Great research — Another UVA grad really maxing out that ‘Southern Ivy’ education. Ha!
You missed WR Peele, Navy commit and though CJ is going to Coastal, he had ACC offers that he left on the table. Either way, my only real ‘argument’ is that the original assessment on the status of 757 youth sports (offered by sixcat) is a little dated...not entirely inaccurate.
As we’ve discussed relative to SWVA, talent is cyclical and yes, the 2020 757 class wasn’t loaded, but there are still lots of big time players in tidewater. We have seen a couple guys get pulled to IMG or other football factories, but for the sake of VA football, I hope that’s a quick trend...
It’s funny to me that guys sitting behind keyboards in SWVA doing research on 24/7 and VB Mustangs website can offer such informed opinions.
Thanks for the links...I’m a Mustangs coach so I’m good... I know who’s still playing, Maury just won a State Championship with some of our kids with 6 or 7 going D1.
Also appreciate the lesson on the differences in cities, my kids play AAU ball in Norfolk, I understand the area. Point is simple, your perspective is dated.
Good perspective, but a little dated IMO. The issues you raise still exist, but have gotten better in the last few years and youth football (at least in VB) is thriving. As an example, the Virginia Beach Mustangs Pop Warner program is a National power, with multiple National Championships in the past 10-15 years.
I’m not an ODU fan, nor am I a Tech hater. I was mostly kidding about them in the ACC.
But, Tech has missed some VA/757 opportunities and Ricky Rahne is building some excitement in tidewater — Lamareon James, who VT wanted, was a big score by ODU and they just pulled Ricky Slade from PSU on a transfer.
A lot of false statements on this thread about VT. Times have changed. NOVA & Richmond are where a majority of the top recruits are at not the 757. If you talk to people who actually know Justin Fuente they will tell you he is very personable but he's not a used car salesman. He's not going to lie to a recruit just to get them to sign with the Hokies. It's still early in the recruiting period and Tech's class will continue to improve as the summer progresses. A majority of the transfers (which happened a couple of years ago) were Beamer recruits that didn't make the transition to Fuente and that happens at any program when there is a change at the top. Check the preseason predictions and you will see VT and UNC getting the most votes to win the ACC Coastal this year which is far from the doomsday predictions on this thread.
Good thing (for VT) that ODU isn’t in the ACC Coastal!
It was the 757 QB’s. Most of the other big time players were from FL.
Disagree.
Sure, all teams have some Florida talent, but some of the biggest names (outside of QBs) were 757 bred...D Hall, Tapp, Adibis, Kam, just a few off the top of my head.
It could be a flawed assumption as I’ve never really looked hard at it, but I always attributed much of Tech’s success in the 90’s to the 757 talent pool...before it was really discovered by powerhouse programs.
The Appalachia and Gate City game in 93 was also a good one not many talk about. Appy wins on a hook and ladder late in 4th. Lots of big time players on those teams in mid 90s. Probably the best decade for talent in swva football in any decade ever.
I couldn’t remember if that was ‘91 or ‘93, but I mentioned that game earlier in this thread. Also agree about the talent in the 90s.
Looking at the overall list of undefeated teams, the 80s aren’t really represented in SWVA. I remember some good GC teams back then, but we never seemed to get past the semis once we got out of Region IV.
Always a fun conversation. Stan and Phil were amazing. I've always thought the '88 GC and '97 GC teams would have interesting matchups against the 70s group. Both of those teams (although neither was undefeated) had multiple D1 starters at OL, DL, QB (counting Shoe as a basketball) and LB.
Agree with those as interesting matchups — would be some fun Blue-White games at Legion!
Splitting hairs, but I think you mean the ‘96 team. Even though ‘97 won the Div 3 title, I think the ‘96 team that lost to Brookville in the semis, was a more talented, dominant team — Shoe, Beasley, and some other big linemen were seniors in ‘96. Just goes to show you anything can happen in the playoffs...I say we beat Brookville 9 out of 10 times in ‘96, but Jefferson Forrest (who we beat in ‘97) probably gets us 9 out of 10 times.
The historical comparisons are not only impossible to prove, but interesting to argue. I would use GC 1970 as an example. That team is unquestionably a juggernaut in comparison to its time, and was likely the most dominant team in relation to its peers in SWVA history. However, kids today as a collective are much faster and much more athletic (though on a whole for this region smaller and not as physical) than back in the 1970s. My honest opinion, I don’t think GC 1970 could beat teams like Graham 2001, Bluefield 2004, or Richlands 2010. Those teams were not only big and physical, but had insane athleticism.
Like I said, though...impossible to prove.
Good points and you are right in that a team from 1970 would struggle to deal with the athletes, formations, and play calling that weren’t around in their time. In that sense, most ‘modern’ teams would have the advantage...think ‘72 Dolphins vs a team like the ‘19 Chiefs.
The specific question for any team that played the ‘70 Blue Devils is could they load the box and actually stop what everyone knew was coming...Phil and Stan Rogers behind a big, strong offensive line (even by today’s standards).
I bleed blue, so I’ll take GC, but like you said, impossible to prove.
Absolutely it did. But other schools around had elite talent too, tons of guys that went to places like VT, WVU, UVA, etc.. If it was just either Jones brother and a mediocre team surrounding them, no way the team succeeds at such a level. Too many great teams around that could beat them.
Agree with this. Across the board, talent in SWVA was at a high point in the mid-late 90s...at least in the ‘recent’ era.
Maybe it’s the Devil in me, but I’d take the ‘70 GC team over any other on that list. Hard to compare, I know, with the change in the game and athleticism, but based on overall dominance, it’s hard to stack up against that bunch.
I can’t recall the year, maybe ‘91, a doozy GC - Appy game at Legion, where Tom Turner called up a hook and ladder to beat us on the last play of the game.
Maybe it was Tom Turner, but as a GC guy, Appy was probably the team I respected the most. The teams they fielded with their enrollment...insane. I remember going to a Appy - RC game when we had an open date. Appy was up big time at the half and Turner and the coaches rolled out the Mountain Dew and hot dogs for the players during the break. Classic Appalachia.
Were you there when PV came over in 97? I remember one of those games in that time period was at GC and it was a TORRENTIAL downpour. I'm thinking 97 but could be wrong.
Pretty sure that was ‘97, if not, it was ‘95. We beat PV at the park in ‘96.
Even as a true blue GC guy, I can agree with you about that ‘97 PV - Appy game. Those teams were loaded. 3 State Champions that year with GC, PV, and Appy...PV can claim they won it in three divisions since they beat us and Appy.
I’ve always said you could’ve taken the best from those teams, put them together, and they could’ve beat Hampton in AAA.
Not sure I agree with that. The McClung led team was infinitely more talented than the 24–1 GC team from ‘88 whose only major college athlete was Rusty Pendleton (for football). To what other great area teams are you referring?
The ‘97 GC team would’ve been interesting. Mac’s bunch would’ve beat them, but they never saw a team with the level of defense.
Granted, most of the ‘97 team were football players playing basketball, with the exception of Josh Shoemaker who went on to play at Wake and in Europe, they would bring the pain on defense and the boards.
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Great research — Another UVA grad really maxing out that ‘Southern Ivy’ education. Ha!
You missed WR Peele, Navy commit and though CJ is going to Coastal, he had ACC offers that he left on the table. Either way, my only real ‘argument’ is that the original assessment on the status of 757 youth sports (offered by sixcat) is a little dated...not entirely inaccurate.
As we’ve discussed relative to SWVA, talent is cyclical and yes, the 2020 757 class wasn’t loaded, but there are still lots of big time players in tidewater. We have seen a couple guys get pulled to IMG or other football factories, but for the sake of VA football, I hope that’s a quick trend...
It’s funny to me that guys sitting behind keyboards in SWVA doing research on 24/7 and VB Mustangs website can offer such informed opinions.