Revisiting the Hokies’ 2008 signing class five years later
It’s nearly National Signing Day, when recruitniks quickly evaluate all of the signing classes based on stars and potential, even though that’s never a guarantee for future success.
So about this time of year, I like to go back a few years — five in this case — to see how past signing classes at Virginia Tech have panned out.
The Hokies’ 2008 class was ranked 18th nationally and fourth in the ACC, according to Rivals. It included 31 signees, with no five-stars, six four-stars and 22 three-stars. Here’s how their careers panned out:
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Ben Barber, WR, 3-star: After having his enrollment delayed by NCAA Clearinghouse issues, he never amounted to much at the college level. He redshirted in 2009, was buried on the depth chart in 2010 and left the team by 2011.
Nick Becton, OL, 3-star: The quiet, massive lineman rotated reps for a few years before assuming the starting left tackle job his senior season. He started all 13 games as a senior and, mostly in anonymity, had a solid year, emerging as the Hokies’ most consistent lineman. He’ll attend the NFL Combine later this month.
Xavier Boyce, ATH, 3-star: The promising receiver from Virginia Beach had his Tech career derailed when he was arrested for felony child endangerment in March of 2011 after his 1-year-old daughter was treated for head injuries. (The charge, after months of review, was dismissed in November.) He transferred to Norfolk State, where he had 126 catches, 1,373 yards and eight touchdowns in his final two years.
Jarrett Boykin, WR, 3-star: Relatively unheralded when he arrived, Boykin left Virginia Tech as the school’s all-time leading receiver. He played in 54 games, starting 45, and finished with 184 catches and 2,884 yards, both tops on the school’s all-time list, to go with 18 touchdowns. He’s currently playing for the Green Bay Packers.
Ju-Ju Clayton, ATH, 2-star: A third-stringer who battled Logan Thomas for the backup job to Tyrod Taylor in 2010, Clayton decided not to come back for the 2012 season. He attempted five career passes, with his one career completion being an 80-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Davis against Boston College in 2009. He left with a degree from Tech.
D.J. Coles, WR, 4-star: After a junior season in which he had 36 catches for 480 yards and three touchdowns, Coles was slow to come back from offseason knee surgery. He re-injured himself in the opener against Georgia Tech and will get another shot at his senior season in 2013.
Marcus Davis, ATH, 3-star: The mercurial receiver was long on talent but short on consistency (and occasionally blocking) throughout his career. He had 510 receiving yards his junior year before catching 51 passes for 953 yards and five touchdowns as a senior, earning honorable mention All-ACC from the coaches. He was nine yards shy of Andre Davis‘ single-season school receiving record and now hopes for a shot in the NFL.
Randall Dunn, WR, 3-star: He bulked up to play tight end but had his senior season limited by a hand injury. He caught 15 passes for 147 yards in 2012, adding a nice coda to his career with touchdown catches against Boston College (the game-winner in OT) and Virginia.
Austin Fuller, WR, 3-star: Buried on the depth chart at Tech, Fuller transferred to Southern Methodist prior to the 2011 season. After sitting out a year, he had 15 catches for 162 yards in 2012.
Lyndell Gibson, LB, 3-star: After starting 18 games and making 119 tackles in 2009-10, Gibson was arrested and later found guilty of driving under the influence the following offseason. Facing a semester suspension by the school’s Office of Judicial Affairs, Gibson instead transferred to Hampton, where he had 191 tackles and 25 tackles for a loss his final two seasons, earning first-team All-MEAC recognition as a senior.
Jeron Gouveia, ATH, 3-star: He added a hyphen and a Winslow to his name and recently finished up his career at Tech, where he played 40 games and started 16. He caught flak early in the 2010 season (unfairly vs. Boise State, fairly vs. JMU). When he started to hit his stride as a junior, he went out with a Lisfranc injury. Gouveia-Winslow eventually lost his starting job as a senior, finishing up as a backup rover.
Tony Gregory, RB, 3-star: He prepped at Fork Union, then redshirted, then suffered through back-to-back years with ACL tears. He was part of a four-headed rushing attack in 2011, carrying it 64 times for 299 yards and a touchdown. His senior season is coming up.
Isaiah Hamlette, DE, 3-star: A backup for all of his Hokies career, Hamlette transferred to James Madison before last season after earning his undergraduate degree from Tech. He had five tackles in four games for the Dukes last year.
Antoine Hopkins, DE, 3-star: The oldest of the Hopkins brothers, Antoine played in 46 games in his Tech career, starting 21. He was a starter in 2010, finishing with 45 tackles, and again in 2011 before an ACL injury cut short his season in the sixth game. He came back to play in all 13 games as a senior but mostly as a reserve, finishing with 13 tackles and 3.5 tackles for a loss.
Jake Johnson, LB, 3-star: he started eight games in 2009 and made 55 tackles, including 13 in the opener against Alabama, but he decided to transfer the following spring, unhappy with his move to defensive end. He picked South Alabama, where he led the Sun Belt with 131 tackles as a senior last year, earning first-team all-conference honors.
Joe Jones, DE, 2-star: An end who moved to tackle, he never appeared in a game, eventually leaving the program. He graduated from Tech with a degree in human development last spring.
Leon Mackey, DE, 3-star: The Hargrave product signed with the Hokies but never enrolled (whether he qualified is a messy story that Doug Doughty wrote about several years ago). He committed to Clemson but later signed with South Carolina, eventually ending up at Texas Tech after more qualifying issues and a year at community college. He played in 21 games for the Raiders his final two years and made 34 tackles and four tackles for a loss.
Eric Martin, TE, 2-star: The big-bodied tight end played 32 games at Tech, starting six. He had only six career catches, although two of them went for touchdowns.
Derrick McCoy, WR, 3-star: He didn’t qualify coming out of Amherst County High and ended up at Georgia Military Academy. From what I can gather, he didn’t catch on anywhere after that.
Quillie Odom, LB, 4-star: A holdover from the 2007 class who prepped at Hargrave for a year, he played sparingly his first two seasons at Tech. He didn’t get any action in 2010 and left the team prior to 2011.
Vinston Painter, OL, 4-star: The well-chiseled lineman always had tons of potential but really only tapped into it his senior season. He bounced around the line for a few years (and even to defense his first year on campus), but eventually settled in at right tackle, where he started all 13 games in 2012 and was an honorable mention All-ACC pick by the coaches.
Kendrick Pressley, ATH, 3-star: Another holdover from the 2007 class who prepped a year at Hargrave, he was released from his letter of intent to sign with Kent State. He made 42 catches for 453 yards and three touchdowns in his career.
Dyrell Roberts, ATH, 4-star: A home run threat whose career was riddled by injuries. Roberts had 96 catches for 1,363 yards and six touchdowns in his career and finished as the school’s all-time kick return leader, despite not doing it his senior season. But his 2010 season was cut short by a thigh bruise that developed into compartment syndrome and his 2011 season ended after he broke his arm in the third week. He returned to have a decent senior season.
Peter Rose, ATH, 3-star: Virginia Tech rescinded its scholarship for Rose, the Group AA player of the year out of Amherst County, after he was arrested in spring of 2008 on felony charges of selling drugs near a school property, part of a 10-month undercover sting at the high school. Rose got probation and eventually the charges were dismissed. He went to James Madison with his brothers and, after charges were dropped following another legal run-in, is a weak safety who played in nine games last year. He’ll be a senior this season.
Allen Stephens, LB, 3-star: He redshirted before transferring to Morgan State in 2009. He was on pace to lead the Bears in tackling in 2010 before an injury cut short his season. He had a team-high 80 tackles in 2011 and finished up his college career with 67 tackles in 2012.
Bruce Taylor, LB, 4-star: A team captain who played in 40 games and started 33 in his Tech career, Taylor had 226 career tackles, 33.5 tackles for a loss and 16.5 sacks, despite losing half of his junior season to a Lisfranc injury. He was got an All-ACC honorable mention as both a junior and senior and hopes to make it with an NFL team.
Dwight Tucker, DT, 3-star: He never found solid footing on the depth chart, playing in 14 games (11 of which came in 2010) and finished with six career tackles. With eligibility left after the 2011 season, he decided not to come back, although he did get his degree.
Michael Via, OL, 3-star: A utility lineman who played all five positions up front by the end of his career, Via played in 37 career games at Tech, starting 12. He started nine games as a senior, shuffling between guard and center and earned an honorable mention All-ACC nod by the coaches.
Eddie Whitley, DB, 3-star: A two-year starter who had 189 tackles and four interceptions in his career, Whitley was an integral part of the Hokies’ secondary and earned second-team All-ACC honors as a senior. He finished 2012 on the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad.
Lorenzo Williams, DB, 3-star: He bounced between rover and whip linebacker but was slowed by a Lisfranc sprain that caused him to miss the 2010 season. He didn’t return in 2011.
Ryan Williams, RB, 4-star: One of Virginia Tech’s stud running backs, Williams ran for what was then a single-season school record 1,655 yards in 2009 (since broken by David Wilson). Injuries slowed him in 2010 and he went pro that offseason. Taken by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2011 draft, he’s had nothing but bad luck on the injury front, missing his rookie season with a ruptured patella tendon and nearly all of 2012 with a shoulder injury.
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All in all, it was a class with varying success (like pretty much any signing class). Some thoughts ….
– There were plenty of solid starters to emerge from the class. Becton, Boykin, Coles, Davis, Gouveia-Winslow, Hopkins, Painter, Roberts, Taylor Via, Whitley and Williams were all starters for good parts of their college careers. That’s nearly 40 percent of the class.
– Who were the studs, as in NFL-caliber players? Williams, obviously, if he can ever stay healthy. Boykin is on an NFL roster. Whitley’s on a practice squad. Of this year’s class, Davis has the most physical talent, if he can come around on the mental side of things. Taylor, Painter and Becton will have a shot.
– The class produced the school’s all-time leading receiver (Boykin), someone who at one time the school’s single-season rushing leader (Williams) and another who nearly set the school’s single-season receiving record (Davis), in addition to defensive captains like Taylor and Whitley.
– But it was also marred by legal messes. Boyce, Gibson and Rose all spent time in court for various offenses. Rose never got to Virginia Tech. Boyce and Gibson went elsewhere because of those legal problems and actually went on to have solid careers in their new stops.
– Two others — Johnson and Stephens — had productive careers after transferring to lower-division teams. Reading up on Johnson, who I was unfamiliar with once I got to Tech, that’s probably one of the biggest what-ifs of the class. He had a very good career at South Alabama.
– Four players didn’t make it to Tech for varying reasons — Mackey, McCoy, Pressley and Rose.
– How many made it to the finish line at Tech? Twelve of the 31 went through their entire eligibility with the Hokies. Two more — Coles and Gregory — have a chance to do it this year.
February 5, 2013 - 11:50 AM
I guess you weren’t around for the Jake Johnson phenom. Jake came in as a well-built looking linebacker who looked a bit like Clay Mathews Jr with his long flowing blond locks. He got off to a good start his freshman year and got some playing time and was a good hitter. He became a crowd favorite because he wasn’t heavily recruited but looked the part. His problem was quickness and instincts. He just didn’t have the speed in Foster’s scheme. Eventually, during his sophomore year, he got passed on the depth chart by Tariq Edwards. Then he got passed by Telvion Clark the following spring. After he fell behind those guys, he decided to transfer.
Did he play safety for the Miami Dolphins?
Very solid analysis, AB. It is interesting to see how the various prospects get weeded down, until the final productive ones flourish.
Of course, once again an example of zero five star recruits secured by our supposed expert recruiting coaching staff. 20% four stars, it would be interesting to see how many four star players came out of the Mid-Atlantic (Md, Va, NC, SC) that didn’t sign with the Hokies.
A key component to gridiron success is the desire and the ability to recruit elite talent. Elite teams recruit elite talent, wherever they reside. Good teams recruit only good talent, because of where they reside. You succeed greatly when you strive for greatness. When you strive for ‘good’, you can only achieve something less than excellence.
Is Austin Fuller a brother we never heard about? Seriously, is Corey Fuller running track at Tech this spring?
Amazingly, there were no five-star recruits in Virginia that year. Here were the top ones, per Rivals. All were four-star recruits:
1. QB EJ Manuel (Florida State)
2. RB Ryan Williams (Virginia Tech)
3. QB Mike Glennon (N.C. State)
4. DE Quinton Coples (North Carolina)
5. OL Vinston Painter (Virginia Tech)
So the Hokies had two of the top five in the state. And I don’t know how much you can blame them for not getting the quarterbacks, since Tyrod had committed the previous year and obviously was going to be the starter.
I doubt Mike Glennon got warm fuzzies from his brother about Tech. EJ would have a red shirt and two good starting years.
Sean Glennon had a monster game against LSU a few years ago.
Andy, didn’t Shurtburtt say that Virginia is more known for producing skill players than position players?
Thanks for another good article. It goes to show us all (even the so-called experts), we have to wait three or four years to really see how good these kids are. Your article would probably be a similar theme for most recruiting classes.
Over the years Tech has shown the ability to do very well with the lower rated recruits, with good coaching. Hard work can sometimes overcome a lack of talent. And sometimes great talent comes with high maintenance.
Pretty sure Jake Johnson lost his starting job to Lyndel Gibson. Johnson seemed to have trouble grasping Foster’s defense. He wanted to run all over the field instead of staying in position. I think he would have done well at VT is he had disciplined himself a little more.
Agree with Zman, Mike Glennon saw how poorly some of the fans treated his brother and wanted nothing to do with the Hokies.
Crocked Road either get with the program and support the Coaches or just shut your trap -
Austin Fuller is a Richlands product I believe. He just never could really break into the depth chart. No knock on him, hard to do when you have guys like Boykin, Coale, Roberts, Coles, etc. in front of you.
Sean Glennon had cement in his shoes. Right or wrong, because of the offensive woes of the coaching staff, VT could not survive with a one dimensional quarterback. He was passed by a true freshman QB (who incidentally has a super bowl ring-something Glennon will never see except at a sports memorabilia show).
Glennon locked on to his primary receiver (something all O’Cain coached QB’s seem to do) and despite the hype for a couple of years that THIS year we were going to see a different Sean Glennon the fans usually saw more of the same. He didn’t really improve all that much in his time at VT.
His brother Mike probably cost TOB his job at NCSU when TOB sent Russell Wilson packing after getting frustrated with his dalliances in baseball. TOB figured (wrongly) that he had a comparable RW replacement in Glennon.
Considering Tyrod Taylor was a 6th round (I think) I will be surprised if Mike Glennon is drafted at all. Granted, he got better coaching from TOB than Sean did at VT.
Coale and Boykin are the best players to come out of VT in 20 years. They will both make their mark in the NFL before all is said and done. Unless you people get two more players like them, you are destined to finish 5-7 this season. I know what I am speaking of.
So it appears that only 1 of the 6 4-stars was a bust (Odom). One left for the NFL early (Williams). The other four contributed to varying degrees, and it appears at least two of those have a legit shot to make it on a roster this year or next.
Barry,
as usal you are displaying your lack of knowledge about VT for the rest of the public to see……..
Considering that Michael Vick advised Marcus to go somewhere besides VaTech, it’s not at all surprising that Mike Glennon avoided VT at all costs. Frankly, as horribly as the fanatical side of Hokie Nation treated Sean, Mike would be an idiot to have come here. The really pathetic part of it is that the insanely stupid moronic idiots that are Hokie goosesteppers actually made the effort to reach out and try to ruin Sean Glennon’s professional career after he had graduated from VaTech. That is just sickening. There is no forgiveness for that, although I’m sure a few on here will try to find a way to justify it. It’s beyond reprehensible.
Barry, please, sir, open your eyes and look carefully around. What you see is what a doctor sees when he performs a colonoscopy. Your posts are so empty they don’t even contain any crap.
CR – I think you are in a rathole with Barry.
One week you blather about what a problem Marcus was and how VT tolerated a walking disaster and aided and abetted his misdeeds (untrue in my opinion but ok) then today you go off about how Michael told Marcus not to come to VT (like Marcus – he of the foor stomp, underage bed romp and joint bump) was our kind of guy? You can’t have it both ways dude. Unless you are taking your hallcinagenics orally and rectally.
hallucinagenics. i.e. drugs…..
The only time Jake Johnson had a great game was the opener against Alabama, but after that game, his productivity took a nose dive, and Foster elected to bench him due to productivity.
I remember a write up in the RT about it.
I thought Barry from Ivy told us he was going away!
Sean Glennon was a class act his entire time at Tech. As Bob H pointed out he as one dimensional. A great pocket passer which VT could never take advantage of because of the horrendous line we had. There were excuses made about that line and every line since, that’s why I’m most excited about Grimes coming in and revamping things in that area.
When considering the best players in the last ten years to come out of Tech, I never see Duane Brown’s name mentioned. Or, Jeff King , for that matter. Duane Brown, all pro offensive left tackle, Texans.
Agree with Crooked Road on Glennon. It was embarrasing to sit in the stands and hear what was being yelled at that young man. My mother would have said, ‘bad upbringing’. But, it was worse than that. I hope I never witness that kind of behaviour again.
Barry from Ivy ,
Go back to West Virginia and stay off this Blog. Now Virginia Tech Football was build with walk ons and hard work.Our new line coach Grimms is just what we need to get us back on track!
Please someone try to get( Michael Parker) Call him Coaches!!!
The treatment of Glennon was terrible but it’s as much as the coaches fault as anyones. They yanked him in the LSU game for Tyrod and did the same exact thing against ECU the next year. Peyton Manning wouldn’t have made a difference in that LSU game and I recall some questionable play calling in the ECU (special teams). So both years they lead Glennon to believe he is the guy and yank him early on. Was he the greatest? No. Did he conduct himself with class the whole time? Yes. Great article AB I love these where are they now. Can you find out what Walter Abecrombie is up to these days(Baylor/Steeler)? Really like seeing that even though some of these men didn’t have great careers they were able to get there degrees. I spent a few years in the stands yelling JU-JU so I am ecspecially hapy for him!
Actually,, Jack had an OK game against Alabama but looked really bad on a couple of very decisive plays that helped Bama get the win.
#24….nothing surprising about the fans treatment of Glennon. That is what I have been underscoring all along concerning the hyprocisy of the Hokie Nation. You guys talk about West Virginia behavior…..you need to take a long look in the mirror. Know what I mean, Vern.
“27.The treatment of Glennon was terrible but it’s as much as the coaches fault as anyones” Seriously Coxster. The fans treatment of Glennon was the fault of the fans, no one else. The boo’ers must take responsibility for there actions. Glennon was a good kid who played hard. Had several very good games that those who disliked him have forgotten.
Great article. It is interesting how many get a free ride and still don’t get a degree.
Booing in college football has become the norm. Not just a Glennon thing at VT or NC St. The only differnce between the boos results was Sean graduated from VT and Beamer is still the Coach.Mike Glennon has graduated from NCSt and Obrien was fired.
If you want to continue booing, Russell Wilson is with the Seahawks, Obrien now at Uva, and Sean Glennon an inspiring commentator. Unlilkely anyone will be boohooing for Mike Glennon coming April draft.
#19 Z, your envy of me evidently knows no bounds. If you weren’t so mentally challenged, you might actually understand one of my posts. Let me be clear enough so that even you can understand, in your simplistic, weepy way. I NEVER have said anything good about Marcus or about the hope for Marcus to be good. I’ve got a brain, so I know he’s always been bad news. Unlike you, I don’t curl at Frank’s feet and moan for the false glory of a thug like Marcus. Get the picture yet? Or do I have to continually connect the dots for you?
The point is that the greatest QB in the history of VaTech – Michael Vick – thought so little of his experience here that he advised his own brother to go elsewhere. I’ll wait the ten minutes it will take for that to sink into your mind. The greatest Hokie QB in history wouldn’t even advise his own (QB) brother to come play football for us. Michael Vick was as much of a sporting god as there has ever been at VaTech, and he told his own brother to go somewhere else. Does that tell you ANYTHING about how Mike appreciated his time here? ANYTHING? Can it sink in to you? Didn’t think so.
Now take the example of Sean Glennon, certainly not a perfect QB, but a morally upright guy and someone who never ever got in trouble his entire life. For his time in Bburg, he was castigated constantly by internet idiots who proudly wore the Hokie Shield as though they ever deserved it. The same idiots even followed him to his postgrad place of employment to harass him. That is shameful. Absolutely shameful. Regardless of his talent level, the guy played his heart out for Hokie Nation. And he has been figuratively spat upon the entire time by a very vocal and very stupid minority of the fan base.
That’s why I said it was obvious Mike Glennon wouldn’t ever consider VT, and why we’ve obviously got issues to concern our recruiting. I know you’ll never understand, because it involves something more than shallow, one layer emotions. Frankly, I don’t really care if you do any more. You’re so deep into the wasteland of ‘danny’ territory that you’ve lost me.
#31 Al, I agree with you. It’s a shame that so many of those guys didn’t appreciate the free ticket they were given. VT does a good job overall of providing academic support to their athletes. It’s a shame that those guys don’t all get the head slap to make them realize just what they’re offered. It’s not like they’ll be given $100K jobs or anything, but if you graduate with a VT diploma, you should be able to at least be a HS teacher/coach within the Commonwealth without too much trouble. The whole Hotel/Apparel Management faux degree? I don’t know about that, but a simple Education major should prep a guy for life in case he doesn’t turn out to be the next Cam Newton. It’s a shame that those guys aren’t better addressed in a blunt manner about life after their hoped for NFL stardom. Don’t get me wrong, I think we do well. I just wish we’d do better. Even if we’re at 80%, I wish for 100%. These guys get a gold ticket, and too many ignore it. Ah well, that’s life.