Early Offers Reflect Impressive Talent, Changing Times


Victor Harris

It didn’t take long for the state of Virginia’s rising senior football prospects to hear good news from college coaches. Before the beginning of the May evaluation period (April 15–May 31), 25 in-state prospects from the 2005 recruiting class had received Division I-A scholarship offers. By now, 32 players finishing their junior years have at least one Division I-A offer, and that number is likely to grow in the ensuing months.

Leading the way are five players who have received at least ten scholarship offers – Highland Springs RB/CB Victor “Macho” Harris with over 20 offers, Landstown LB/DB Deveon Simmons with 17, Centreville OL/DL Pat Sheil with 13, Hermitage DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald with 12, and Oscar Smith JATH Greg Boone with 10. Included on these lists are offers from perennial powerhouse programs such as Miami, Oklahoma, and Michigan.

In addition to those five prospects, six more players have received at least five official scholarship offers. Just by looking at the amount of offers, one can tell the top crop of in-state talent is extremely strong. According to VirginiaPreps.com Publisher Zirkle Blakey, this class has the potential to rival the 2002 recruiting class, regarded as one of the strongest in state of Virginia history.

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