Hokies, Cavaliers reel in blue-chippers for the future

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Posted 6:49AM on Thursday, February 3, 2005

Virginia Tech loaded up with commitments from 24 high school stars on national signing day Wednesday, and Virginia got letters of intent from 22 blue-chippers. On the first day for high school players to officially declare their collegiate destinations, head coaches Frank Beamer of the Hokies and Al Groh of the Cavaliers said their classes filled roster needs that were targeted when the recruiting began. ``Before the season started, we put down a number that we planned to recruit at each position, and we came very close to matching numbers exactly,'' Beamer said. ``It wasn't just, `Hey, let's run out there and gather players,''' Groh said. ``There was a specific model in general and by position that we were trying to work toward and we feel very confident that we were able to stay to that model.'' Experts figured the Hokies did just a little bit better overall. Virginia Tech's class was rated as high as No. 10 nationally by recruiting services, in part because it included Victor ``Macho'' Harris, a running back from Highland Springs High School in Richmond, and 6-foot linebacker Deveon Simmons of Landstown in Virginia Beach. In all, the Hokies signed 16 players from Virginia. ``I've always said if we get the best kids in the state of Virginia, we will always be able to compete at a high level,'' Beamer said, repeating an annual refrain. Harris, 6-0 and 180 pounds, will move to cornerback with the Hokies. Other state players who signed with Virginia Tech included running back Elan Lewis of Phoebus High School in Hampton, the career rushing leader in Virginia in the Group AAA classification, and 6-4 quarterback Greg Boone of Oscar Smith High in Chesapeake. Outside Virginia, the Hokies' biggest catches were 6-4 quarterback Ike Whitaker from Germantown, Md., and 6-5, 258-pound defensive lineman Hivera Green from Conway, S.C. For Virginia, the biggest and smallest players on the list were most notable. Eugene Monroe, a 6-6, 318-pound offensive lineman from South Plainfield, N.J., was rated as high as the No. 2 prospect in the country for all positions by some services. ``He's something special. He's a tremendous kid. He's got great ambition, a great personal sense of direction. He knows where he wants to go. He's got a real plan for it,'' Groh said. ``He's very light on his feet, very athletic for his position.'' Groh said he expects Monroe to challenge for playing time right away. The Cavaliers also signed 5-9, 168-pound quarterback Vic Hall from Gretna, a double threat who erased many of Ronald Curry's records during his four-year career. ``He had a dynamic career and it wasn't just in his performance. He's shown great, great poise and a calmness under pressure and the ability to perform well in big games, which is something that everybody wants in their quarterback,'' Groh said. The Cavaliers signed 12 players from Virginia and four from New Jersey, an area Groh got to know well during a decade of coaching in the National Football League. ``That 95-New Jersey Turnpike corridor was very fruitful for us, as we hoped that it would be,'' Groh said. ``We really did set out to work that area very aggressively.'' Besides Monroe, the Cavaliers' class features several other mammoth linemen: 6-7, 310-pound Branden Albert of Glen Burnie, Md., and Hargrave Military Academy; 6-7, 276-pound Will Barker of Bryn Mawr, Pa.; 6-7, 251-pound tight end or defensive end Alex Field of Broad Run High in Ashburn; and 6-6 tight end John Phillips of Bath County. ``Nature's going to tell us what they are,'' Groh said of several of the players whose ultimate position will be determined by how they respond to weight training. There was one downside to the day from Beamer's perspective. Jonathan Hannah, a 6-4, 251-pound tight end, had made a verbal commitment to Virginia Tech last week, but instead committed to South Carolina on Wednesday, Beamer said the practice of some programs continuing to recruit players even after they have made verbal commitments elsewhere is disturbing and distasteful. ``All that happens is, once they commit, all the other people that want to keep recruiting him, now they know who the target is and so, all of a sudden, the schools are trying to put doubt in the mind about one particular school,'' Beamer said. ``I don't think it's right. I don't think we as football coaches should be going around trying to get people to break their word to other schools.''