Friday, January 09, 2009
Kyle Long situation sets up well for Virginia
Coles won’t be at Tech till June
Doug Doughty
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Word of Kyle Long’s departure from Florida State had barely hit cyberspace before speculation became rampant over his possible return to Charlottesville.
Actually, Long already was in Charlottesville when he was served for a warrant Sunday morning on a charge of driving under the influence.
Radio and newspaper accounts indicate that Long had a blood-alcohol ratio of .10 percent, a regrettable development for the Long family no doubt, but not the kind of offense that would prevent him from one day returning to college.
Long won’t be back at Florida State, the school with which he signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball, and, if the Long family wants him to concentrate on academics in a setting closer to his home, where would he be closer to home than Charlottesville?
He could spend the spring term at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, then transfer to a four-year college. An older brother, Chris, played football at Virginia for four years. A younger brother, Howie Jr., has signed a letter-of-intent to play lacrosse for the Cavaliers.
If Virginia had been willing to offer Kyle Long a baseball scholarship at the same time as Florida State, perhaps he would have stayed in Charlottesville. UVa baseball coach Brian O’Connor took a wait-and-see approach, at which point Long made the decision to pick baseball over football.
At the time, Long (6-7, 295) was the No. 1-rated prospect in the state, and he played football as a senior at St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville. I bet UVa football coach Al Groh would take Long right now, no questions asked.
But there is the sticky matter of ACC rules, particularly those pertaining to athletes transferring from one ACC school to another. Former Virginia Tech men’s basketball recruit Gus Gilchrist found it such a hassle to transfer to Maryland that he never played for the Terrapins, eventually transferring from Maryland to South Florida.
The ACC manual addresses the topic in Section VI-2 under the heading of Intra-Conference Transfer Rule. It is similar to the NCAA transfer rules in all but two areas:
The transfer loses a year of eligibility and he or she may not receive scholarship money for one year.
The second part of that would not be an issue for Kyle Long. His father is an NFL Hall of Famer, a Fox sports analyst and an advertising pitchman. The Longs probably could afford to pay Kyle’s way for two semesters.
Let’s say Kyle went to Piedmont this spring, then transferred to UVa in the fall. Even if he weren’t transferring to an ACC school, he wouldn’t be eligible to play football at a Division I-A school next fall. There is a one-year’s residency requirement for Division I football and basketball transfers (and the loopholes are closing for other sports).
Of course, this is all hypothetical because we don't know if Kyle Long even has an interest in playing football. He has given it up once, remember? But if the Cavaliers could have him for three years starting in 2010, who wouldn’t take it?
As for the Longs, they can take their time.
REPORTS THAT “GRAYSHIRTS” Ben Barber, Tony Gregory and Eric Martin will be enrolling at Virginia Tech for the second semester has raised questions about another 2009 Hokies’ recruit, D.J. Coles, who played this past fall for Fork Union Military Academy.
I’m told that the Hokies expected Coles to need two semesters at Fork Union before he met NCAA eligibility guidelines and did not have an opening for another grayshirt at this time. Barber, Gregory and Martin took the place of three fifth-year seniors who came off the rolls at the end of the first semester – Ryan Shuman, Sean Glennon and Orion Martin.
When Coles met NCAA standards more quickly than expected, there was no scholarship spot for him in January. The Hokies informed Coles’ mother that they wanted him to enroll in June for summer school and the family was fine with that.
Or, at least that’s the version I’m getting from a reputable source.
LOUISVILLE BECAME the 10th Division I-A program with multiple commitments from Virginians, landing Brandon Sharpe, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound from Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach.
Sharpe was not rated among the top 100 seniors in the state by The Roanoke Times in its Christmas edition.
Virginia Preps editor Zirkle Blakey brought the Sharpe commitment to my attention and observed that it “could be a real steal for the Cardinals.”
Here’s Blakey’s scouting report on Sharpe: “Did not play football until late, raw, but very athletic [also plays basketball] good grades ... great motor!”
I wonder if Sharpe could have slipped through the cracks during the period following former coach Jimmy Prince’s resignation last April. It only took a week for Ocean Lakes to replace Prince with former Hampden-Sydney defensive back Chris Scott. Even so, if college recruiters are anything like me, it’s a job to keep up with offseason changes.
Last week, I reported that 54 Virginians had made Division I-A commitments, although a later count this week came up with 53. There were two more in-state commitments this week, with Sharpe going to Louisville and Virginia Beach Kellam offensive lineman Hunter Steward going to UVa.
The Cavaliers, with 14 in-state commitments, had the equivalent of a swap this week with Steward, rated the No. 31 prospect in the state, taking the place of No. 38 Alex Owah, a previous Cavaliers’ commit who told the Daily News-Record in Charlottesville that UVa has rejected him for admission.
Following are the top 15 uncommitted players off The Roanoke Times Top 100:
2. Phoebus (Hampton) quarterback Tahj Boyd – Ohio State, Oregon
6. Meadowbrook (Richmond) offensive tackle Morgan Moses – Oklahoma, VT, UVa, prep school
11. Brooke Point (Stafford) defensive end Lanford Collins – Penn State, UVa, VT
37. Brookville (Lynchburg) offensive lineman Devin Bolling – VT leads
38. Harrisonburg running back Alex Owah – Marshall, N.C. State, prep school
40. Oakton quarterback Chris Coyer – Temple leads
51. Chantilly running back Torrian Pace – relative lack of interest mistifying
52. Gretna offensive lineman Bennett Fulper – reportedly has Maryland offer
59. Osborn (Manassas) “athlete” Jerrell McFadden – late reclassification from junior to senior
60. Dinwiddie quarterback Adam Morgan – offer from VMI
65. Ocean Lakes defensive back Shamarko Thomas – had I-A offers early
66. Edison (Alexander) linebacker Stephon Robertson – top 25 junior in 2007
68. Oakton linebacker Jack Tyler – Likely VT walk-on
71. West Springfield wide receiver Andy Stallings – monster numbers
73. Robinson defensive end Jordan Stanton – VT and UVa inquired about late-bloomer
