You guys have no clue about Beck. Wouldn't consider him a track athlete turned football, other way around.
Give a Top 10 and 3 HR
- Thread starter blackknight_pride
- Start date
The hype is from 2800+ all purpose yards and 40 TDs last season.
No disrespect to Beck's accomplishments, I think he's a great player, but have you heard of Navy Jones? Ty Freeland? Kuashaun Forest? These young men had similar years as Beck as well.. All but Forest had supporting casts. I think Beck will have a similar season as Forest had in 4a last year. Forest avg close to 300 yards a game but his team was a less than average 4a team. It's no knock on Beck.When I say hype, I'm talking about doing the same at the 4a level in crunch time. The offers speak for themselves. I think Jacquez Hairston from Magna Vista a couple of years ago was the real deal as well. He led his MV team to 2 state championships. Could he have done this at the 4a level? No sir!!!! 3A and 4A is apples and oranges.
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The one thing for sure is Beck can fly. On the high school level with that type of speed he is an impact player regardless of running style. At the D1 college level he will need more than just blazing speed. I keep asking the board which one is he... but I never really get a real answer. Is he a good back outside of just being one of the fastest players ever in Va history? Or is he just faster than everyone else on this level? Either way, he is going to have a big season! Oppenents need to make sure he doesn't get to the 2nd level or its bye bye.
Looks pretty good to me... he did a lot of that on his own. I'd say look out for another big year. I hope he can stay healthy!
People must have forgotten to tell Salem about the apples and oranges, because they are winning the same if not more at the 4A level. Not implying Bburg is Salem, but I'm not sure Salem is noticing much of a difference
Fair enough statements, those were all good players, But, Blackburg is far from being a one man show either. Stack the box, they can throw it all over. Spread out, the o-line and Beck will make you pay. Pick your poison defending. Haven't heard anyone say Blacksburg will win a state championship, but they have more than enough good players to be competitive in 4A. We shall see come the season.
Salem has been 4A for almost 30 years. I think what you must be referring to is the 5A teams that dropped down with the VHSL restructuring in 2013. That's when teams like Dinwiddie, Lake Taylor, Heritage NN, etc... dropped down to 4a based on their ADM. (Phoebus was another example and they have since dropped to 3A)
Yet again.....Salem has always been 4A, as opposed to a smaller classification. Salem did not move up from 3A at any point. In fact, Salem dropped down from old AAA Division 6 to AA Division 4 in 1988.
I like Blacksburg, expect them to do well this year, and think all this debate over Beck is utter nonsense. However, you're not helping your own cause by continuing to draw the same completely erroneous analogy.
Edit: Of course, Mike and I responded at the same time. See his somewhat gentler reply, above.
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I don't doubt it one bit! I'm happy to have some Bburg fans on the board. I lived up your way for a little while and I'm happy to see a team from that neck of the woods in the hunt this year.
My bad, I guess what I'm talking about is the past 4 or 5 years. Regardless, football is football the only difference is numbers. Dont want to start any crazy arguments, but Appomattox may have had the best team in 3A or 4A.
You are correct Mike. I just remember people saying the dominance was over, boy were they wrong. I don't know if Bburg can compete in 4A or not, but I can tell you that this will be the most talented team to come through in a couple decades.
Hope you are referring to coming through Blacksburg, not 4a football. Blacksburg will be capable but they have a long way to go to play with Salem. 42-14 half last year
I will not degrade the Blacksburg program, but I have to agree with Southbottom. Someone posted the Bruins have hit the weight room hard, so thats a good sign and very important when dealing with the very physical west region.
I just don't see them being a major player in the 4a West, but their scheme and skill players will challenge teams in the playoff's.
Salem is still the king of the hill until they are knocked off, Sherando will likely be a major player and by some accounts Jefferson Forest will be sound.
Jorndorff, Appomattox was a sound team and had some very good skill players, but there is no way they were better than Salem or Dinwiddie. You have your opinion and thats fair. Neither of us will ever be able to prove it anyway. I know its just computer models, but Calpreps and VHSLreference have Salem and Dinwiddie beating them 62% of the time.
I just don't see them being a major player in the 4a West, but their scheme and skill players will challenge teams in the playoff's.
Salem is still the king of the hill until they are knocked off, Sherando will likely be a major player and by some accounts Jefferson Forest will be sound.
Jorndorff, Appomattox was a sound team and had some very good skill players, but there is no way they were better than Salem or Dinwiddie. You have your opinion and thats fair. Neither of us will ever be able to prove it anyway. I know its just computer models, but Calpreps and VHSLreference have Salem and Dinwiddie beating them 62% of the time.
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I agree with you that Appomattox couldn't have won 4A but no doubt in my mind they would have won 3A and easily IMO
I agree. I believe Appo was a better team than SR or Blacksburg. But better than Salem or Dinwiddie? Not a chance. That's like saying Salem would beat the best of 6a. Again, not a chance.
Why? Pretty simple really. Numbers. In 6a, virtually every kid on the top tier teams is a super star. And virtually nobody has to play both ways for any appreciable amount of time. Salem and Dinwiddie and other top tier 4a teams try to have players going only one way, but we all know when everything is on the line, the best athletes are on the field.
Appo has a lot of players that probably go only one way in many games, but in the tough matchups, a lot of the starters barely get a play off.
Nobody's fault. Just numbers. This is why we have a six class system!
Hopewell was a giant killer last season. Some even wondered if they would upset Dinwiddie. After all, they were at home, and on a roll. And Hopewell was well stocked with darn good players. The score was 63-0 Dinwiddie in the third quarter, when Coach Mills took his foot off of the throttle.
Was Hopewell overrated? No. They were overmatched. They had good athletes. Dinwiddie just had a lot more "good athletes".
Same situation when you compare a quality 2a school to a quality 4a. Maybe one time in a hundred you would see the lower class team win at the championship level.
No offense at all meant or implied. Just not realistic to say that 2a Appo would/could have won 4a.
Yeah I saw Appo last year and NO WAY could they have beaten Salem, Dinwiddie, Lafayette, Monacan or Eastern View. I doubt they could've beaten Sherando, GW or Louisa.
Edit: Without a dog in the fight, I still believe Dan River was the best team in 2a this past year. I would've loved to have seen Appo play them on dry ground. Hell of a catch by James Mitchell to beat Dan River in the second round. That catch solidified Appo's repeat.
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Good RB , has speed , but just like most typical 2A teams he won't run away from 4A teams like that , didn't see one play where he had to run over or through someone. He doesn't have to that in 2A , because the talent is marginal in 2A, so he runs around people. He looks like a nice RB , fast athletic guy , but he is small , not physical from what I see, because he hasn't been challenged . Va tech if they wanted him would move him to a slot kind of player . Go look at Taylor Loudan, highlights Sherando 2012, now the all time reciever at CNU , same player . Welcome to div2-3 . Just my opinion, not meaning it to be a insult. now if he rolls up 2000 yards this year against 4A competition, then time re- evaluate. Best of luck!
I'll try to make a top 10 to start the season, but it's hard enough trying to figure out where my team will be much less teams I have no real information on.
Top 10:
1. Dinwiddie
2. Salem
3. Monacan
4. Lake Taylor
5. Lafayette
6. Heritage NN
7. Sherando
8. Eastern View
9. Woodgrove
10. Louisa
HM:
Blacksburg
Charlottesville
Jefferson Forest
Top 10:
1. Dinwiddie
2. Salem
3. Monacan
4. Lake Taylor
5. Lafayette
6. Heritage NN
7. Sherando
8. Eastern View
9. Woodgrove
10. Louisa
HM:
Blacksburg
Charlottesville
Jefferson Forest
Scheduling is tough....and EV's out-of-district schedule this year isn't impressive. Last year they had Chancellor and Sherando out of district, and their district was weak. The Battlefield will be a good test for at least a few games this year. Unless you make a pretty good long-distance road trip...or convince a really good team to do the same and come to your place, these out-of-district games are tough to schedule. EV and Louisa have played a few times....that is a good "local" game that probably should be a regular.
Appomattox was a very talented team the past two seasons. Their skill players (as a whole) were better than any 4A West team and probably most 4A East teams as well (I'm not as familiar with 4A east). However, the biggest and most important difference is the O and D lines. Appomattox had a very good O and D line but they wouldn't have been able to match up with Salem's or Dinwiddie's O and D line. That would ultimately be the difference and advantage for the 4A schools.
I agree that he doesn't have a physical running style but he's not at all small. He's 6'1'' 200lbs. That's great size for a high school RB. He will likely rush for 2000 yards again as their regular season competition hasn't changed much. They only have three 4A teams on their schedule and one 5A team. The rest are 2A or 3A, that's where most of his yards will come from. The challenge will be whether or not they have the depth or team speed come playoff time.
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I think the East (Central & East) usually has more upper echelon teams, but they also have a lot of sub .500 teams too. I think the West (North & West) usually has 1 or 2 really good teams and then a notch below there is a lot of parity. That's just my 2 cents.
I have tried to illustrate this so many times. You just did it so eloquently! Right on with that take!
LCA is still going to be loaded with old 18 and young 19 year old players. The only difference in their reclassify and recruiting is it needs to be done by 8th grade, so kids can repeat 8th. More projecting a kids development than grabbing good athletes from other schools who might have slacked off in academics and need to retake courses.
You can believe they are watching the Lynchburg area middle school circuit closely.
You can believe they are watching the Lynchburg area middle school circuit closely.
Wouldn't surprise me if they took some good middle school athletes. Virginia Episcopal School did that years ago. They took the top middle school athletes and won a few private school state championships.
Are you implying that in order to be highly recruited your team has to do well? That's not my experience at all. College coaches develop communications networks with high school coaches that are the main source of their recruiting information. They talk to HS coaches ALL THE TIME. I covered the college ranks for awhile and I can assure you that whether a team wins or not has little to do with a college football coach's recruitment of a player. They watch tape, take to coaches, talk to guidance counselors, talk to teachers, etc. (They don't call rivals.com or Scout.com, BTW, and hardly pay any attention to recruiting services - those are for fans' enjoyment, primarily.) It may help a little if a team wins, just because a coach can observe how the player handles success, but wins and losses mean little in terms of college coaches' recruiting efforts. That, BTW, comes from multiple lengthy discussions with a since deceased D1 head coach who was a close friend of our family.
Mike, can you check the stats for LCA and see how many 18-19 year old kids are on the football roster? I'll say zero 19 year olds, and no more than two that will be 18 as of Dec 2017.
Oh okay! I had no Idea how the whole recruiting thing went. I thought that scouts came to games and watched players. I assumed that the watched playoff games live and that since Blacksburg went deep into the playoffs, they had more opportunities to be seen. My bad!
I would assume they have to comply with the VHSL regulations on age just like every other team. (They were only allowed to grandfather those players that were already reclassified) If someone repeats 8th grade they would likely be too old to play their Sr yr.
Almost every school in the country has a kid that is 19 during football season, but most seniors are 18 and 17 during season.
Even in the private leagues in VA there is an age restriction. Rule is you are not eligible if you turn 19 before July, I believe.
In vhsl you only have 8 semesters (essentially 4 years) of eligibility.
In the private leagues they could play 5 years of high school if they reclassify and repeat 9-11 grade. Can't be in 12th twice.
Now they just need to repeat 8th, assuming their birthday falls in the right window, to be more physically mature.
In places where high school sports are a local religion, it is very common for parents to start kids in kindergarten late, or have their kid repeat a grade for "maturity" reasons. Not much different than LCA, just not common in this area.
Even in the private leagues in VA there is an age restriction. Rule is you are not eligible if you turn 19 before July, I believe.
In vhsl you only have 8 semesters (essentially 4 years) of eligibility.
In the private leagues they could play 5 years of high school if they reclassify and repeat 9-11 grade. Can't be in 12th twice.
Now they just need to repeat 8th, assuming their birthday falls in the right window, to be more physically mature.
In places where high school sports are a local religion, it is very common for parents to start kids in kindergarten late, or have their kid repeat a grade for "maturity" reasons. Not much different than LCA, just not common in this area.
For general information only, VHSL Rule 28A-1-1, "student shall not have turned 19 on or before August 1 of the school year"
I hear you "orange", I'm just not buying into the fact that LCA has any students on the football team that are re-classed 19 year old's this season.
I know what you are saying about privates reclassing kids, but for every eighth grader that is identified as a future impact player and re-classed, I would bet only one in 10,000 truly turn out to be actually "special".
I hear you "orange", I'm just not buying into the fact that LCA has any students on the football team that are re-classed 19 year old's this season.
I know what you are saying about privates reclassing kids, but for every eighth grader that is identified as a future impact player and re-classed, I would bet only one in 10,000 truly turn out to be actually "special".
Thanks for correction on the date, I was a little off.
Your last paragraph is what makes this tough for them now, harder to project development a couple years down the line than it is to bring in a proven good sophomore or junior and have them repeat a year.
I know for a fact over the last few years since the move was made to VHSL that a bunch of 8th graders from surrounding area schools have been brought in and repeated 8th. They were all good athletes, not just school only students.
They just received time for the kids that reclassed post 9th grade to cycle out, because they are illegal participants in VHSL, 10 semesters of HS sports instead of 8.
There is going to be little or no age difference from past LCA teams, athletes just reclassify a year or two earlier and it is perfectly legal.
Avg public school: most seniors turn 18 during senior year.
Avg reclassified private athletes: turn 19 during senior year.
High end talent still stands out no matter age, but an extra year in the weight room and sports training for their 20-25 avg athletes versus other schools' 20-25 avg athletes can be a difference maker in high school. Especially if they can get down to 3A. Like a senior heavy team vs a junior heavy team.
To find out how many reclassed high school seniors they have left next year someone would have to find accurate rosters from 4 years back and check to see if the person's class year repeated from one year to the next. Too much research unless you have an axe to grind with them.
Your last paragraph is what makes this tough for them now, harder to project development a couple years down the line than it is to bring in a proven good sophomore or junior and have them repeat a year.
I know for a fact over the last few years since the move was made to VHSL that a bunch of 8th graders from surrounding area schools have been brought in and repeated 8th. They were all good athletes, not just school only students.
They just received time for the kids that reclassed post 9th grade to cycle out, because they are illegal participants in VHSL, 10 semesters of HS sports instead of 8.
There is going to be little or no age difference from past LCA teams, athletes just reclassify a year or two earlier and it is perfectly legal.
Avg public school: most seniors turn 18 during senior year.
Avg reclassified private athletes: turn 19 during senior year.
High end talent still stands out no matter age, but an extra year in the weight room and sports training for their 20-25 avg athletes versus other schools' 20-25 avg athletes can be a difference maker in high school. Especially if they can get down to 3A. Like a senior heavy team vs a junior heavy team.
To find out how many reclassed high school seniors they have left next year someone would have to find accurate rosters from 4 years back and check to see if the person's class year repeated from one year to the next. Too much research unless you have an axe to grind with them.
LCA has lost appeal to some higher level high school transfers because of this new situation.
Ex. Rashad Jennings- transferred after sophomore (junior?) Year at JF with bad GPA. Repeated soph year and classes and bad grades from those JF classes were wiped off his record, still had another junior and senior year to to retake and take more classes, and get NCAA qualifying grades, plus get in better shape (that cat has made an amazing physical transformation from HS to when he finished at LU).
If that was now, he would not be able to repeat ( or he could, but not eligible to play VHSL sports as senior) and would have less class time to retake classes and more requirements to fix GPA for NCAA.
Many kids like that may end up missing out on opportunities to turn things around now.
Ex. Rashad Jennings- transferred after sophomore (junior?) Year at JF with bad GPA. Repeated soph year and classes and bad grades from those JF classes were wiped off his record, still had another junior and senior year to to retake and take more classes, and get NCAA qualifying grades, plus get in better shape (that cat has made an amazing physical transformation from HS to when he finished at LU).
If that was now, he would not be able to repeat ( or he could, but not eligible to play VHSL sports as senior) and would have less class time to retake classes and more requirements to fix GPA for NCAA.
Many kids like that may end up missing out on opportunities to turn things around now.
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