Bulldog Safety Gouveia Headed To Virginia Tech
ASHBURN, VA - Having already received one major division 1A scholarship offer from Stanford in April, Stone Bridge safety Jeron Gouveia was prepared to play his senior season and take his 5 allowed official recruiting visits before deciding on a program that fit him best. Offers were expected to continue to come in from most of the major schools in the region, but that may change after what transpired on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Virginia Tech secondary coach Torrian Gray stopped by to tell head coach Mickey Thompson and his star defensive back that the Hokies wanted Gouveia to come play for the Maroon and Orange. Wasting little time, Gouveia committed before Gray headed back down I81, and he became the second Virginia Tech football recruit in three years from Stone Bridge high school to commit before his senior season.
In 2004, former Bulldog tight end Ed Wang became the earliest commitment for Virginia Tech in their football program's history. Wang accepted quickly, as did Gouveia on Tuesday. In both cases, Bulldog Head coach Mickey Thompson encouraged the Tech coaching staff to act quickly to get a premiere player in the state.
"I told the Tech coaches that they had an opportunity to get a great football player who can definitely have a big impact on their program," Thompson said.
Thompson also agreed with Gouveia's decision to respond quickly to the offer.
"I told him that it was a perfect situation for him down at Tech," Thompson said. "The other clear benefit to him is that he now can focus on his senior season knowing that his recruiting process is finished."
Virginia Tech secondary coach Torrian Gray attended the Gameday Gridiron football camp in May and was seen paying special attention to Gouveia, who stood out in the 1 on 1 drills. Gouveia was excited about his performance, and he expressed his pleasure with the way he performed on GamedayTV later that day.
"I know the college coaches were looking for me to improve my speed, and I ran a 4.62 40 yard dash today laser time," Gouveia said. "I just focused on my agility and changing direction fast, so hopefully they liked what they saw."
A source close to the staff at Virginia Tech told Gameday that after the camp, the coaching staff for the Hokies sat down and pondered offering Gouveia before the season. Obviously with today's events, they took the lead in snagging one of the premiere defensive players in the state of Virginia.
Gouveia is a two-time All Gameday safety and has starred on the football field since his sophomore season. He was also named the Northern Region Defensive Player of the Year in 2006.
Mickey Thompson has watched Gouveia develop into a dominating player on both sides of the ball, but sees his future on defense at the next level.
"Jeron has the instincts and the athletic ability to play safety at the next level," Thompson added. "He can definitely add weight and fill out in his frame to even potentially play linebacker, so it will be interesting to see where Tech ends up playing him."
Gouveia would really like to play the position he does at Stone Bridge, but is open to the possibility of switching to linebacker if the coaches ask that of him.
"I'd like to continue to play safety in college, but some of the coaches have told me that with my frame, I could also play linebacker," Gouveia said. "I'm just going to keep working on my speed so I can keep playing safety."
Gouveia becomes the 4th player to commit early for the Hokies in the 2008 signing class. Verbal commitments are not binding until a player signs his letter of intent next February, but don't expect either side to change their mind. This is a great move for Virginia Tech, and an even better decision by Gouveia to commit before the season.
From The Staff At TCC Sports:
Congratulations Jeron on becoming a Hokie! We are all very proud of you, and we wish you the best in your senior season and in your career at Virginia Tech.
