Virginia Tech announces recruiting class

Smaller, but quality, class brought in by Beamer

Staff Report
Virginia Tech sports: www.hokiesports.com

Five prep All-Americans highlight a football recruiting class composed of 20 student-athletes, as announced by Virginia Tech on Wednesday.

With such a small senior class from this past season, Tech announced just 20 players total Wednesday, including 13 players from Virginia. In all, Tech signed seven of the top 13 players in the state and 10 of the top 25 according to The Roanoke Times.

Rivals.com had the Tech class ranked 21st nationally and third-best in the ACC, behind Florida State and Clemson. Scout.com had the class at #5 nationally, and fifth-best in the ACC, behind FSU, Miami, Clemson and North Carolina.

Highlighting this year’s in-state group are five talented players – Bookville High defensive end Zack McCray (#5 by Roanoke Times), Fork Union Military Academy offensive lineman Mark Shuman (#7 by Roanoke Times), First Colonial High outside linebacker Nick Dew (#8 by Roanoke Times), Fork Union Military Academy offensive lineman Nick Acree (#9 by Roanoke Times) and Loudoun County High linebacker Chase Williams (#11 by Roanoke Times) – who all earned SuperPrep All-America honors. Acree and McCray were also named All-Americans by PrepStar.

“I think it is another really good recruiting class,” said head coach Frank Beamer. “I think it falls along the lines of our recent years of being very athletic, very solid academically and very strong from a character standpoint. I think we have really done well.”

Seven players from six different states and one from the District of Columbia joined the Hokies. Offensive lineman Laurence Gibson, from Sierra Vista, Ariz., via Hargrave, is listed as the No. 2 prep school player in the country by Rivals. The Hokies got a rare signing from a New York product in Rochester tight end Jerome Lewis, who is ranked as the No. 21 tight end in the country and the No. 3 player in the state by Rivals.

Defensive back Kyle Fuller, from Baltimore, Md., is rated the No. 42 cornerback in the country by ESPN/Scouts Inc., while cornerback Detrick Bonner, from McDonough, Ga., is ranked the No. 88 cornerback in the country by Scout.com. Defensive end Justin Taylor, who is from Norwood, N.C., is ranked the No. 30 defensive end in the country and the No. 16 player in the state by Rivals, while quarterback Ricardo Young (Washington, D.C.) is rated the No. 21 dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals and was the Gatorade State Football Player of the Year for D.C. Quarterback Mark Leal (Greenacres, Fla.) is the fourth player from Atlantic High to sign with Tech in the past decade. He is ranked the No. 28 dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals and threw 25 touchdown passes as a senior. With his signing, it marks the

20th year since 1988 that Tech has signed a player from Florida.

Seven other players from the state of Virginia are ranked in the top 25 in the state by The Roanoke Times. They are: Highland Springs High defensive end Derrick Hopkins (#12), Robinson High linebacker Brian Laiti (#13), Midlothian High offensive lineman Matt Arkema (#18), King’s Fork High free safety Dominique Patterson (#21) and Brooke Pointe High wide receiver E.L. Smiling (#25). Hopkins, who is listed as a defensive end by the Tech staff, is ranked as the No. 53 defensive tackle in the country by Scout.com and Laiti is rated the No. 34 outside linebacker in the country by Rivals. Arkema is listed as the No. 28 offensive guard in the country by Rivals, Patterson (listed as a free safety by the Tech staff ) is ranked the No. 40 outside linebacker in the country by ESPN/Scouts, Inc., and Smiling is rated as the No. 115 wide receiver in the country by the same service.

The in-state class also features two others ranked in the top 40 by The Roanoke Times: Pulaski County High linebacker Tahrick Peak (#30) and Rockbridge County High offensive lineman Caleb Farris (#39). Both Peak and Farris missed portions of their senior seasons, but Rivals still ranks Peak as the No. 32 outside linebacker in the country, while also ranking Farris as the No. 25 offensive guard in the nation.

2010 Virginia Tech Recruiting Class
Nick Acree, dt, 6-5, 295, Fork Union HS, King William, Va.
Matt Arkema, ol, 6-3, 284, Midlothian (Va.) HS
Detrick Bonner, cb, 6-0, 180, Luella HS, McDonough, Ga.
Nick Dew, olb, 6-2, 210, First Colonial HS, Virginia Beach, Va.
Caleb Farris, ol, 6-4, 295, Rockbridge County HS, Fairfield, Va.
Kyle Fuller, db, 6-0, 170, Mount St. Joseph HS, Baltimore, Md.
Laurence Gibson, ol, 6-4, 296, Hargrave, Sierra Vista, Ariz.
Derrick Hopkins, de, 6-0, 275, Highland Springs (Va.) HS
Brian Laiti, lb, 6-3 210, Robinson HS, Fairfax Station, Va.
Mark Leal, qb, 6-0, 190, Atlantic HS, Greenacres, Fla.
Jerome Lewis, te, 6-3, 235, Bishop Kearney HS, Rochester, N.Y.
Zack McCray, de, 6-5, 235, Brookville HS, Forest, Va.
Dominique Patterson, fs, 6-2, 215, King’s Fork HS, Suffolk, Va.
Tahrick Peak, lb, 6-2, 205, Pulaski County HS, Radford, Va.
DeAntre Rhodes, dt, 6-3, 280, Hargrave, Sandston, Va.
Mark Shuman, ol, 6-7, 285, Fork Union (Va.) HS
E.L. Smiling, wr, 6-3, 180, Brooke Point HS, Stafford, Va.
Justin Taylor, de, 6-2, 218, South Stanly HS, Norwood, N.C.
Chase Williams, lb, 6-1, 228, Loudoun County HS, Leesburg, Va.
Ricardo Young, qb, 6-0, 174, H.D. Woodson HS, Washington, D.C.