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Virginia Football Classes 2006-2012

VirginiaPreps.com published the site's first in-state prospect 'official'
rankings starting in 2006. Over the last seven years we have seen a
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tremendous amount of football talent in the Commonwealth. A look back at
those classes and our rankings show that we got some right, and we 'missed' on a
bunch as well, proving that talent evaluation is part art and part science.
Below we examine each of the last seven year's classes, with links to our
complete rankings and an overview on each years 'highlights'.
href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/virginiapreps/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-1218">Class
of 2006 Virginia Top 30
Three we
got right:
#1 Percy Harvin, WR,
Landtown
-- Ranked as the top player in the nation from the Class of 2006, the
Eagles star was an easy pick for top player in Virginia and he lived up
to the hype at the University of Florida combining with Tim Tebow to
win a national championship.
#6 John Graves, DE,
Meadowbrook
-- A three-year starter at defensive tackle for Virginia Tech, the
Monarchs star earned second team All-ACC honors his senior season.
#7 Evan Royster, RB,
Westfield
-- A state title winner as a sophomore on the 2003 Westfield squad,
success followed Royster to Penn State where he rushed for over 1,000
yards in a season twice and earned first team Big Ten honors his senior
season.
style="text-decoration: underline;">Three we missed:
#2 Vidal Hazelton, WR, Hargrave
#3 Jarrell Miller, LB, Highland Springs
#5 Damon McDaniel, WR, Landstown
style="text-decoration: underline;">What were we thinking:
#21 Kam Chancellor, ATH, Maury
-- Not only did we have Chancellor, who recently played in the Pro Bowl
ranked too low, his name wasn't even spelled correctly in the
Rivals.com database as his first name was listed as Cameron.
style="text-decoration: underline;">Overall Class
Impression:
Percy Harvin, Evan Royster, Kam Chancellor and Ras-I
Dowling lead what may have been the best class from the state in the
last decade. It will take a lot for other classes to match
the depth of impact that this group made even if there were misses near
the top of the rankings.
href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/virginiapreps/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-1730">Class
of 2007 Virginia Top 30
style="text-decoration: underline;">Three we got right:
#1 Tyrod Taylor, QB, Hampton
-- The Crabbers star led his team to the state championship in 2005
then led the Virginia Tech Hokies to two ACC Championship capturing the
conference player of the year honors his senior season.
#6 Davon Morgan, DB,
Varina
-- The Blue Devils standout earned a stating spot for the Hokies during
his sophomore season but a knee injury cut his year short. He
returned to his old self by his senior campaign when he was named a
second team All-ACC performer.
#7 Blake DeChristopher,
OL, Clover Hill
-- A four-year starter on the offensive line for the Hokies, the
Cavaliers standout earned first team All-ACC honors as a senior and
became the first Hokie to win the ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy, an award
honoring the top blocker in the conference.
Three
we missed:
#2 Peter Lalich, QB, West Springfield
#3 J'Courtney Williams, LB, Christchurch
#9 William Alvarez, OL, Hylton
What
were we thinking:
#30 Russell Wilson, QB,
Collegiate
-- An immediate impact player in college, Wilson earned the Freshman of
the Year honors in the ACC at N.C. State. After being
released from his scholarship before his senior season, Wilson joined the
Wisconsin Badgers where he won the Big Ten championship and earned
Third Team All-American honors.
Overall
Class Impression:
style="text-decoration: underline;">
Tyrod Taylor's success all buts saves this class as several of the big
names failed to pan out at the college level. Blake DeChristopher, Jaymes Brooks, Kris Burd and Russell Wilson help head up
the success list from this class.
href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/virginiapreps/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-1864">Class
of 2008 Virginia Top 30
style="text-decoration: underline;">Three we got right:
#1 E.J. Manuel, QB, Florida State
-- After splitting time with Christian Ponder his first two seasons at
Florida State, the Bayside star took over the starting job with the
Seminoles in 2011 and helped the program win their third straight bowl
game under his direction.
#2 Mike Glennon, QB,
Westfield
-- A state championship winner in 2007 leading the Bulldogs to an
undefeated season, Glennon took over the reins of the N.C. State
Wolfback in 2011, his junior season, and led the program to an 8-5
record and a bowl victory over Louisville.
#4 Ryan Williams, RB,
Stonewall Jackson
-- After redshirting his first year at Virginia Tech, Williams stepped
in for an injured Darren Evans the following season and set Hokie and
ACC rushing records. An injury cost Williams much of the 2010
season after which he entered himself into the NFL draft where he was
selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round.
Three we missed:
#7Deion Walker, WR, Christchurch
#8 Kevin Whaley, RB, Salem
#11 Todd Harrelson, WR, Oscar Smith
What were we
thinking:
#17 Antoine Hopkins, DL, Highland Springs
-- A starter for Virginia Tech by his sophomore season, the Springers
star quickly established himself as a force in the trenches for the
Hokies before a knee injury cut his junior season short in 2011.
Overall
Class Impression:
Big things happened at the top of this class as E.J. Manuel, Mike
Glennon, Dyrell Roberts and Ryan Williams are impact players at their
respective schools. Kerry Boykins, Marcus Davis and Antoine
Hopkins gives the group nice depth of success as well.
style="font-weight: bold;">
href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/virginiapreps/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-2103">Class
of 2009 Virginia Top 30
style="text-decoration: underline;">Three we got right:
#1 Morgan Moses, OL, Meadowbrook
-- After spending a year at prep school, the Monarchs star became only
the seventh true freshman nationally to start at the offensive tackle
position according to the official University of Virginia website.
Moses was named a fourth-team Freshman All-American by Phil
Steele.
#2 David Wilson, RB,
GW-Danville
-- In his first year as a full-time starter at Virginia Tech in 2001,
the former Eagles star was named the ACC player of the year and
a second team All-AMerican after rushing for over 1,700 yards.
#3 Logan Thomas, ATH,
Brookville --
The
former Brookville Bees star took over under center for the Virginia
Tech Hokies in 2011 and led the team to an appearance in the Sugar Bowl
while earning second team All-ACC honors.
Three we missed:
#5
Jerod Askew, LB, Oscar Smith
#6 Kevin Newsome, ATH, Hargrave
#7 Logan Heastie, WR, Great Bridge
style="font-weight: bold;">
What were we
thinking:
#21 Perry Jones, RB, Oscar Smith
-- In 2011, the former Tigers star accounted for over 1,500 yards of
offense for the University of Virginia earning honorable mention
All-ACC honors in helping the Cavs earn a spot in the Chick-Fil-a Bowl
as they finished the season with an 8-5 mark.
Overall
Class Impression:
The 2009 class was hit or miss but the hits have been big ones as David
Wilson, Logan Thomas, Tajh Boyd, Perry Jones and Bryn Renner have been
and / or will be major impact players on the college level.
style="font-weight: bold;">
It's too
early in their college careers for us to
determine which prospects we got right and which ones we may have
whiffed on, so, for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 classes, we take a look at
potential rising stars.
href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/virginiapreps/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-2319">Class
of 2010 Virginia Top 30
style="text-decoration: underline;">Rising stars:
#2 Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee
-- The Ocean Lakes standout earned first team Freshmen All-SEC honors
in 2010 and caught 17 passes in three games in 2011 before a knee
injury cut his sophomore season short.
#3 Zack McCray, DE,
Brookville
-- As a redshirt freshman in 2011, the former Bee played in fourteen
games for Virginia Tech notching fourteen tackles including seven in
the Hokies win over Arkansas State.
#16 Derrick Hopkins, DL,
Highland Springs
-- As a sophomore, the former Springers big man started fourteen games
for a Virginia Tech Hokies team who played in a BCS bowl. He
recorded 51 tackles and three sacks in 2011.
Overall
Class Impression:
Surprisingly, the Class of 2010 has had very little impact on the field
to this point due in large part to Sims losing out on the starting
position at Alabama and Hunter's injury causing him to miss his
sophomore campaign. Of course, with eleven of the top twenty
players being in-the-trenches prospects, it figured that this class
would take a while to develop.
style="font-weight: bold;">
href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/virginiapreps/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-2421">Class
of 2011 Virginia Top 25
style="text-decoration: underline;">Rising Stars:
#2 Demetrious Nicholson, DB, Bayside -- The Marlins played
in every game his freshman season for the University of Virginia
notching 60 tackles, eight pass deflections and two interceptions.
#6 Corey Marshall, DE,
Dinwiddie -- The freshman played in seven games for
Virginia Tech and recorded 13 tackles and three sacks for the Hokies.
#8 Clifton Richardson,
RB, Menchville -- Listed as an athlete leaving the
Monarchs program, the freshman found a home in the backfield for the
University of Virginia rushing for 366 yards and scoring three
touchdowns for the Cavs.
Overall
Class Impression:
When evaluating the impact of the 2011 class, one will have to keep an
eye on the Charlottesville area as eight of the to fourteen players
from the class committed to Virginia. We'll know much more
about this group of kids once the Cavaliers complete their 2014 season.
style="font-weight: bold;">
href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/virginiapreps/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-2758">Class
of 2012 Virginia Top 25
style="text-decoration: underline;">Rising Stars:
#1 Eli Harold, DE, Ocean Lakes -- All indications from the
U.S. Army All-American practices and game indicate that the Dolphins
standout will enter college physically ready to compete and there
should be playing time available on the University of Virginia's
defensive line.
#4 J.C. Coleman, RB,
Oscar Smith -- Like Harold, Coleman was a standout at
All-American game practices and, with the departure of David Wilson
from Virginia Tech to the NFL, there will be carries available from the
Hokies' backfield.
#9 Trey Edmunds, RB/LB,
Dan River -- With the Hokies bringing in solid depth at linebacker
combined with Edmunds' versatility, there's whispers around Virginia Tech that
he may find time in the backfield as the thunder to complement Coleman's
lightening.
Overall
Class Impression:
The success of the 2012 class will likely be judged by their impact on
the defensive side of the ball as most of the top 25 featured players
who will defend at the college level including five projected
linebackers in the top ten.
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