar senior year, Thompson reconsidered his commitment and later signed with the Hokies. He also had an offer from Marshall and considerable interest from a number of other schools. Prediction: Thompson has the physical tools to see the field early for Tech and could be the surprise of the recruiting class. If he shows up in the fall in top condition, he could contend for playing time as a true freshman. He still has not qualified but he is reported to be very close and has made up a lot of ground lately. Non-VT DT Signees Marques Slocum, from Philadelphia, PA – West Catholic HS, is a monster defensive tackle with surprising mobility. He is an outstanding prospect on both sides of the line, but he prefers to play defense. Basically, Slocum just uses a bull rush, but at his size he is a load to handle for any offensive lineman. He chose Michigan over offers from Michigan State, Maryland, Miami, LSU, Virginia, Oklahoma, Iowa, Tennessee, and numerous others. Tech was never in serious contention for Slocum. Kade Weston, from Red Bank, NJ, is another huge defensive tackle with very good agility. He wanted to move south for college and selected Georgia over offers from Florida, Maryland, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Penn State, Ohio State, Virginia, Florida State, and many more. The Hokies were never really in the running for Weston. Brian Simmons played for Southeast Raleigh, NC High School two years ago but did not qualify academically for college and prepped last year for Hargrave Military. He gained considerable size at Hargrave and became a major recruit at defensive tackle. Simmons showed good agility for a big man with an aggressive attitude. He signed with Oklahoma over offers from Auburn, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, and a few others. Simmons considered Tech but never made an official visit. Rudy Odum, from Mandeville, LA – Fontainebleau HS, is a tough, rugged defensive lineman with a great deal of potential. He needs to gain some size and strength, but he shows good technique and should be able to contribute after some time in the weight room. Odum signed with Auburn over offers from South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Mississippi, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas Tech, and a few others. He was interested in Tech but never made it to Blacksburg for a visit. Jeff Owens, from Plantation, FL, is a scrappy, hustling defensive lineman with good quickness and excellent potential. Like Odum, he needs to gain some size and strength in the weight room. Owens made a surprise official visit to Blacksburg in December, but the Hokies were never in strong contention. He signed with Georgia over offers from Florida State, Oklahoma, Florida, N.C. State, Auburn, and Pittsburgh. Luqman Abdullah, from Princeton, NJ – The Hun School, was a late bloomer who became one of the most sought after defensive tackles in the last couple of months of the recruiting year. He had a banner year after transferring to The Hun School (a highly regarded prep school) and became noticed by a lot of schools. Abdullah has exceptional agility for a player of his size. He selected Miami after making an official visit in January even though he stated that he favored the Hokies and would be making an official visit later in the month. Abdullah also had offers from Wake Forest, Michigan State, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Purdue, Iowa, North Carolina, and Vanderbilt. DT Conclusions Virginia Tech met their recruiting goal by signing three defensive tackles with two having the physical tools to contribute early (Render and Thompson) and one with a great deal of potential (Green). I can see Render and/or Thompson pushing for playing time this fall, although only one will likely see the field. Statistically, Tech scored 81.8% on the “won-lost percentage” which accurately reflects the quality of this defensive tackle recruiting class. The Tech coaches should be very pleased with the potential recruited for this critical position. |
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William
Wall attended H.D. Woodson High School in Washington, D.C., but he failed to
graduate and needed to repeat his senior year at Hargrave Military Academy. Wall
was very talented, with exceptional size and speed, but did not receive much
interest in high school because of his academic situation. Only Virginia Tech
and Clemson officially offered, but many schools, such as Miami and Michigan,
were very interested. Wall really developed at Hargrave, both physically and
academically, leading Coach Prunty to comment that Wall was the best defensive
lineman he has had at Hargrave, high praise considering the talent that goes
through that prep school. Wall is capable of playing either defensive end
position for Tech. He has the speed to rush off of the edge (even played some
wide receiver in high school) and has the strength to take on offensive linemen.
Sergio
Render, from Newnan, GA, is a massive lineman with good mobility. He is very
aggressive and plays with a mean streak. Render was more dominant as an
offensive lineman in high school, but he wants the chance to play defensive
tackle in college. He is extremely strong (benches 400 pounds) and is noted for
being a weight room warrior. Render selected Virginia Tech after an initial
commitment to Florida State. The Seminoles wanted him for offense, but Render
really wanted to give defensive tackle a try so he decommitted. He received
other offers from Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisville, and several other
schools.