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   Welcome to TSLMail #11 - Friday December 14, 2001
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Also, check out the "That's Me Sports" CD available through this link. They'll mock up a Hokie football radio broadcast, and whatever name you give them when you order will be the name of the QB who guides the Hokie team to victory!

The "radio broadcast" is an 8-minute CD that captures the announcement of a 90-yard game-winning drive by the Hokies, where you're the freshman QB who leads Tech to a last-second TD. This is a great gift for kids, who love to hear their name mentioned in a "real-live" radio call of a Hokie football game. I have one for my (almost) 3-year old son Malcolm, and he requests to hear it constantly (believe me, it's constant). His face lights up every time the announcer uses his name, which is about a dozen times during the "broadcast."

The mockup is pretty realistic. It includes Tech Triumph playing in the background when the Hokies win, and you can hear the action, including the referee's whistle and the PA announcer.

Great stuff, and if you order before the end of the weekend, you should get your CD delivered in time to give it as a Christmas gift to that favorite son, daughter, niece, or nephew.

Thanks all, and happy holidays! 

   Recruiting - Visit List for 12/14, Plus Quotes from Mike Imoh

This weekend, 8 football recruits are visiting Tech. Only 2 of them are committed, so in terms of the number of uncommitted recruits visiting, this weekend is bigger than the last two weekends.

In the following notes, each player's name is a link to their TSL recruiting database entry.

Recruit Visit List for 12/14/01: 
Uncommitted Recruits: LB Ahmad Brooks, QB Patrick Dosh, RB Mike Imoh, WR Justin Miller, ATH Jimmy Williams, OL Jimmy Martin.
VT Verbals: PK Nic Schmitt, DB Cary Wade.

LB Ahmad Brooks (6-3, 230, 4.4) and RB Mike Imoh (5-7, 175, 4.4) are the biggest names in-state who are visiting this weekend. Brooks is #3 in Virginia per Doug Doughty, and Rivals100.com ranks him as a five-star player (their top rating, given out to just 36 players in the nation), #27 in the country overall, and the #1 outside linebacker prospect in the nation. Rivals.com reports that Brooks favors Virginia, while SuperPrep reports he favors VT.

Imoh is ranked #11 in the state per Doughty and is the only tailback the Hokies are recruiting. He's a powerlifting dynamo who can dunk a basketball, and who averaged 9 yards a carry throughout his four-year high school career (5200 yards, 69 TD's). Imoh led his school, Robinson High in Fairfax, to a state championship this season with 2100 yards rushing and 31 TD's. He ran for 222 yards and 4 TD's in the championship game, a 40-7 Robinson victory. Imoh, is VT commit DB Cary Wade's teammate at Robinson. More on Imoh below.

ATH Jimmy Williams (6-3, 195, 4.53) is a relatively new entry in the TSL recruiting database and is a player that the VT coaches want badly. OL Jimmy Martin (6-5, 265), a Chantilly High School product who is currently enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy (FUMA), is a brand-new name in the Tech recruiting arena, having just popped up recently. Very little is known about Martin at this point, and we're trying to find out more. He weighed 300 in high school but was listed on the FUMA roster at 265.

You're already familiar with QB Patrick Dosh (6-3, 215, 4.6), who has been profiled in TSLMail #6 and TSLMail #9. We spoke with Dosh this week, and he loved last weekend's visit to UNC. He says it's 50-50 between Tech and the Heels, and he'd like to decide shortly after his Tech visit this weekend.

WR Justin Miller (6-0, 180, 4.4) doesn't get talked about much, but he's a SuperPrep pre-season All-American and the #1 player in the state of Kentucky. Rivals100.com ranks him as a four-star player and the #21 safety in the country, but the Hokies are recruiting him as a WR.

Looking for a commitment soon? Good sources tell us that Jimmy Williams, Patrick Dosh, and Jimmy Martin are all candidates to commit soon to a school of their choice, but for everyone else, it will likely come down to late January/early February.

Dig in Hokies, because it's going to be a long haul.

Comments from Mike Imoh

You don't hear much about Mike Imoh from the recruiting services, but that's because he has been focused on one thing: winning a state championship for Robinson High School in Fairfax, Virginia. Mission accomplished, as Robinson rolled to a state championship with a 40-7 win last weekend.

Early SuperPrep and Rivals.com reports had Imoh favoring VT over Georgia Tech and others, but Imoh told us, when asked if he has a favorite, "No, not really." He lists VT, GT, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse as teams he is considering, and all have offered. Right now, VT, GT, and WF are three official visits, and he's not sure who his last two will be.

Imoh is rated the #11 player in the state by Doughty and the #26 all-purpose running back in the country by Rivals100.com. We profiled Imoh in TSLMail #5 with some quotes from his coach, but we talked to Imoh himself for the first time Thursday night, on the eve of his visit to Blacksburg.

"The only school I've actually seen is Virginia Tech," Imoh told us. "I've been there because my brother went there. He played football there. About two years ago, he played for a semester."

Imoh has never seen a game at Tech and doesn't really recall the campus that well from his visits to see his brother. "Every time I've planned on seeing a game, we've had games ourselves (Robinson High). I was going to come to the Miami game, but then we had a game the same day. I haven't been there in a couple of years, so I don't remember it very much. I just went there to see my brother."

Imoh says his Interest in GT and WF is due to the fact that "I know they have good academics and good football programs." He's fully qualified academically but doesn't know what he's going to study in college.

So what's important to him in choosing a school? "I think quite a lot about going on visits, and the important thing to me is feeling comfortable there and fitting in, and seeing how you bond with the players the week that you're there. Because that’s where you're going to spend the next four years.

"I don't know that early playing time is a big issue. I don't think that’s the biggest issue. I just want to get into a situation that's best for me, is a good situation for me. Sure, I want to play, but jumping in right away is not a big priority with me. Going to a good school, getting a good education, and going to a good football program is."

On redshirting: "I don't know exactly, because I haven't really been to a (college) practice, so I don't know what it's like there. I think I'll be capable of going in and holding my own, but also I'll have to get accommodated to the speed. I think it's a situation where I'll have to get there and practice with the players a little bit and see what it's like. I think I can do it physically, but mentally, it's a lot."

Teammate and VT verbal Cary Wade and Imoh are pretty good friends. Is Cary trying to get Mike to go to Tech? "Cary's been a really good friend throughout this whole recruiting process. He's not the type of person who's going to … he wants me to do what's best for me. Naturally, he jokes around with me about playing together and being roommates and everything, but he wants me to do what's best for me."

Does Imoh keep an eye on top players around the state to see where they're looking and what they're doing? "Naturally, yeah, you want to see what they do. You want a strong recruiting class wherever you go. You want to go into a good situation where you can win, and where you've got good players around you."

Stats: Career: 5,200 total yards, 69 TD's (four-year starter). Senior: 2,100 yards, 31 TD's. School records for a career and season. "I ended up my career with 9 yards per carry." This past season, "I don't think through the first five games that I played much in the second half.

"I returned kicks and punts, and every once in a while they put me at quarterback. I play basketball at Robinson, I've been a four-year starter. I can dunk a basketball (at just 5-7). I had (VT) Coach (Bud) Foster visit one time, and I dunked a basketball for him."

   Do Your Holiday Shopping at TechLocker.com!

Everybody hates holiday shopping, but TechLocker.com makes it easy to shop for your Hokie friends and family. Just log on to the store and pick out your gifts. When it comes time to check out, you can either have the gear sent to yourself (for wrapping later), or you can fill in the shipping address information with the recipient's name and address. It's simple, and it means you can avoid the traffic and the crowded stores!

We've got a bunch of new stuff at TechLocker.com, including TSL apparel and some interesting new items (welcome mats, car mats, hitch covers, football helmets, and more) in our Miscellaneous category. Plus, the items in our Gold Medallion and Barware and Glassware categories make stunning gifts.

And lastly, if you want to give the gift that keeps on giving, give the TSL Extra as a gift! Click here to send up to four subscriptions at a time to your friends.

   News Items From the Past Week

The big news was Thursday's announcement that offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rickey Bustle will leave Virginia Tech to become the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette. Bustle will stay and coach at Virginia Tech through the Gator Bowl.

After Bustle's departure, OL coach Bryan Stinespring will take over as off. coordinator, and Tech will hire a new quarterbacks coach.

For complete details, see TSL News and Notes for Dec. 13, 2001.

TSL Features This Week:
Hokie Hotline Notes -- 12/11/01
Not Just Another Boring Weekend -- by Jim Alderson, 12/10/01

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