'14 VA DT Andrew Brown (Virginia Verbal)

[Me2SouthBend]

Unless I am missing a joke somehwere...............Japan....

But back to the topic at hand, I really feel like we are so early in the process that there are far too many variables that could change over the next 2 months. Offers coming in have a way of changing leaderboards and unofficials to campus can be a complete game changer. I am just happy to see our staff not giving up on talented players and quality people just because we were not in the "first cut." We have a lot going for us and people are starting to realize it again.

A Classic. Here you go.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q7vtWB4owdE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Grahambo]

Should I let him know, or does someone else want to?

I've fallen for that too.

 

[md_bennett]

Thank you. It has been so long that I forgot about that scene lol

 

[Sherm Sticky]

So yeah this kid doesn't have an offer...

 

[Grahambo]

So yeah this kid doesn't have an offer...

Do we have an educated guess as to why not?

 

[STLDomer]

Big news on in the national recruiting landscape

Announcing June 29th with a Top 5 of Bama, Clemson, FSU, Virginia, Virginia Tech per Rivals

He was tired of the recruiting process, unfortunately I guess no one told him all the schools will probably keep recruiting him anyways. Not sure where he is supposed to be leaning, he already knows his decision though.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Ok Jake Brown

 

[NDWorld247]

Big news on in the national recruiting landscape

Announcing June 29th with a Top 5 of Bama, Clemson, FSU, Virginia, Virginia Tech per Rivals

He was tired of the recruiting process, unfortunately I guess no one told him all the schools will probably keep recruiting him anyways. Not sure where he is supposed to be leaning, he already knows his decision though.

97% (31 of 32) of Crystal Ball predictions say Virginia. That's where I'd like to see him go.

 

[STLDomer]

Ok Jake Brown

Ok Elmo

 

[beryirish]

Virginia would have a nice foundation on their defense building if they get Brown to go along with Blanding.

 

[IrishLax]

Mike London is single handedly destroying Virginia Tech by pulling all of these top talent kids from the 757 and 804. Virginia Tech used to build a squad strictly from underrated kids from VA (with a sprinkle of kids from the Carolinas) and was successful because there was little to no competition for them. Shockingly, there is enough talent in Virginia and the Carolinas to win in the ACC.

Now the talent in Virginia is no longer flying under the radar. Da'Shawn Hand, Quin Blanding, Andrew Brown... but more important the overlooked guys who were low 3 players are now mid 4 with national interest. So not only is Tech having to battle (and losing) kids to powerhouses around the country... but Mike London with his connections to the Virginia Beach area and Richmond plus his general charisma is snatching up most of the talent in southern Virginia. Heck, even Notre Dame has plucked a quality player out of Virginia each of the last 3 years.

Virginia Tech went 8 straight years winning 10+ games... now I'll be surprised if they win 10 ever again as long as London is at UVA.

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

Tech's insider started a thread last night asking the guys on the board to be respectful of the kid's decision and to avoid speculation and conspiracy theories. So I'm guessing he's a UVA lock. Sadly for all the Wahoo Maniacs (oops wrong Wahoos) I doubt Mike London ever does a damn thing with this talent, at least unless he can find (and keep) a QB.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Mike London is single handedly destroying Virginia Tech by pulling all of these top talent kids from the 757 and 804. Virginia Tech used to build a squad strictly from underrated kids from VA (with a sprinkle of kids from the Carolinas) and was successful because there was little to no competition for them. Shockingly, there is enough talent in Virginia and the Carolinas to win in the ACC.

Now the talent in Virginia is no longer flying under the radar. Da'Shawn Hand, Quin Blanding, Andrew Brown... but more important the overlooked guys who were low 3 players are now mid 4 with national interest. So not only is Tech having to battle (and losing) kids to powerhouses around the country... but Mike London with his connections to the Virginia Beach area and Richmond plus his general charisma is snatching up most of the talent in southern Virginia. Heck, even Notre Dame has plucked a quality player out of Virginia each of the last 3 years.

Virginia Tech went 8 straight years winning 10+ games... now I'll be surprised if they win 10 ever again as long as London is at UVA.

I also think the game has started to pass Beamer by. He used to close the deal on his recruits but sadly it appears Va Tech is no longer a destination for the more talented players. If you can't win your state you will suffer regionally and nationally as well.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Mike London is single handedly destroying Virginia Tech by pulling all of these top talent kids from the 757 and 804. Virginia Tech used to build a squad strictly from underrated kids from VA (with a sprinkle of kids from the Carolinas) and was successful because there was little to no competition for them. Shockingly, there is enough talent in Virginia and the Carolinas to win in the ACC.

Now the talent in Virginia is no longer flying under the radar. Da'Shawn Hand, Quin Blanding, Andrew Brown... but more important the overlooked guys who were low 3 players are now mid 4 with national interest. So not only is Tech having to battle (and losing) kids to powerhouses around the country... but Mike London with his connections to the Virginia Beach area and Richmond plus his general charisma is snatching up most of the talent in southern Virginia. Heck, even Notre Dame has plucked a quality player out of Virginia each of the last 3 years.

Virginia Tech went 8 straight years winning 10+ games... now I'll be surprised if they win 10 ever again as long as London is at UVA.

Not predicting that they will, but VT could win 10 this year. Logan Thomas will be a 5th year senior at QB and they avoid playing FSU and Clemson this year. Aside from Alabama opening weekend, there isn't one clear cut L on their schedule.

It is unlikely they win 10 of those 11, but I could see them winning 9 and winning the champs bowl or whatever it is called now.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Not predicting that they will, but VT could win 10 this year. Logan Thomas will be a 5th year senior at QB and they avoid playing FSU and Clemson this year. Aside from Alabama opening weekend, there isn't one clear cut L on their schedule.

It is unlikely they win 10 of those 11, but I could see them winning 9 and winning the champs bowl or whatever it is called now.

A cedar tree would be a better quarterback than Logan Thomas.

 

[Ndaccountant]

A cedar tree would be a better quarterback than Logan Thomas.

Logan Thomas of 2012? Maybe, but I think that is short sighted. He was a much better QB in 2011 when VT actually had a running game. Plus, he got really banged up last year from running the ball so much. He had three games with over 20+ carries. The issue in 2012 IMO wasn't so much Logan Thomas but who was around him. He was their leading rusher last year while still having over 400 passing attempts.

For comparison purposes, in 2012 Logan Thomas had 27 combined TD's and 16 INT's, had 3,500 total yards, average 6.9 yards per pass attempt, had over 13.5 yards per completion and completed 51% of his passes. Compare that to Tommy from 2011 who had 20 total TD's to 14 INT, had 2,815 total yards, had 6.9 yards per pass attempt, averaged 10.7 yards per completion and had 65% completion rate. Tommy also had the luxury of having 2 first round draft picks to throw to.

I really don't think Logan Thomas is all that bad.

 

[stlnd01]

Not predicting that they will, but VT could win 10 this year. Logan Thomas will be a 5th year senior at QB and they avoid playing FSU and Clemson this year. Aside from Alabama opening weekend, there isn't one clear cut L on their schedule.

Maybe. But that's what it takes. They're probably the worst perennial 10-win team in the land. They never seem to actually beat anyone who's any good. And if Virginia and UNC can ever get their collective heads out of their asses, they'll eat away Va Tech's talent pretty quick.

 

[Hoos500]

VT benefited from the weakness of the ACC. They were a strong team during a time where the ACC as a whole was extremely weak. That's how they won 10 games a year. Unfortunately for them, they really didn't win anything other than the ACC during that streak of 10 win seasons. They have 1 BCS bowl win and that was against Cincinnati. Their poor performance in big games kind of overshadows all the 10 win seasons they had.

London gets it done on the recruiting trail. He just needs to get it done on the field now. I do think Beamer is on the decline now. VT still has plenty of good talent but I don't think VT hired the right guys during the offseason. Loefller's offense was horrible at Auburn. He walked into a great situation at Temple and did well. However, I think he's facing a big rebuilding job much like he had at Auburn.

If London can get us winning on the field, he'll be extremely successful here. All he needs to do is win 7 or 8 games a year and our fanbase will treat him like he's Nick Sabin. With the way we're recruiting, there's no excuse not to be going to a bowl game every year. I really like our new staff. We brought in Tom O'Brien, Jon Tenuta, and Steve Fairchild. Fairchild is a little bit of a mystery but O'Brien was a very successful at UVA before he went on to become a head coach and I really liked Tenuta's defenses at GT. I feel like the momentum might finally be switching to our side as opposed to VT. We just have to get it done on the field.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

VT benefited from the weakness of the ACC. They were a strong team during a time where the ACC as a whole was extremely weak. That's how they won 10 games a year. Unfortunately for them, they really didn't win anything other than the ACC during that streak of 10 win seasons. They have 1 BCS bowl win and that was against Cincinnati. Their poor performance in big games kind of overshadows all the 10 win seasons they had.

London gets it done on the recruiting trail. He just needs to get it done on the field now. I do think Beamer is on the decline now. VT still has plenty of good talent but I don't think VT hired the right guys during the offseason. Loefller's offense was horrible at Auburn. He walked into a great situation at Temple and did well. However, I think he's facing a big rebuilding job much like he had at Auburn.

If London can get us winning on the field, he'll be extremely successful here. All he needs to do is win 7 or 8 games a year and our fanbase will treat him like he's Nick Sabin. With the way we're recruiting, there's no excuse not to be going to a bowl game every year. I really like our new staff. We brought in Tom O'Brien, Jon Tenuta, and Steve Fairchild. Fairchild is a little bit of a mystery but O'Brien was a very successful at UVA before he went on to become a head coach and I really liked Tenuta's defenses at GT. I feel like the momentum might finally be switching to our side as opposed to VT. We just have to get it done on the field.

That in the fact that the training table costs will go down with Tenuta, if he fixes his famous dish, "Road Kill Surprise."

 

[Rack Em]

I really like our new staff. We brought in Tom O'Brien, Jon Tenuta, and Steve Fairchild.

That should get London fired. Tenuta is washed up and has ZERO ability to adapt his gameplans.

London should win 8 games every year with the way he's recruiting. Honestly, in a good scheduling year UVA should win 6 conference games.

 

[Rack Em]

Don't get me wrong, I love UVA. But hiring Tenuta is like getting Clint Eastwood to be the DC. They act the same and sometimes I think they know the same amount about football.

 

[GoIrish41]

I lived in Hampton Roads for eight years. Kids there are all about the ACC. I can't even think of a kid from Hampton Roads who has accepted a football scholarship at ND.

 

[WestCoast]

I really liked Tenuta's defenses at GT.

The success of Tenuta is more fable than fact. I looked at this a few years ago when ND's defense never seemed to play up to his fabled coaching acumen. When you look at his history, the GT defense under Tenuta never played well against quality teams. Turns out, quality teams can't be "dictated" to do what Tenuta wanted them to.

He is not a top 25 defensive coordinator. He would be best served coaching in low level D-1 schools. Those schools don't have the athletes to overcome the confusion his defenses supposedly create every play.

 

[BeauBenken]

Don't get me wrong, I love UVA. But hiring Tenuta is like getting Clint Eastwood to be the DC. They act the same and sometimes I think they know the same amount about football.

I would love Clint Eastwood as my DC. That'd be awesome.

 

[Old Man Mike]

For the little that this is worth: my brother is an ex-teammate of Frank Beamer and a pretty attuned insider to VT football. If he wasn't so rose-tinted-glasses mindlessly loyal to VT, I'd probably get extremely good inside information myself. But he has said some interesting things:

A). VT HAS been concerned not only about London, but about one or two other UVA field recruiters who bring a lot to the family living room to successfully impress kids. This seems to have made Beamer reassess how they do their own recruiting. Part of that might involve more activity by Beamer and Bud Foster.

B). VT has always been able to depend upon extremely localized recruiting [esp. coastal VA/ MD/ NC] and never bothered to extend gaze beyond. The only times they would pay attention to anyone outside these narrow confines would be if someone they knew and trusted contacted them. They may be willing now to expand to larger areas.

C). I won't lumber my brother with saying this next, as it's a thing that I always torment him with, but whereas Foster and the DB coach are so good that they will always hold the defense up, the VT offense really stinks about half the time. It is my opinion that the only solid O-coach that they have had during the last decade has been the RBs coach [maybe WRs]. When Tech has been tough they can really run it at you. The only time that they are a total threat is when they've lucked out and a Vick or a mature Taylor have shown up, and guess what?--- THAT's mainly running/scrambling too.

D). VTs olde advantage due to Beamer Ball was real and ingenious, but nowadays everyone knows the Old Master's tricks, and sometimes even employ them against him. So he cannot count on just Defense and Beamer Ball to terrorize everybody any longer. Tech BADLY needs Modernized Offense. That would probably help their recruiting too. As to UVA, London et al still have a lot to prove. They have greater opportunity vs VT, but LOTS of out-of-state powers are now coming to the coastal waters for [mainly] the speed.

 

[Hoos500]

I know Tenuta had a rough time at Notre Dame. At UVA, he won't have any excuses. Our defensive recruiting has been very good as of late. And in this class it appears he'll have the #1 safety and #1 defensive tackle. I really enjoyed watching his defenses at GT. If he can replicate that here, I'll be extremely happy. The thing that I would say worries me most about Tenuta would be the outbreak of the spread offense. During his years at GT, very few teams were running the spread. Now this year, half of the teams on our schedule will be using it.

 

[arrowryan]

Committed to Virginia

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Good.

 

[arrowryan]

Good.

Yup. Better than Bama

 

[phillyirish]

They join Notre Dame as the only school with two 5* players (rivals). They now have the #1 saftey and Dt and add in a 5* Rb from last year, they are pulling in some elite talent