Where do the Hokies stand in the ’13 recruiting rankings?
With offensive tackle Jonathan McLaughlin‘s commitment Thursday, Virginia Tech took another step closer to completing its 2013 recruiting class.
So far, it doesn’t look like Tech’s disappointing 6-6 record is having a negative impact on the recruiting trail. The Hokies have the potential to finish with the highest recruiting ranking they’ve had since the explosion of websites that specialize on the subject in the last decade.
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McLaughlin’s commitment, Virginia Tech’s 20th in this class, bumped the Hokies’ class up to ninth in the 247 Sports national rankings. They’ve been ranked 22nd (2012), 34th (’11) and 31st (’10) in the three previous years the website has been active.
Virginia Tech is 13th on Rivals’ rankings. The Hokies’ highest ranking by Rivals since 2002 was No. 14 in 2005. They’ve been higher than 30th five other times — 22nd in 2012, 23rd in 2010, 18th in 2008, 29th in 2007 and 27th in 2003.
247 Sports lists Virginia Tech as having the top-ranked class in the ACC. Rivals puts the Hokies second behind Florida State. Since joining the ACC, Tech has never finished higher than third in the Rivals’ league rankings.
Because the Hokies are up against the overall NCAA scholarship limit of 85, they’re not likely to add many, if any, more commitments to the class from now until February, although nothing is final with commitments until they send in letters of intent on National Signing Day on Feb. 6.
Because there likely won’t be a flurry of action on signing day like last year, when Tech added commitments from a pair of four-star recruits — wide receiver Joel Caleb and defensive end Ken Ekanem – there’s a good chance the Hokies could slide further down the list. Nevertheless, from a rankings standpoint, it could be a banner class for Virginia Tech.
Here’s a closer look at how the rankings break down:
Rank, School, Commits — 5*-4*-3* — Avg., Points
- 1. USC, 16 — 4-11-1 — 94.50, 768.48
- 2. Alabama, 19 — 3-12-3 — 92.00, 767.72
- 3. Florida, 24– 2-12-10 — 90.63, 758.40
- 4. Ohio State, 19 — 0-15-3 — 91.00, 754.52
- 5. Notre Dame, 21 — 1-16-4 — 91.57, 754.39
- 6. Michigan, 24 — 1-16-6 — 90.46, 752.93
- 7. Texas A&M , 34 — 1-14-19 — 89.41, 752.26
- 8. LSU, 24 — 0-18-6 — 90.92, 747.97
- 9. Virginia Tech, 20 — 1-6-13 — 88.85, 739.33
- 10. Georgia, 30 — 0-15-15 — 89.60, 738.95
- 11. Oklahoma, 18 — 0-7-10 — 88.50, 731.66
- 12. Mississippi State, 21 — 1-4-15 — 86.86, 730.10
- 13. Washington, 20 — 0-6-13 — 87.15, 729.35
- 14. Ole Miss, 21 — 1-4-15 — 87.24, 728.51
- 15. Penn State, 18 — 1-4-12 — 86.61, 725.09
Rivals (does not include commitment from Fork Union’s Jerome Wright for some reason)
Rank, School, Commits — 5*-4*-3* — Avg., Points
- 1. USC, 16 — 5-11 -0 — 4.31, 2,731
- 2. Notre Dame , 21, 2-13-6 — 3.81, 2,698
- 3. Florida, 24 — 1-13-10 — 3.63, 2,610
- 4. Michigan, 24 — 1-15-7 — 3.67, 2,592
- 5. Alabama, 19 — 2-11-6 — 3.79, 2,560
- 6. LSU, 22 — 0-16-6 — 3.73, 2,509
- 7. Texas A&M, 34 — 0-14-19 — 3.38, 2,393
- 8. Ohio State, 19 — 0-12-6 — 3.58, 2,371
- 9. Georgia, 30 — 0-14-16 — 3.47, 2,235
- 10. Oklahoma, 18 — 0-6-11 3.28 1802
- 11. Washington, 20 — 0-6-14 — 3.3, 1,799
- 12. Virginia Tech, 19 — 1-4-14 — 3.32, 1,782
- 13. UCLA, 19 — 0-10-8 — 3.47, 1,772
- 14. Vanderbilt, 21 — 0-2-19 — 3.1, 1,750
- 14.. Florida State, 16 — 0-7-8 — 3.38, 1,750
Composite rankings (247 Sports averages the rankings of all major media recruiting services)
Rank, School, Commits — 5*-4*-3* — Avg., Points
- 1. USC, 16 — 5-11-0 — 96.19, 779.15
- 2. Alabama, 19 — 3-8-7 — 92.09, 774.61
- 3. Ohio State, 19 — 1-12-5 — 91.46 ,767.60
- 4. Florida, 24 — 2-11-11 — 90.93, 767.50
- 5. Michigan, 24 — 1-16-6 — 90.98, 765.09
- 6. Notre Dame, 21 — 1-13-7 — 92.14, 764.81
- 7. Texas A&M, 34 — 2 12-20 — 88.98, 760.52
- 8. LSU, 24 — 0-17-7 — 90.77, 753.59
- 9. Georgia, 30 — 0-13-17 — 89.05, 747.55
- 10. Texas, 13 — 1-8-4 — 93.08, 737.89
- 11. Oklahoma, 18 — 0-6-11 — 88.14, 733.22
- 12. Florida State, 16 — 0-7-9 — 89.28, 732.02
- 13. Virginia Tech, 20 — 1-4-15 — 87.69, 730.33
- 14. Clemson, 16 — 0-8-8 — 89.32, 730.03
- 15. Washington, 20 — 0-5-15 — 86.92, 728.14
December 21, 2012 - 8:57 AM
Truly an inexact science, but it is definitely better to be on the upside than the downside.
Looks to be one of the best ever. And it is the best in the ACC. Beamer has a plan to make this a national championship team again. Gotta have trust in the man.
Virginia Tech needs better recruits and better players to be a really good team, but with that it is starting to seem that the team needs better coaches. Often times when we get good players the talent is wasted by poor coaching.
Good luck Hokies !!!
Get off your bandwagon BBAT! Beamer will NEVER win a National Championship regardless of this o-so-accurate gauge concerning “verbal” committments. His style of coaching will continue as normal, win all the cupcake games and lose all the ones against ANY ranked team. Go Hokies!
I don’t have any real input on the rankings themselves but I question how Rivals could have VT ahead of Florida State on the national rankings but as AB stated, VT behind FS in the ACC rankings. It doesn’t compute.
Hey Ancient Bobcat, by “cupcake games” are you talking about VT scheduling the likes of Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, and Western Carolina? Oh, sorry, that’s Alabamas non-conference schedule. No, I’m not comparing VT to Bama, my point being EVERYONE schedules “cupcakes,” not just VT. The argument that VT schedules cupcakes has gotten so annoying. Apparently the idiots who take shots at VTs schedule don’t look at everyone else’s schedule. Criticize the coaching, playcalling, lack of prep, and be a VT hater all you want, but relax with the scheduling.
AB -
POSITION NEEDS ARE THE KEY!!
As we all know, our baseline assumption is the better the ranking the better the class. The true test of a ranking is how well it meets the needs of the team today! Not three years down the road as some of the recruits won’t evern be on the roster by then.
NEDD – O-line and RB – FULLFILLED!
This is why some analyst rank VT’s class so highly.
Well done, Coach Beamer and staff.
RT
Im in DC, how right you are. Over the last five years VT’s SOS has averaged 39th in FBS. Not great but better than most.
Scott whitaker, the haters will be haters… I guess adding Bama, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and likely Notre Dame will go unnoticed… Except when we lose then the haters will jump all over. It’s a no win situation with the VT haters. Nothing wrong with an SOS of 39 and likely to come up from there. Not an apologist here, I recognize and believe there are deficiencies in the program but the scheduling just isn’t one of them.
I think keeping Drew Harris is a real plus. His highlight reel is pretty amazing. I also like Kendall Fuller. Wish the Fuller family had more to send us. Can we get some DNA and clone them?
For all of those Aristohokiebrats and Aristohokiegeezers who believe our program needs to be taken down to parade rest, well, go cry in your beer. Oh boo hoo hoo for you.
Now lets go kick some Rutgers Snookijwowsituationlovers tail.
Some of the self proclaimed “VT supporters” enjoy being critical of even the good news. Very confusing to me. There is one who is very offended that Coach Beamer put a tropy case in the Merriman center. This person can’t get over it.
Besides SOS the other statistic that annoys me is “record against ranked opponents”. If the rankings are correct, a higher ranked team should almost always win (duh!?). If the opponent to a top ten team is in the teens, twenties or unranked, shouldn’t they almost always lose? So anything better than a zero, that is, the lower ranked team gets a win, is both unexpected and remarkable. I’d much rather like to know how many times have we beaten a higher ranked team (ranked at the time) as compared to how many times we lost to a lower ranked team when ranked. Then compare this ratio to other prominent teams. Sounds like a job for AB!
It’s easy to get excited and caught up in the updated recruiting ranking, but the thing is, we won’t see the result of said recruiting class until the 3rd or 4th year when they have been in the system long enough. Granted, some could become an immediate contributors, and others may wash out. It’s the nature of the business, I suppose.
While I’m thrilled that Tech secured an offensive lineman, I am still pessisimtic that Newsome will remain at Tech as the Center/Guards coach, and his coaching have failed to produce standout players. Hence, that’s why I think some new blood on the offense staff is warranted, in spite of the apologists who refuses to open their mind and consider the possbilities.
True, new blood on the coaching staff may lose some recruits or causes frictions, but that’s a risk that the head coach have to take at some point.
Virginia Tech will never be a football factory like Alabama who can replace departed seniors, NFL draftees, and chug along; however, I would argue that sometime infusion of ideas, different blocking schemes, and offense plays can make a difference. Take a look at Clemson. They weren’t very good for a while, fans were ready to run Dabo out of town until he took a gamble and hired Chad Morris who energized the fan base with the new offense philosophy. Give Venables some time, and I think the defense for Clemson might get better down the road.
Sometime changes are scary, but who knows what it turns out if nobody is willing to take a leap of faith?
Oh, that’s right, that’s because the apologists are scared to death of what may happen to Tech if Beamer actually made some changes. Will Beamer make a change? I’m extremely skeptical.
To give an example of talent tech gets to teams that can really have a chance for a NC, look at tech’s freshmen running backs compared to Bama’s or Georgia’s and then look at the off. and defensive line with the top tier teams. They cannot compete with this. Just common sense. They have depth and are used to playing top teams 9 out of 12 games knowing they better or they will get beat. Yes, cupcakes all around until they get in the meat of the schedule. Give tech Tenn.’s schedule.
If your offensive coaches suck, you could get thirteen 5 star guys and still be a mess. Or as some have pointed out loose the big game – not because you dont have talent, but because you dont know who the heck you are or what the heck your doing!!
BBAT, are you giving us an April Fool’s joke? VT in the national championship next year? Do you really think they will do better than 4-8? 2013 is the year of the Bee Stingers in the Coastal and Miami and UNC will follow. Hokies not in the picture. You folks need to quit drinking the Kool Aid and get real.
We played Tenn. not too long ago, bowl game as I recall. Not much of a game as I recall…
AB let me take this time to thank you for keeping the VT news coming. It’s a pleasure getting updates year round. I know it’s a job and I dont always agree with you but the internet is better for having you!!! I almost got misty-eyed. Happy Holidays!
I HEARD SOME UNCONFIRMED INFORMATION TODAY THAT BEAMER WAS GOING TO CLEAN HOUSE ON THE OFFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL. GOING TO BRING IN A NEW OC FROM OUT WEST AND ALLOW HIM TO PICK HIS OFFENSIVE STAFF. SHANE BEARMER WOULD TAKE OVER SPECIAL TEAMS AND STINESPRING WOULD STAY AND WORK WITH RECRUITING. HAS ANYONE ELSE HEARD ANYTHING ALONG THESE LINES?
#19 JW, sorry I couldn’t hear you. You’ll need to scream a little louder.
I thought everyone learned back in the 90′s that it was rude to type in all caps. Question – if you type in all caps and you want to show emphasis, do you then switch to small letters?
**Just ask crooked road. He read Chris Coleman’s Rumors article on Tech Sideline.com and then proclaimed he saw a vision of three wise men bearing gifts, coming to take over as the new OC, Off Line and QBs Coaches.
Mumbled something about divining an immaculate termination.
Amazing- the chance that crooked road was actually commenting while I typed! Its that sixth sense for the need to comment …
#19 Yes, have heard that. Two names I’ve heard are Brian Scott and Tony Franklin. No idea of course how reliable that is but what the heck we have nothing better to do than speculate, guess, hope…
Yeah I heard the same thing! Rumor is Stanford’s offensive coordinator who is from VA will be hired at tech
Pep Hamilton @ Stanford coming to VT as the Off Coordinator??Seems he knows how to carve up VTS Defense,,Played QB at Howard,,up and comer,,would be an interesting hire for sure.Rumors flow and the truth slowly trickles.
Heard from a Big $$$$$$$ Donor the following:
Stinespring – Recruiting Coordinator – Probably a good move!
O’Cain – Out
Newsome – Out
Sherman – Out
How this could muddle 2013 Commitments – A few concerns – Newsome has several we need – Bucky Hodges for one – He also has good connections with the 747 Area – However: HE HAS GOT TO GO!!! In addition to Hodges he is the Recruiter for 2 more – 1 O-Lineman!
Sherman recruiter for 3 – In on Filler with Gray and Parker next best!
Don’t see O’Cain at all!
Also heard Franklin name and the Stanford Coach – Hinted that they may have had conversation with the Duke O-Line Coach – But that the Offense make up will be totally up to the New O Coordinator!
Shane to Special Teams would be a good move –
Any of you that think he doesn’t earn his Salary, Check Rivals.com and see who has brought in the most 4 Star Recruits in 2012 and the 2013 Commitments!
Looks like some of you that excel in bad-mouthing the Coaches will have to choose sides for 2013 and thereafter!!!
Go Hokies – Tech 31 – Rutgers 17
If your post has legs, VT has enough time to handle any potential damage control prior to Feb 2013 letter of intent day.Let the coaches still on board earn their keep and announce changes after you have glad handed all potential and current signees.Kids don’t like surprises, you know they are hearing the rumbling from other opposing recruiting coaches,
If the kids have any sense they’ll be even more firm with their commitments AFTER the coaching changes. Can’t do worse than a couple of those names that are mentioned as being replaced
I say leave all of the current coaches in place for 2013. It would be boring on this message board if there are too many changes. We are accustomed to Tech being hyped up as a top 10 team, heading for another National Championship, only to be out of the picture by season’s end. Too much enjoyment in the status quo, don’t change it. It would be boring if VT actually improves with Beamer.
CROOKED ROAD, now does this suit you better, as usual , you have more mouth than butt.
Bob at #26 has an interesting post, and it will be worth waiting to learn if it is true.
Hey Im in DC: Comparing apples to oranges. BTW, how many of VT’s cupcakes are playing in a bowl game? Count them, you won’t have to use your calculator. I do believe one of the teams listed for ‘Bama is in one, what do you have? Nothing!!!
I realize i am not a football coach, however i have followed football all my life and if Frank Beamer does not realize the problems with Tech football (O side of the ball)then what kind of coach is he. Fans have been calling for changes on offense for years and each year the offense has gotten progressively worse, it seams that they did have a good idea of what was going on and Frank didnt. Just a shame they had to hit rock bottom before they decided we do need to make some changes. Remember last year after winning a NC, Alabama fired their OC because he wasnt getting the job done. Just saying!!!
For the last time, Alabama did not fire its offensive coordinator after winning the national championship. He took the head coaching job at Colorado State.
And enough with the Tony Franklin talk. He is Cal’s offensive coordinator now. http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2012/12/16/3760224/tony-franklin-cal-offensive-coordinator-sonny-dykes
#21 MIke, you’re wrong again. I don’t pay for any online content, and I’d bet that Coleman’s article is just that. Regardless, I’ve not read it. I’ve also been saying since early December, maybe late November, that there would be 3-4 changes made, and I have been pretty specific about them. That doesn’t mean I’ll be right about any of them, nor that I was the first to say it. It just means that you’re wrong again about me.
#26 Bob, part of your post is close to what I’ve heard, too. The only difference is that I’ve heard Stinespring will still do OL in addition to the RC job. What will not happen is that neither Tony Franklin or Pep Hamilton will come to VaTech.
Regardless, it’s interesting that the coaching changes are generating far more interest than the bowl game.
Thanks Andy, I’ve heard more than enough about the so called greatest OC on earth, Tony Franklin. HE’S GONE. Believe me, we were the lucky ones. Give me an OC that is young and has some fire and is ready to start making the offense accountable for their play.
Wasn’t Auburn ranked in the top 6 at one point?
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
On the other hand, look at aTm’s recruiting. And look at Johnny Heisman’s g/f. Life is good as an Aggie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a great letter in the Roanoke Time Mailbag written by Ms. Shimozono today. I couldn’t agree with her comments more!
Mcfarling has never passed up an opportunity to take a cheap shot at Stinespring. And to refer to Stnespring’s 10 year run as OC an experiment is just that-a cheap shot. Same as so many other cheap shots made on this site by so many others who really don’t appreciate what the VT staff has accomplished over the years.
John Wright – are you really that proud of being a rude jerk? Crooked Road and I never, ever agree (well maybe once) and he makes me irritated enough that I address him as “Aristohokiegeezerincharge”. But this tension is about sports opinions, not life.
Get over yourself.
#35 crooked, let’s face it, the reality of facing Rutgers in a bowl is so much less compelling than the prospect of VT’s OC finding more suitable employment…
I also like the letter to the RT Mailbag written by Ms. Sumner. I truly believe the majority of Hokie fans feel this way versus many of the vicious comments posted on this and many other sites.
#36 COM, I hate to disappoint you, but the next Hokie OC will be neither young nor intense. He will, however, be someone that Frank Beamer is comfortable with, and that’s about as much of a stretch as is possible by Frank at this point in his career.
#39 ZMan, I am VERY disappointed in you. Or should I say (lol) – I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU. Sorry, couldn’t resist. You had a chance to knock the softball about me that John Wright lobbed up out of the freakin’ ballpark, and you left your bat on your shoulder.
JW said about me – ‘You have more mouth than butt.’ ZMan, I figured for sure that you would correct JW on that one. Per our conversations over the weeks, I thought you’d certainly assure him that I was more of a butt than anything else, LOL…
Come on, ZMan, I can’t keep handing you all these good lines if you don’t use them.
If we don’t chat before then, have a Feliz Navidad, amigo. Break open a Tempranillo in my behalf.
danny, really? I thought AM’s article was very tactfully written and I’ve never seen him take “cheap shots” at anyone or “spew vitriol” like the letter today claimed. The man is a sports writer for a newspaper and does not work for VT’s marketing dept. I’d much rather hear from an objective writer such as Aaron than a “homer” who feeds me the oft repeated “the boys played their hearts out today” line. Here’s a quote from that article and you tell me if that is spewing vitriol or taking a cheap shot:
“This doesn’t make Stinespring a slacker or a bad guy. On the contrary, he works his tail off and always has. His value as a recruiter cannot be overstated. Thomas is among the many stars who’ve chosen Tech thanks to Stinespring’s overtures.”
I applaud Aaron for doing his job with class.
McFarling’s reference to Stinespring’s 10 year role as OC as an EXPERIMENT was under-handed to say the least. And he’s made many similar remarks over the years.
The other complimentary comments are obvious to anyone who knows anything about VT football and/or Stinespring. He’s always been a dedicated coach, hard worker, and tireless recruiter. These facts are well known. Not McFarling’s opinion.
#44 First it’s been 11 years. Second it was an experiment, no question. Stinespring had never been OC before and Beamer put him on the job to see how he could do. Before that he was, if my memory serves, OL coach and before that TE coach. So yes, clearly it was an experiment that in my opinion went on (is still going?) far too long. Any objective analysis of the offense since he took over, especially in relation to the performance of the other units, shows his performance to be sub par. This doesn’t mean he’s not a nice guy, that the players and other coaches don’t like him. It’s a job and he has just not lived up to the standards. There’s been talk about elevating the performance of this team and I think we’ll hear pretty soon that Coach Beamer feels that a new OC will be needed to help get that job done. I maintain that AM’s opinion piece was well written, thoughtful and long overdue. In many other markets I think that piece would have been written after only a few years and with a lot less sensitivity.
I’ve been in the work place a long time and never have I heard of a promotion or new job assignment referred to as an experiment. Not an 11 year experiment anyway.
If changes are made I don’t believe it will be Beamer’s choice. I believe administration will force changes due to the frustration of fans and donors. If Beamer wasn’t satisfied with Stinesprings performance he would have made changes before now.
I say be careful what you wish for.