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Roanoke Times Top 100 Va HS Sr prospects

What's wrong with the list?
The list seems a bit off with the rankings and they left some exceptional talent off of both the top 100 seniors and top 25 juniors...kids that will and are being recruited by division I schools. It just makes me wonder where the Roanoke Times gets its info. How does this reporter do his research?
 
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In his defense he does cover UVA football , so he may not know much about the game ;)
 
Because of what happened last year and the sharing of carries the first seven games, Ramsey is flying below the radar. People who saw him the last 7 games this year know what a talent he is. If he has or can get his academic house in order, someone is going to steal a four star athlete. He may not be rated four star at this moment, but anyone who saw him in the playoffs know that he is exceptional on the football field.
 
Very much so. How in the heck can Fitzgerald be ranked higher than Ramsey or Tucker when his team won 2 games last year? Lost me there.
I think this leads to a lot of head scratching... I'm also confused about the kicker Craft for Salem not even being on here as well.. probably the most consistent kicker in the state the last 3 years and his stats will speak for themselves from what I know of them.. Has 3 D2 offers and I hear he has been in contact with several FBS coaches over the last several weeks and is listed as having a 5 star rating as a combo K/P with several major camp series he has attended. . Is he better than the two kickers on the list? Matter of opinion I guess but I know that he attended both JMU camps over he summer and beat both of them out.. I think Bleeding Navy can confirm that....SMH
 
No doubt Mr. Ramsey is a great athlete but his best bet is landing in a Jr. College and proving himself off the field. Even though all high school athlete's can improve this young man is definitely head and shoulders above the rest. Unless you are absolutely elite most colleges won't take a chance on you not being eligible to play from week to week. At this point he is in charge of his own destiny and I hope he can make the necessary changes. Wishing him all the best.
 
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No doubt Mr. Ramsey is a great athlete but his best bet is landing in a Jr. College and proving himself off the field. Even though all high school athlete's can improve this young man is definitely head and shoulders above the rest. Unless you are absolutely elite most colleges won't take a chance on you not being eligible to play from week to week. At this point he is in charge of his own destiny and I hope he can make the necessary changes. Wishing him all the best.
Doughty's lists are subject to a lot more questions these days because there is more information available to the public. Fact is he is on the back nine of his career and he doesn't put the same effort in to his lists that he used to. He also definitely has a local lean because he still needs to sell print copies in the circulation area. The other thing about his lists, and this hasn't changed over the years, is the rankings reflect the combination of skill and recruitability which can result in a decent athlete being ranked higher than an exceptional athlete where there are questions off field in regards to qualifying. Ramsey's rank reflects those question marks. No one disputes his physical skills.
 
If Ramsey gets his academic house in order, stays out of trouble, he will be a steal for some school. He may need prep school or juco but based on talent, he is much closer to top ten on this list than bottom 25
 
If Ramsey gets his academic house in order, stays out of trouble, he will be a steal for some school. He may need prep school or juco but based on talent, he is much closer to top ten on this list than bottom 25
One of the smallest yet biggest words in the English language IF. He no doubt has the physical tools. Good luck to him on overcoming the challenges he faces.
 
A lot of hylton love on this list. The Slade kid is deserved. The whole junior list is interesting.
 
Timesland is often way to political. They usually care about circulation more than picking the best players. The political correctness shown by making sure smaller schools are represented is sometimes comical. Will be very interesting which three backs are chosen (Beck, over street, Basham , Ramsey, people's)
 
The timesland team should be dominated by Salem and Blacksburg players. backs should be Over street, Beck, Ramsey. Offensive player of the year over street, defensive player of the year tackle from Blacksburg. Salem should have around 8 players make first team..
 
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I am not trying to be disrespectful; however, most of you have failed to read the heading. It states top prospects. A majority of the top 50 have already signed loi's (D1). The list of seniors is not necessarily based on their performance during this season, but previous camp performances and detailed study by college recruiters and scouting services like espn, rivals and 247.

Ramsey, may be a top 10 running back in Virginia, but he simply is not being recruited (issues already pointed out); therefore, he is not a top prospect for 2018. Craft is a fantastic clutch kicker with upside, but Wise is rated higher not necessarily because of ability, but directly related to being signed.

The kid from Hermitage is a head scratcher, but I guess the bigger school signings got the benefit of the doubt.

The junior list is headed by Smith for a reason. 1. He is a fantastic player with unreal upside. 2. He is being recruited by every big 5 school and lastly, by next February he may be the highest recruited player ever outside of the 757. At least in the last 15 years for sure.

Could the posters make a better list? I doubt most people could, because most of us don't know about all the talent in all divisions and regions. I can tell you 2 of the top 3 are going to Ohio State for a reason. We all should be proud of the talent we get to watch in this state. I would bet this seasons div 1 signings could be the most ever. I know for a fact, the signings to big 5 schools is likely the highest ever.
 
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I know Smith is highly recruited. Please don't get me started on the recruiting process. I don't have a problem with him being on the top of the juniors list. It's some of the others that are head scratchers. I do know recruiting is about more than athletic talent. It's about grades, measurables, and character too. Do I think I could make a better juniors list? Yep, probably, with some research and digging and my current knowledge of the class.
 
Close2Salem, some on here can, but as you said you would have to research and dig. The hard part is most of us don't know what college coaches envision when they look at talent.

Example: Pope from Dinwiddie is listed as a qb. He may suprise me with continued development, but I see him as an athlete not a qb in college. In the right system maybe; however, his arm is not where it needs to be right now. Since, I know the Richmond and 757 area the best I can tell there is some misalignment with a few players on the list from those areas.

I think I will leave it up to the guys who get paid to do the ratings. List like these are usually very accurate. Very few players that are not in the top 50 make the show not mention those that are not on the list at all. Yes, there are misses, but very few.
 
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detailed study by college recruiters and scouting services like espn, rivals and 247.
That being said and not to be argumentative, how does a prospect get started on recruiting lists? STATS.. ESPN Rivals 247 all start with stats that are kept by coaches, schools, reporters, etc. that keep stats on players and when something jumps out they take notice and bam! heres a 6'5" 240 lb junior Mdl linebacker or end who has x amount of tackles in a season so lets put him on a watch list and check all the other criteria and see if he fits. A) He does so we'll watch him a bit closer and rate him along the way all the while waiting to see if a big 5 school notices and now he is news.. or B) He doesn't fit all the criteria but is still having awesome play on the field so we'll see if he straightens out before we go all in.. Most coaches do not keep all the stats or make them available to these agencies to be able track a prospect IMO. So if you promote your kid, you think he is better than he actually is.. or you are trying to live your football(or any sport) non life through your kid and it is pipedreams is what most parents are told.. But someone can see a 6 yr old on youtube who can dribble better than John Stockton or hit a wiffle ball a country mile and every college in the country should lock him down.. A lot of things are not fair in this process and I will not go all out on my assessment since they are my opinions only based on what I see others going through.. I'm sure I could argue many points on the subject on just about any reply and I am no expert nor claim to be so fire away.. lol
 
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Recruiting can be a game of promotion. I'm still confused about how to get a kid rated. What if you can't afford to take your kid to combines? How can they get rated?
 
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That being said and not to be argumentative, how does a prospect get started on recruiting lists? STATS.. ESPN Rivals 247 all start with stats that are kept by coaches, schools, reporters, etc. that keep stats on players and when something jumps out they take notice and bam! heres a 6'5" 240 lb junior Mdl linebacker or end who has x amount of tackles in a season so lets put him on a watch list and check all the other criteria and see if he fits. A) He does so we'll watch him a bit closer and rate him along the way all the while waiting to see if a big 5 school notices and now he is news.. or B) He doesn't fit all the criteria but is still having awesome play on the field so we'll see if he straightens out before we go all in.. Most coaches do not keep all the stats or make them available to these agencies to be able track a prospect IMO. So if you promote your kid, you think he is better than he actually is.. or you are trying to live your football(or any sport) non life through your kid and it is pipedreams is what most parents are told.. But someone can see a 6 yr old on youtube who can dribble better than John Stockton or hit a wiffle ball a country mile and every college in the country should lock him down.. A lot of things are not fair in this process and I will not go all out on my assessment since they are my opinions only based on what I see others going through.. I'm sure I could argue many points on the subject on just about any reply and I am no expert nor claim to be so fire away.. lol
If by STATS you mean height, weight, speed, etc you would be leaning in the right direction. If you threw in in person evaluation at camps, games or other visits you would be even warmer. Game stats can validate the things already mentioned but, for recruiters and talent evaluators they are confirming secondary information rather than primary considerations. Otherwise, recruiters would be beating down the door of guys like Heritage's Elijah Davis and Staunton River's Grayson Overstreet. As an aside I hope those two make schools that passed on them very sorry. Recruiting just like making these lists is not an exact science and there is always room for differences of opinion. The proof is in the results on the field that confirm the decision to recruit and, after the fact, the usefulness of the original lists. Doughty has been doing this for a very long time and has/had access to college coaches for input even before the internet made more of that type info available. His results over the years have been very good. They might have slipped a little as he aged and been influenced to some extent by circulation considerations but, in the early days, maybe even before you were born and certainly before the internet changed the landscape, the Roanoke Times publication of its Top 25 was one of, if not the most, respected lists in the state.
 
You would think playing a loaded team like Louisa (with such a outstanding recruit like Smith) would draw the attention of recruiting services to some of the Salem players. ;) Again, I think it's a lot about self promotion.
 
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Recruiting can be a game of promotion. I'm still confused about how to get a kid rated. What if you can't afford to take your kid to combines? How can they get rated?
I would say try to get him to some summer camps whether they are college prospect camps or position camps during the summer. some of those are not too expensive but may require some travel from what I know. And Film.. most kids have Hudl accounts that they can make highlight clips from.. send those to any school they may be interested in attending. also email them and let them know he or she is interested in in their school.....You may touch base with some of the other parents that you know may be going through this process..
 
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You would think playing a loaded team like Louisa (with such a outstanding recruit like Smith) would draw the attention of recruiting services to some of the Salem players. ;) Again, I think it's a lot about self promotion.
There is some self promotion involved but, the bigger consideration, in my opinion, is that Salem is a program and a system where the sum total is greater than the individual parts. Over the years Salem has had guys like Curtis Taliaferro, Marcus Parker, Shane Miles, Dennis Haley, etc who played at the D-1 level but, the strength of the program was in its numbers not huge levels of D-1 talent. They took guys that might play D-2 or D-3 and molded them in to units that at times beat teams with equivalent or far superior numbers of D-1 players. Salem has put more players in the D-1 level, both FBS and FCS in recent times which indicates the talent is rising, an observation supported by the recent 3 peat.
 
I do believe some players get overlooked and under valued, but its rare. I can't speak for most teams; but high school coaches can sale players. Coach Mills does a good job of promoting and putting his players in the forefront durung the summer. We have a summer job program for the players to help pay for camps and our booster club funds them as well. Very few if any kid pays for camps.

Special team camps and ratings are very suspect; however, the are a virtual necessity to get a kid a shot at the next level. Craft is surely top notch and will make an impact when he gets his shot.

You guys know I respect Salem and they have a proven program. That being said their coaching staffs philosophy of team first hurts the recruitment of the marginal recruit. Its a double edge sword. Win state championships or promote your guys through individual camps. Honestly, I have only seen a few Salem players attend these camps and it obviously hurts; however, their team camp approach obviously works on the field.
 
Recruiting is a lot of self promotion. Social media (i.e Twitter, etc.) can be a useful tool along with sending 100s of emails to coaches from schools of interest. Unfortunately, camps and combines are a must these days. Highlight films are great, but coaches want to see the kid in person.
 
If you are a borderline college player I would agree. But if you are a legitimate college player , recruiters will find you always. The two deal stoppers are #1! Grades. Number two is just being a asshole (asshole is defined as, steal, cheat, lie, criminal, etc...) . If you are a good kid and can play , they will find you. now I will say this , as you go down the line of divisions to 3A , then 2A, then 1A ....it gets tougher, because then colleges will measure quality of competition along with your athletic ability ... if you are a stud, best bet is to at least play 4A or above football. ✌️
 
If you are a borderline college player I would agree. But if you are a legitimate college player , recruiters will find you always. The two deal stoppers are #1! Grades. Number two is just being a asshole (asshole is defined as, steal, cheat, lie, criminal, etc...) . If you are a good kid and can play , they will find you. now I will say this , as you go down the line of divisions to 3A , then 2A, then 1A ....it gets tougher, because then colleges will measure quality of competition along with your athletic ability ... if you are a stud, best bet is to at least play 4A or above football. ✌️
Lots of legitimate college players will never get noticed just by playing on Friday nights. Recruiting has changed significantly with social media and the ability to use Hudl, etc.
 
Recruiting is a lot of self promotion. Social media (i.e Twitter, etc.) can be a useful tool along with sending 100s of emails to coaches from schools of interest. Unfortunately, camps and combines are a must these days. Highlight films are great, but coaches want to see the kid in person.
What kind of camps? I've found the school camps seem to be more money makers than recruiting opportunities.
 
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