The 2012 Signing Day festivities are still almost seven months away, and the 2011 football season is a month and a half away, but Virginia football recruiting is heating up in a big way here at the end of July.
Two Virginia targets are set to announce their decisions today, while another is scheduled for tomorrow and a fourth has set his announcement date for August 2nd.
Augie Conte, Anthony Cooper, Kyle Dockins and Eli Harold have all set their announcement dates. Virginia has a legitimate shot of landing all four. Let's take a look at the details after the jump.
The fireworks start today with two targets announcing their decisions. Powhatan (VA) Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot offensive tackle Augie Conte will decide between Virginia and Virginia Tech while Virginia Beach (VA) Bayside wide receiver Anthony Cooper will decide between Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Virginia.
Conte received offers from both the Cavaliers and the Hokies on the same day last week. He apparently wanted to waste no time in making a decision. He visited Virginia on Monday and Virginia Tech yesterday and will announce his decision today. This one is the closest of the four upcoming decisions, and I have no way to know what Conte will decide.
Rated a 3 or 4 star by various recruiting services, Anthony Cooper would be a big get for Virginia. He comes from Bayside, which is the same school from which Virginia snared Demetrious Nicholson last year. He's rated as one of the top 15 players in the Commonwealth.
Tomorrow, we'll get a decision from Virginia Beach (VA) Landstown athlete Kyle Dockins. Dockins, who will likely play either wide receiver or tight end in college will decide between Virginia, Virginia Tech and East Carolina.
And last, but far from least, four-star Ocean Lakes standout defensive end Eli Harold will announce his decision on August 2nd. Harold is rated as one of the top 2-3 players in the Commonwealth by the recruiting services and his offer list shows it. He'll supposedly be deciding between Virginia, Penn State and Florida, but holds offers from Arkansas, LSU, Miami, UNC, Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and many more.
There's a common thread with all of these targets. They're all in-state recruits and all have offers from both major in-state schools, making this recruiting period a significant battleground period. Virginia has a very good chance of landing three of the four of these players and it would not at all be surprising to see us land all four.
If you'd like to follow this as it happens, head on over to one of your favorite recruiting services (might I recommend Wahoos247 ?).
Keep your fingers crossed Hoos, Mike London is putting us back on the map!