The Ones That VT Got

As noted, offensive lineman Eric Davis and tight end Jon Hannah joined the Hokies' fold since the last mini-war room update on January 17th. Davis, who has since been rated a two-star recruit by TechSideline.com, w as not a surprise. A late bloomer with good footwork and good size (6-7, 300 pounds), Davis is perceived as a sleeper prospect. Davis is the sixth OL candidate to commit to the Hokies, joining pure OL Brandon Holland, Robert Norris, Antonio North, likely OT Ed Wang (also a TE possibility, but less likely with Hannah in the picture) and Sergio Render (recruited as a DE, but an OL candidate).

Jonathan Hannah is no sleeper. Expected to go to in-state UNC or NC State, Hannah surprised almost everyone with his decision to attend VT. The 4-star prospect, ranked the #4 tight end in the country and the #99 prospect overall by Rivals.com, has ties to the state of Virginia, having lived in Richmond for years.

The commitments of Davis and Hannah flesh out VT's verbal list to 20 players, including 17 high schoolers and prep schoolers Holland, William Wall, and Sam Wheeler.

The Ones That Got Away

The Hokies are fading out of the picture with some of their peripheral recruits, but the only two prospects to officially drop off the list are:

• WR’s: Derrick McPhearson (dropped the Hokies from consideration)
• DE’s: Barry Turner (dropped the Hokies from consideration)

Derrick McPhearson was scheduled to visit VT last weekend but did not make the trip and has dropped the Hokies from his list (the "dropping" may have been mutual on VT's part). Barry Turner eliminated VT from consideration on January 24th and will now select from Tennessee, Nebraska, and (this is not a typo) Vanderbilt.

Still on the Board

On the VT recruiting board, that leaves the following players

• QB: Greg Boone
• RB’s: none
• WR’s: Todd Nolen
• TE’s: none
• OL: Richard Graham, Jared Gaither
• DE’s: Hivera Green, Dakota Walker
• DT’s: Cordarrow Thompson
• LB’s: Darryl Gresham, Derek Nicholson
• CB’s: Jamie Robinson
• Ath’s/JAth’s: none

3-star QB/ATH Greg Boone has narrowed his selection to VT or Maryland and was due to announce his choice this morning, but he has decided to delay one more day and announce on Friday, January 28th. Ranked #7 in the state in TSL's Postseason Top 30 (released last week), Boone is one of four Top 20 players still uncommitted (#6 WR Todd Nolen, #9 LB Darryl Gresham, and #20 DT Cordarrow Thompson are the other three).

4-star WR Todd Nolen moved up from #10 in the state to #6 and had his star rating increase from three to four stars in the last in-state Top 30. Nolen was scheduled to visit Penn State last Friday but cancelled that and made a visit to Virginia last Thursday and Friday, instead. Nolen is scheduled to visit VT this weekend.

4-star OL Jared Gaither is a Hargrave Military post-grad player who originally signed with Maryland in 2004 but did not qualify and chose to go to Hargrave. Hargrave likes for their players to stay with their original school, but Gaither opened his commitment back up and has visited Florida, Georgia, and Penn State in the last three weekends. He is expected to visit VT this weekend and then will go home to discuss things with his mother (per his high school coach, in an interview with Chris Horne) and come to a decision.

OL Richard Graham has moved up on the Hokies' recruiting list in the last week or so and will visit VT this weekend. At 6-7, 250, Graham plays tight end for St. Christopher's in Richmond, Virginia but projects as an offensive tackle on the next level. He will visit VT this weekend and is expected to receive an official offer. The Hokies have been in contact with Graham for a couple months and have gotten serious lately as other prospects have dropped off and slots remain open. Interesting nugget from a recent Graham update: He's buddies with Hannah, so much so that Hannah called Graham the night before Hannah committed and Hannah text messaged Graham after he committed.

Timeout to laugh at myself -- from the last mini-war room: "The Hokies remain a possibility for 4-star TE Jonathan Hannah, who just visited South Carolina this weekend. South Carolina impressed him a lot, but expect the final three to be NCSU, UNC and VT. He will probably stay in-state (meaning UNC or NCSU, in that order)."

3-star DE Hivera Green loved VT on his unofficial visit last fall, and the Hokies are in a dogfight with Clemson, where Green visited on January 14th. Green will visit VT this weekend, and the Hokies need a great visit to snag him. Green has said he'll go where he feels he can trust the coaches.

3-star DE/LB Dakota Walker has not officially dropped the Hokies from consideration, but various insiders and sources feel that Walker is South Carolina-bound.

Defensive tackle Cordarrow Thompson moved up from #26 to #20 in TSL's latest Top 30 and received an increase in his star rating from two stars to three. Syracuse had a commitment from Thompson at one time, but when Paul Pasqualoni was fired, Thompson opened his recruiting back up. Syracuse has failed to show Thompson any love, and Thompson visited Marshall last weekend and will trek to VT this weekend. With the thinness of this class at DT, Thompson could be a big get for the Hokies. VT still hasn't offered but is expected to this weekend, and Thompson has said he'll announce his choice around signing day.

3-star LB Darryl Gresham continues to list the Hokies in a final three with Florida and Virginia, but don't look for the Hokies to get Gresham, who still hasn't made an official visit to VT and probably won't (according to the Roanoke Times). Florida is the school to beat here. Also at linebacker, the Hokies trail Florida State and UNC for 4-star recruit Derek Nicholson.

4-star CB Jamie Robinson has eliminated Clemson and will choose between FSU and VT. Robinson appears to be having a tough time making his decision, and he'll visit VT this weekend, where they'll hopefully make it easy for him to decide (in a good way!).  Robinson might announce as early as Sunday or Monday, but he'll probably wait until very close to -- or on -- Signing Day (next Wednesday).

Remaining Visits

January 28th: WR Todd Nolen, DE Hivera Green, OL Richard Graham, OL Jared Gaither, DT Cordarrow Thompson, CB Jamie Robinson, and P Brent Bowden, and VT commits Brandon Holland, William Wall, Deveon Simmons, Kenneth Jefferson, Robert Norris, Cam Martin, Sam Wheeler, and Victor Harris.

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