by Andy Hilton, recruit757 Yes, the VHSL reclassification has thrown all of us for a loop. In football, the regular season schedule remains the same for the most part. With the teams of the former Bay Rivers District, we have some Class 4A teams playing Class 3A and even Class 2A Bruton. The Panthers were…
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by Andy Hilton, recruit757 Private school football programs sometimes get the short end of the stick.  The enrollments are smaller, the rosters are smaller, and the talent disparity between the better players and the lesser players on the team are often greater. The alumni base is not as big, leading to smaller crowds at the…
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by Andy Hilton, recruit757 I’ve shared the concept with coaches, parents, and players. Time and again, the feedback is positive. People get it, once they know what it is. Now, the ODU coaching staff has a web page dedicated to “353”. The idea is brilliantly simple. As a high school player moving on to college…
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by Andy Hilton, recruit757 It didn’t take long for Josh Sweat’s performance at Nike’s The Opening to have an impact.   The defensive end from Oscar Smith shined brightly in spite of an injury out in Oregon.  Now, he’s made the jump into the #1 spot nationally.  He’s officially the top recruit in the 2015 recruiting…
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by Andy Hilton, recruit757 Time has flown this month. For Lakendrick “Blindside” Ross, the news from Cincinnati was certainly welcome.  The Portsmouth big man who auditioned for NFL scouts just two weeks ago went unselected in the NFL Supplemental Draft.  That’s not the end of the story. A scout from the Cincinnati Bengals was at…
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by Andy Hilton, recruit757 Hickory tight end Richard Burney had some good choices going.  On Saturday, he decided to end his recruitment.  The Hickory football team had just returned from team camp at Florida State and the summer camp season is winding down. Burney held offers from Buffalo, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Elon, James Madison, and…
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by Andy Hilton, recruit757 The Oscar Smith Tigers have a ten year run of winning the Southeastern District if you count last year.  The SED died when the VHSL reclassified prior to last season, but that doesn’t diminish the dominance of Smith.  They haven’t lost to an SED team since 2006 when they fell to…
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by Andy Hilton, recruit757 Every high school program goes through the attrition of players graduating and moving on. Lake Taylor lost some talent when big names Jalyn Holmes moved on to Ohio State and Nyquan Harris headed to Marshall. There’s a pair of talented players with big game experience coming in, and those additions are…
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by Andy Hilton, recruit757 Yes, the Peninsula District is done.  There is no more PD.  Still, the teams of Newport News and Hampton, plus Gloucester schedule each other for the regular season. For the first time in years, maybe decades, there is no clear cut leader for the teams on the Peninsula. Phoebus and Hampton…
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by Andy Hilton, recruit757 College camp has paid off for Great Bridge lineman Kevin Staton.  The big man is emerging as a college prospect and Old Dominion has jumped on board. ODU’s second session of team camp started on Thursday and the Wildcats were one of many deep and talented teams participating.  Ocean Lakes, Landstown,…
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