SkinsHokieFan
May-24th-2006, 09:29 AM
If we land him, this will be a huge addition to our 2007 recruiting class
5 star QB that has dominated the last 2 state title games
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/columnists/dp-31518cm0may24,0,2628374.column?coll=dp-sports-columnists
http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=39099
http://subscr.techsideline.com/php-bin/recruiting/viewProspect.php?type=football&prospectID=6335
Taylor's decision not so tough
David Teel
May 24 2006
At first blush, Virginia Tech faces stern recruiting competition for Hampton High quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are past national champions; South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is an unrivaled innovator; North Carolina State produced quarterback Philip Rivers, the No. 4 pick of the 2004 NFL draft.
Those are the six schools Taylor's father says his son is considering. Take Rodney Taylor at his word, but if Tyrod, a junior with impeccable academic and athletic credentials, doesn't select Virginia Tech, expect Dan Brown to soon join Opus Dei.
Not that the Hokies are clearly superior to their rivals for Taylor, though N.C. State, a program that has never finished among The Associated Press top 10 or played in a major bowl, appears out of its league. It's just that in recruiting, as in life, timing is everything.
And 2007 is the time for Virginia Tech to land a big-time quarterback.
Check the '06 recruiting classes. Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and N.C. State signed touted quarterbacks: Tim Tebow, Matthew Stafford, Nick Stephens, Chris Smelley and Justin Burke, respectively. They turned down the likes of Southern California, Texas, Michigan, Florida State, Louisville and Michigan State.
Tech signed Kam Chancellor, an all-district quarterback at Norfolk's Maury High who projects as a defensive back and chose the Hokies instead of James Madison and Kent State.
Now Taylor certainly isn't bashful about competition. Indeed, if he falls head-over-cleats for the Gators, Dawgs, Vols, Gamecocks or Wolfpack, he'll relish the challenge.
But it will have to be a heckuva sales pitch to overcome an in-state program with five top-10 finishes in the last 11 seasons and a glaring void (sorry, Sean Glennon, Ike Whitaker and Cory Holt) at quarterback.
Sure, recruiting ratings are often bogus, and Tebow, Stafford and Co., could flop like a noseguard off the diving board. But Florida and Georgia appear especially committed to Tebow and Stafford, each of whom graduated from high school early, enrolled in college and received upbeat reviews during spring practice.
Taylor is considering the same option, according to his father. He could earn his Hampton diploma in December, start attending college in January and be on the field for the opening of spring practice in March.
All that said, there's more to recruiting than personnel. Coaches and their ability to forge relationships are paramount, and Taylor will hear from the best.
Spurrier coached Florida to the 1996 national title, helped Danny Wuerffel win the '96 Heisman Trophy and is bent on bringing similar results to South Carolina; Georgia coach Mark Richt was among the game's best recruiters as a Florida State assistant and hasn't lost a beat as a big whistle; Florida coach Urban Meyer has signed not only Tebow but also a receiver to complement him: Percy Harvin of Virginia Beach's Landstown High.
But Virginia Tech has pursued Taylor longer and more aggressively than other suitors. Taylor has visited campus several times, attended last month's spring game and even sat in on quarterbacks' meetings conducted by position coach Mike O'Cain.
Moreover, the Hokies have unveiled their ace in the hole.
Curt Newsome joined Virginia Tech's staff in February from James Madison. A former head coach at Kecoughtan and Heritage high schools, he counts Hampton High coach Mike Smith among his close friends.
Veteran assistant Jim Cavanaugh is Virginia Tech's primary Peninsula recruiter, while Newsome mines Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk. But when it comes to Hampton High, Newsome steps in.
So comfortable is the Tech-Taylor dynamic that neither party considers Tyrod's attendance at the Hokies' summer high school camp essential. Rodney says his son may attend camps at Florida and/or South Carolina and hopes to tour all of his finalists other than Tech this summer - he has yet to visit any of those campuses.
(Virginia and North Carolina could have been players in the Taylor Sweepstakes. But each accepted an early commitment from a pure quarterback: Peter Lalich of Springfield and Mike Paulus of Syracuse, N.Y., respectively. Paulus' older brother, Greg, starts at guard for Duke's basketball team.)
National signing day is Feb. 7, but expect Tyrod Taylor's decision long before.
"By the end of the summer," Rodney says. "He wants to put this behind him."
And is Virginia Tech the likely destination?
"They saw value in him before anyone else," Rodney says, "and that means a lot."
5 star QB that has dominated the last 2 state title games
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/columnists/dp-31518cm0may24,0,2628374.column?coll=dp-sports-columnists
http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=39099
http://subscr.techsideline.com/php-bin/recruiting/viewProspect.php?type=football&prospectID=6335
Taylor's decision not so tough
David Teel
May 24 2006
At first blush, Virginia Tech faces stern recruiting competition for Hampton High quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are past national champions; South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is an unrivaled innovator; North Carolina State produced quarterback Philip Rivers, the No. 4 pick of the 2004 NFL draft.
Those are the six schools Taylor's father says his son is considering. Take Rodney Taylor at his word, but if Tyrod, a junior with impeccable academic and athletic credentials, doesn't select Virginia Tech, expect Dan Brown to soon join Opus Dei.
Not that the Hokies are clearly superior to their rivals for Taylor, though N.C. State, a program that has never finished among The Associated Press top 10 or played in a major bowl, appears out of its league. It's just that in recruiting, as in life, timing is everything.
And 2007 is the time for Virginia Tech to land a big-time quarterback.
Check the '06 recruiting classes. Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and N.C. State signed touted quarterbacks: Tim Tebow, Matthew Stafford, Nick Stephens, Chris Smelley and Justin Burke, respectively. They turned down the likes of Southern California, Texas, Michigan, Florida State, Louisville and Michigan State.
Tech signed Kam Chancellor, an all-district quarterback at Norfolk's Maury High who projects as a defensive back and chose the Hokies instead of James Madison and Kent State.
Now Taylor certainly isn't bashful about competition. Indeed, if he falls head-over-cleats for the Gators, Dawgs, Vols, Gamecocks or Wolfpack, he'll relish the challenge.
But it will have to be a heckuva sales pitch to overcome an in-state program with five top-10 finishes in the last 11 seasons and a glaring void (sorry, Sean Glennon, Ike Whitaker and Cory Holt) at quarterback.
Sure, recruiting ratings are often bogus, and Tebow, Stafford and Co., could flop like a noseguard off the diving board. But Florida and Georgia appear especially committed to Tebow and Stafford, each of whom graduated from high school early, enrolled in college and received upbeat reviews during spring practice.
Taylor is considering the same option, according to his father. He could earn his Hampton diploma in December, start attending college in January and be on the field for the opening of spring practice in March.
All that said, there's more to recruiting than personnel. Coaches and their ability to forge relationships are paramount, and Taylor will hear from the best.
Spurrier coached Florida to the 1996 national title, helped Danny Wuerffel win the '96 Heisman Trophy and is bent on bringing similar results to South Carolina; Georgia coach Mark Richt was among the game's best recruiters as a Florida State assistant and hasn't lost a beat as a big whistle; Florida coach Urban Meyer has signed not only Tebow but also a receiver to complement him: Percy Harvin of Virginia Beach's Landstown High.
But Virginia Tech has pursued Taylor longer and more aggressively than other suitors. Taylor has visited campus several times, attended last month's spring game and even sat in on quarterbacks' meetings conducted by position coach Mike O'Cain.
Moreover, the Hokies have unveiled their ace in the hole.
Curt Newsome joined Virginia Tech's staff in February from James Madison. A former head coach at Kecoughtan and Heritage high schools, he counts Hampton High coach Mike Smith among his close friends.
Veteran assistant Jim Cavanaugh is Virginia Tech's primary Peninsula recruiter, while Newsome mines Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk. But when it comes to Hampton High, Newsome steps in.
So comfortable is the Tech-Taylor dynamic that neither party considers Tyrod's attendance at the Hokies' summer high school camp essential. Rodney says his son may attend camps at Florida and/or South Carolina and hopes to tour all of his finalists other than Tech this summer - he has yet to visit any of those campuses.
(Virginia and North Carolina could have been players in the Taylor Sweepstakes. But each accepted an early commitment from a pure quarterback: Peter Lalich of Springfield and Mike Paulus of Syracuse, N.Y., respectively. Paulus' older brother, Greg, starts at guard for Duke's basketball team.)
National signing day is Feb. 7, but expect Tyrod Taylor's decision long before.
"By the end of the summer," Rodney says. "He wants to put this behind him."
And is Virginia Tech the likely destination?
"They saw value in him before anyone else," Rodney says, "and that means a lot."