Thomas Dale athlete D.J. Reid commits to Hokies
D.J. Reid, an athlete from Thomas Dale High in Chester, said Thursday night that he’ll sign with Virginia Tech in 2013.
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Reid is the Hokies’ first commitment since defensive lineman Wyatt Teller in the middle of August and the 18th in the 2013 class including running back Drew Harris, who is prepping at Fork Union this semester.
The 6-foot, 202-pound Reid said he expects to play running back and slot receiver at Virginia Tech. He ran for 119 yards a game last year for Thomas Dale and is playing running back, safety, outside linebacker, punt returner, kick returner and occasionally Wildcat quarterback this year.
247 Sports ranks him as a four-star recruit, the No. 11 player in the state and No. 218 prospect nationally. Rivals has him as a three-star recruit and the No. 17 player in the state.
Reid’s final two choice were Virginia Tech and South Florida. He didn’t have a chance to visit the latter but made his decision anyway.
“It was just getting down to the wire, plus I feel like it’s a perfect fit for me, because [Virginia Tech] is close to home,” he said. “My parents are going to see my games, that kind of stuff. … I’ve been around some of the Virginia Tech players when I’ve been up there, the couple times I did go. I just feel like it’s a very warm, very family environment for me.”
Hokies freshman safety Desmond Frye is a former teammate of Reid’s at Thomas Dale. Safety C.J. Reavis, a 2014 Hokies target, is one of his current teammates on the Knights.
Virginia Tech running backs coach Shane Beamer was Reid’s primary recruiter. He was also the lead recruiter for two other Richmond-area ’13 commits — safety Holland Fisher and cornerback Cequan Jefferson.
“Shane is a free spirit like me,” Reid said. “He’s very happy-go-lucky. He’s smiling. He reminds me a lot of myself. He’s genuine. Very nice. When I met him for the first time, I could tell he wasn’t putting on an act. I could tell he was genuinely cared about the person.”
Here is Virginia Tech’s updated commitment list for 2013:
- Kyle Chung, TE, 6-4, 255 Ponte Vedra, Fla. (Ponte Vedra)
- Charles Clark, DB, 5-11, 180, Suffolk (King’s Fork)
- Brandon Facyson, DB/WR, 6-2, 182 Newnan, Ga. (Northgate)
- Holland Fisher, DB, 6-2, 205, Midlothian (Manchester)
- Kendall Fuller, CB, 6-0, 175, Olney, Md. (Our Lady of Good Counsel)
- Drew Harris, RB, 6-1, 215, Downingtown, Pa. (Fork Union)
- Bucky Hodges, QB, 6-5, 225, Virginia Beach (Salem)
- Cequan Jefferson, ATH, 5-11, 167, Richmond (Henrico)
- Jamieon Moss, LB, 6-1, 210, Elizabeth City, N.C. (Northeastern)
- Andrew Motu’apuaka, LB, 6-0, 210, Virginia Beach (Salem)
- Deon Newsome, ATH, 5-11, 170, Hampton (Hampton)
- Parker Osterloh, OL, 6-7, 268, Williamsburg (Warhill)
- Carlis Parker, QB/ATH, 6-4, 187, Statesville, N.C. (Statesville)
- Braxton Pfaff, OL, 6-5, 290, Lynchburg (Liberty Christian)
- David Prince, ATH, 6-0, 175, Roanoke (Patrick Henry)
- D.J. Reid, RB/WR, 6-0, 202, Chester (Thomas Dale)
- Anthony Shegog, DB, 6-2, 195, Stafford (North Stafford)
- Wyatt Teller, DE, 6-5, 275, Bealeton (Liberty)
September 27, 2012 - 9:21 PM
Good pick up..one they will need because Holland Fisher will not sign with the Hokies. Rumor is he will be heading out of state.
False , Fisher is visiting Bama and ohio st but he said recently he’s 100 percent hokie, he’s just taking 2 free visits that is all it is. This is a really good recruiting class now we just need to add 2 more o-line recruits and hamilton and then fire Newsome and were headed in the right direction.
You got some bad info!
Is Reid’s commitment simply a verbal one, Andy? We’ll see at the end of this season if he really will sign, I doubt it. Why would he?
Welcome to Virginia Tech to this young man. Good luck to you.
What is Fisher’s problem?
Proof reader, Fisher is already committed to Tech. He may flip and go to Alabama, bu I’ve been told he is sticking with his commitment.
Way to turn him away proof reader. You can’t believe everything you hear. Unless you have a firm source the only thing made public is that Nick Saban of Alabama is still pursuing him. Let’s hope Holland is a firm commit. I think he’s pretty tight with Kendall Fuller and is committed to the Hokies.
Holland Fisher is 100% Hokie and barring him not being able to qualify (very very low chance) he will almost definitely be in Blacksburg next summer. It has been widely known that he was visiting Alabama for months so this is not a surprise. It is not liking he is trying to back door VT, that Saban just recently offered, and he is jumping on the first greyhound bus to Tuscaloosa. The coaches have known about this and he is good with this. Joel Caleb is practically his brother and he is very close with the coaching staff (SB) and other current and future players. Don’t make assumptions about something you know nothing about haters…
Oh yeah..and DJ Reid is a really big pickup. He is very versatile and the coaches will find a spot in the lineup for him. He was considered to be a heavy lean all along so this commitment is no surprise to me. The only other school truly in the running (as AB said) was USF and that is only because his father is from the area and he has extended family in the area. UVA, UNC and others haven’t been in it for months.
DJ Reids commitment helps alot with CJ Reavis next year too. I’ll say right now VT might land him before next summer. Next year could be an epic recruiting class for VT. (5)Hand, (4)Holmes are already leaning a little bit, (4)Reavis is a heavy lean, And we have a fighters chance at this point with (5)Damian Prince and (5)Andrew Brown . Don’t count out (5)Blanding after UVA continues to lose. Those are all 4 and 5 star players, some in the top 10 and 50 in the nation. That is not even counting (4) and others that we have and (4) Walker and (4)Nhadi. VT will have a Top 10 class in ’14 and will continue to be the best FB program in VA.so……..
Haters keep on hatin’
If Holland Fisher is such a lock to Tech then ask yourself why is he considered a “soft verbal”. If he is 100% committed to Tech then why is he taking further visits? Guys you don’t take the visits because its a free trip by the recruiting school. You take it because there is a shown interest in that particular program(s),otherwise the schools would pull the offer if they didn’t feel they had a chance to get him. I live in the school district that feeds Manchester High School, the rumor mill here is he is “looking out of state”. Any way have you looked at the log jam for DB’s that’s on this 2013 list for Tech? This wouldn’t be the first time a kid switches his commitment from VT to another school, nor will it be the last.
proof reader, I went to 3 different recruiting sites (Rivals.com, 247Sports, and Scout.com), and only Scout.com list Fisher as a soft verbal. In addition, 247Sports’ recruiting director, JC Shurtburtt himself, told me, “Any time a prospect visits another school there is a chance things will change, but VT is very strong here,” via Twitter.
Just yesterday, I heard a rumor that Jim Weaver was retiring this year, and Beamer would step down as a head coach and take over as an AD. Ran that by the blog crowd at Aaron’s blog, and they pretty much shot it down.
Rumor are just rumor.
Wow…you must look at Scout.com. The most reputable recruiting service in the biz lmao. Just checked them out and am absolutely shocked that they have the the DJ Reid commitment up there already. They typically lag behind the others services by a month and probably mooch most of their information off of those sites. Anyhow, This happens all the time. High profile recruits commit and then visit other places all the time. Nkemdiche has done it a couple times already and may do it again. Same goes for others. Do I agree with it?? No, I don’t.. but that is the way it goes. If Fisher wants to go to Tuscaloosa and see ‘Bama beat the hell out of Ole Miss on someone else’s dime..so be it. Same goes for the OSU Michigan game in a few weeks. If he were worried about the incoming recruits and the depth chart in the VT LB’s and secondary then he should be absolutely terrified of the one at ‘Bama. I don’t see him ending up there, not out of the realm of possibility but if he was so interested in shopping around he wouldn’t have committed so early. Every D1 program in the country would “hold” a scholly for him until NSD. Or if you were Alabama you would just drop the lowest rated committed player at the door and not feel bad about it for a second.
Trevor, he is listed as a soft on Rivals too. What I here is considered pretty reliable since its from a teacher at Manchester High School that is close to Fisher. But as you say rumors are rumors….