Hokies Land Another Top Tier Recruit in Laiti
Robinson's Brian Laiti Decided On Friday That Virginia Tech Was The Right Place And The Right Decision For Him As To Where He Should Play College Football. Laiti Discussed His Decision With Tech's Frank Beamer To Give Him The Good News. He Becomes The 4th Ram Player To Sign With Virginia Tech This Decade.
Photo By Dave Bernhardt / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Brian Laiti has proven to be a tremendous linebacker, and he will be counted on heavily by the Robinson staff this year to be an even better leader as a senior.
Photo By: Barry deNicola / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
FAIRFAX, VA - The intensity of Robinson's Brian Laiti is hard to match on the football field, and the same can be said about the recruiting pressures for the senior linebacker off the field. Laiti, who is the 4th son of Elizabeth and Peter Laiti to play for head coach Mark Bendorf, decided on Friday to put an end to the constant phone calls and the recruiting process. The linebacker chatted with Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer by phone, and informed him that he would like to become a Hokie.
"Yesterday Coach Bendorf and I talked about the process, and we decided to make a decision, so we set up a call to Coach Beamer today," Laiti said. "We just talked about next year and how he'd like for me to play Mike linebacker, and that I have a chance to come in and compete for a job near the top of the depth chart."
"After talking with Brian, I think it was really important to him that this get settled before the season," said Bendorf. "He told me he just wanted to make a decision and not have to deal with the calls after practice during his senior season."
Laiti had offers from Virginia Tech and West Virginia, but high interest from several more Division 1A football programs. He is a talented player with size at 6'4 200lbs, and has above average closing speed for a linebacker. The Hokies will also be getting one of the toughest hitters in the Northern Virginia area.
"Tech really liked how I read plays defensively as a linebacker, and they felt I had a lot of potential as a future college player," Laiti said. "It became pretty hectic in May when all of the coaches were coming down to meet, and I just wanted to get this off of my plate so I could focus on my senior season."
Part of the decision making process that helped Virginia Tech was Bud Foster's level of involvement in recruiting Brian Laiti. Foster, who is Virginia Tech's defensive coordinator, also coaches the linebackers.
"Bud Foster has been up here talking with Brian and about Brian with our staff for the past 3 years," Bendorf said. "He knows the teachers, the staff here at Robinson, and he has built a good relationship with Brian. It was a big deal for Brian to get to know the actual coach he was going to be playing for, and I think that made him feel very comfortable in choosing Virginia Tech."
Laiti also said that Tech's tradition of winning and playing tremendous defense was a major factor in his reasoning for picking the Hokies.
"After my sophomore year, Coach Foster started recruiting me, and I was familiar with how their defense works because Coach Bendorf runs a 4-3 defense just like Coach Foster does. Tech's defense is consistently great every year, and I feel they have a chance every year to make it to a national championship game."
Laiti becomes the 4th player in the past few years from Robinson to become a Hokie. Former Tech standout Mike Imoh was once the most dominant tailback in the Northern Region for Bendorf and the Rams. Cary Wade, who starred in the secondary and on special teams, had a tremendous career for the Hokies, and John Kinzer played tight end and H-Back for Virginia Tech after graduating from Robinson.
"We've had a bunch of kids go on to play at all different places, and the three that went to play at Virginia Tech had a great experience with Coach Beamer and his staff," Bendorf said. "I think Brian feels very comfortable with his decision to play for the Hokies."
With the recruiting process behind him, Laiti can now move on to helping the Rams win the Concorde District in 2009. Robinson returns several key players from last year's squad that finished the season on a roll, but just narrowly missing the playoffs.
"Not making the playoffs last year was not something that sat well with our kids and our coaches," Bendorf said. "Our kids have worked extremely hard this off-season with the expectations of getting back to the post-season. I know we've put the work in to get better."
Laiti will anchor a stingy Ram defense that should be even stingier in 2009. In the final 4 weeks of the season, Robinson was playing at a high level and could have once again been a playoff spoiler if they had received a berth. Laiti said he and his teammates are working hard to make sure there is little question about whether or not the Rams are a playoff team this fall.
"We are just getting everyone on the same page, and we are all working really hard to make sure this year is a big success," Laiti said. "We are excited to get going."
