Recruiting Week: Cavalier Landing In NOVA
West Springfield's Peter Lalich is headed to Virginia.
Recruiting Week: As part of GamedayMagazine.com's "Recruiting Week" feature, today we will examine how in-state powers Virginia Tech and Virginia are doing in keeping Northern Virginia players in the commonwealth.
For the past several years, the battle for Northern Virginia football recruits between Virginia Tech and Virginia has been largely dominated by the Hokies, who have landed such standout players as Mike Imoh (Robinson), Eddie Royal (Westfield) and Sean Glennon (Westfield).
That trend, however, may have shifted during the past year. The Cavaliers, who earlier this week added Oakton wide out Jared Green to a recruiting class that is ranked in the top 20 nationally, earlier gained commitments from blue chip quarterback Peter Lalich of West Springfield and Yorktown running back Max Millien.
The three recruits give Virginia 10 players from Northern Virginia that will be on their 2007 roster. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, had not gained a commitment from a local player through Tuesday with the national signing day looming on Feb. 7. The Hokies, who during Frank Beamer's tenure have prided themselves in keeping talent from the Hampton Roads, Richmond and Northern Virginia hotbeds in state, will return 14 local players to their roster during the upcoming season even if they fail to land a commitment from our area.
But the Cavaliers' ability to land Lalich and courtship of Glennon's younger brother Mike, a rising senior quarterback at Westfield who will be one of the state's top recruits this fall, could signal a change in momentum in the intense recruiting battle that exists between Virginia's top college football programs.
While the inability of the Hokies to land any local players this year likely will not hurt a class that is still among the nation's top 25 thanks to the signing of Hampton quarterback Tyrod Taylor, one of the top signal callers in the country, expect Beamer and his staff will look to bounce back next year in our area.
Listed below are the Northern Virginia players that will play at Virgnia and Virginia Tech this coming fall:
Virginia Cavaliers:
G Marshall Ausberry, West Springfield
DE Pete Bladel, Stone Bridge
TE/LS Andrew Dewey, Bullis School (Alexandria)
DE Alex Field, Broad Run
WR Jared Green, Oakton
LB Olu Hall, Robinson
QB Peter Lalich, West Springfield
LB Bernie McKeever, Gonzaga (Fairfax)
RB Max Millien, Yorktown
RB Keith Payne, Oakton
Virginia Tech Hokies:
TE Beau Warren, Centreville
WR Eddie Royal, Westfield
QB Sean Glennon, Westfield
CB Ryan Hash, Lee
LB Cody Grimm, Oakton
LB Brett Warren, Centreville
FB Billy Gorham, Lee
G Matt Welsh, Centreville
G Eric Davis, West Springfield
WR Justin Born, Westfield
TE Ed Wang, Stone Bridge
DE Omar Hashish, Madison
P Brent Bowden, Westfield
K Jared Develli, Park View
