Doug Doughty

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On Friday morning, North Carolina State became the 10th Division I-A football program to make a scholarship offer to George Washington High School running back David Wilson.

George Washington coach Dan Newell already has a candidate for No. 11.

“The first 10 were official [offers],” Newell said. “I have a pretty good feeling Alabama will be next.”

The first 10 schools to offer Wilson – Newell can remember them by going north to south – were Michigan, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Auburn.

“I got a message to call Florida today,” Newell said. “I know Tennessee is in the mix. Ohio State’s coming Wednesday. Florida State’s in the mix. It’s going to get bigger before it gets smaller.”

Newell’s going to have to cut it off at some point.

“I think his parents are going to make that decision for me,” he said.

Wilson got an offer for which he and his coach had been waiting when Virginia Tech came forward April 18.

“We knew Tech’s situation with [reduced] scholarships and they had told us, ‘It’s going to take a while before we sift this out,’ “ Newell said. “The timing of the offer was not unexpected. Did we take it as a slight? Absolutely not.”

Wilson, a 5-foot-11, 195-pounder, rushed for 1,556 yards as a junior and scored 20 touchdowns, two coming on kickoff returns, the first with Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring in attendance for the Eagles’ opener against William Fleming.

Newell’s relationship with Stinespring goes back to the time when Newell was the coach at Lake Taylor in Norfolk and had defensive back Ronyell Whitaker, who signed with the Hokies and had a – how do we describe it, favorable ? – career at Tech.

Most recently, George Washington has sent Kenny Lewis Jr., Cam Martin and Orion Martin to Tech, but when asked if Tech is the team to beat for Wilson, Newell says, “I’m not going to say that?”

But, what if a sportswriter were to say Tech is the favorite for Wilson.

“He never has mentioned any one front-runner,” Newell said.

But, Newell can understand why Tech may be viewed that way.

“I think there are two reasons for that,” Newell said. “One is my connection to kids who have gone there in the past, but that’s not a real good indicator because, essentially, Ronyell Whitaker was going to go where Mike Vick went, and they were good friends and ended up rooming together up there.

“Then, Cam Martin and Orion Martin, their uncle, Bobby, played for coach [Frank] Beamer up there at Virginia Tech. They made that decision on their own. And, of course, Kenny Lewis’ father is a legacy up there.

“I didn’t really have to do anything to get those kids to go to Virginia Tech. That’s where they wanted to go from the get-go. I do know that one of the factors that is going to play into [Wilson’s] decision is his track career. He wants to continue to at least do the triple jump.”

Newell said that Maryland was the first school to offer Wilson a football scholarship. That was in December; then, along came Virginia in January.

“He took opportunities then, when his track schedule was a little lighter, to take junior-day visits with his parents,” Newell said. “He was very excited about the whole prospect and it was new to him.

“That makes a difference in these kids’ mentalities, [as to] who’s the first one in the door. Let’s face it, when you’re a recruit like him, this kind of stuff’s going to get old pretty soon. The little connections you make early on stick with you a little longer.”

Stinespring is recruiting Wilson for Tech and Wayne Lineburg is recruiting him for UVa, Newell said, which lends credence to the rumors that Radford native Lineburg will have an expanded role in southwest Virginia.

“I’ve known both of those guys for years and have great relationships with them,” Newell said. “If [the Cavaliers] have a chance, I feel that that’s their best chance of making a connection. I feel good about the way he represents UVa and his relationship with kids in this part of the country.”

EACH RECRUITING CLASS seems to have its own unique features and the 2008 state class is destined to go down as the first with four top five players to commit by April 30 of their junior year.

After West Virginia had taken commitments from three of the state’s top four juniors, according to The Roanoke Times, a fourth top-five player committed to former WVU coach Rich Rodriguez, now at Michigan.

Kevin Newsome, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, didn’t even have a list of finalists before announcing his intentions earlier this week.

“I was a little surprised; I think everybody was kind of surprised,” said Scott Johnson, entering his second season as Western Branch coach. “I do know that he was getting tired of the recruiting process. The calls and the visits … I think that just became a little burdensome.”

Virginia Tech had been seen as a player for Newsome’s services, particularly given its history at Western Branch, but young Hokies’ quarterback Tyrod Taylor has three more years of eligibility and potentially could be reshirted this season. Taylor, from Hampton,
was rated the No. 1 prospect in the state in 2007.

Newsome looked at Virginia Tech “and I will say he did his homework from the standpoint of who had committed and who was on the depth chart,” Johnson said. “That would have been a factor with whoever he was considering.”

Michigan could be hurting for quarterbacks. Starter Chad Henne used up his eligibility and is certain to be taken in the NFL Draft today. Back-up Ryan Mallett transferred to Arkansas and top recruiting target Terrelle Pryor picked Ohio State over Michigan and others.

“I don’t think the style they’ve had at Michigan really fits the offense that coach [Rich] Rodriguez will establish,” Johnson said. “I’m not sure anybody on Michigan’s quarterback depth chart really fits that because they’re pocket passers, drop-back guys.”

LUKE BOWANKO, the 6-5 ½, 265-pound Centreville High School offensive lineman who committed to Virginia on Thursday, is rated the No. 25 junior in Virginia by The Roanoke Times. Five of Virginia’s six commitments are from players ranked among the state’s top 25 juniors and the sixth, Liberty-Bealeton safety Corey Lillard, is a candidate for future lists.