'Elite Eight' First-Year Players

I started this back in April and never finished... and I should have done this back in February, but I was on hiatus.  Anyway, I think this is one of those things that is worth doing in order to catch up from my two months away from Wahooze.

While the 2010 recruiting class was a great salvage mission for Mike London, yielding a few likely positive-impact recruits like Kevin Parks, Henry Coley, Chris Brathwaite, Rijo Walker, and Mike Rocco, it was still a relatively underwhelming haul.  That's to be expected, given the sequence of events: Al Groh fired in late November 2009, London hired in early December, scraping together a recruiting class in just over a month and a half.  It was a tough job, and I think London did well with the difficult task.  But still, the '10 class was so-so at best.

The 2011 class was the first real chance for London and his staff to show off their recruiting chops, and boy oh boy did they deliver.  Our class was ranked 25th nationally by Rivals.com, Virginia's first top-25 finish since the 2005 class (which included studs like Eugene Monroe, Branden Albert, Chris Cook, and Jeffrey Fitzgerald).

A lot of the freshmen from the '11 class will redshirt this season, but many will see the field this fall.  I wante dto rank all 25 of them, but only got through the first eight before I petered out.  Therefore, I just wanted to take a few minutes to get this posted and give you my ranking of the top eight true freshmen, and to provide a brief introduction to those of you who love Virginia Football but who aren't such huge recruiting nerds like me.

(These eight guys are listed in order of what I believe to be their ceiling of ability and eventual impact within the Virginia Football program.  I've watched game film and read countless testimonies from scouts and recruiting gurus.  I'm not an expert, but I feel like I have a pretty good handle on these guys, and on what our team needs.)

#1) Demetrious "Tra" Nicholson / CB / 4-star / 5-11, 167 / Virginia Beach, VA
Along with the fact that he looks like an unmitigated badass in the picture above...  Tra has all the talent in the world.  If he were a couple inches taller, he would have been a 5-star, ultra-blue-chip recruit, ranked at or near the top of his position nationally.  As it is, Nicholson is a smaller, quick-twitch corner who excels in man coverage.  This guy simply competes and plays taller than he is -- he consistently comes up with big plays in coverage and has excellent ball skills.  He turns into a receiver when the ball is in the air, and he will be a ballhawking big play artist at the college level.  He's smooth, fluid, and quick, and should assume the role of a top-notch lockdown cover corner, despite his lack of height and bulk.  He's the next stud flowing through the pipeline of UVA corners making it into the NFL...  Chris Cook, Ras-I Dowling, Chase Minnifield, and now Tra Nicholson.  Rijo Walker faces a battle royale this summer, in trying to keep his starting CB job away from Tra.  Calling my shot: I think Nicholson beats out Walker as a true freshman, and I'm a Rijo Walker fan.
Projected 2011 Impact: Starter opposite Chase Minnifield.
Projected Career Impact: Shutdown corner, eventual All-American candidate, and one of the stars of the team.

#2) Darius Jennings / WR / 4-star / 6-0, 180 / Baltimore, MD
The Gatorade Player of the Year in Maryland, Jennings was a major steal for Mike London in this recruiting class.  He's an explosive, big-play receiver who projects to the slot and eventually to the outside at split end once he gets a bit stronger.  Jennings is a real difference-maker; the kind of transcendent player that can score from anywhere on the field; the kind of player Virginia Football has severely lacked in the 2000's.  Heck, since... forever.  Look at Darius Jennings and think of the type of gamebreaking receivers Miami is usually able to put on the field, guys like Santana and Sinorice Moss, Roscoe Parrish, and Reggie Wayne.  Jennings is in that class of athlete, and while he's not extremely tall, he's not smurf-like either.  I think he'll be a star at UVA, provided we can find a quarterback to get him the ball.
Projected 2011 Impact: In the mix at WR in the slot and opposite Kris Burd.
Projected Career Impact: Starting wide receiver, potential star, and a guy opposing defenses must gameplan around.

#3) Dominique Terrell / WR / 4-star / 5-11, 175 / Manasses, VA
Terrell is similar to Jennings, but a bit smaller and maybe a bit craftier with his moves.  When I think of Terrell, I think of a sort of "Percy Harvin Lite."  He's a swiss army knife type of player, with a huge arsenal of skills and talents.  I think there's a chance that Terrell could redshirt this season, but there's just as much of a chance that the staff wants to get his diverse set of talents on the field early and often, in the slot, as a wildcat QB, and returning kicks and punts.  He's a versatile weapon that you know Bill Lazor is excited to unleash.  We never got this kind of explosive player before, and we got two in this class.  I can't wait to watch these two guys on the field.
Projected 2011 Impact: In the mix in the slot, as a "gimmick" player on offense, and a star in the return game.
Projected Career Impact: Star return specialist and slot receiver.  (Imagine a trips formation with Jennings and Terrell bunched together.  *shudder*)

#4) Brandon Phelps / DB / 4-star / 6-0, 175 / Damascus, MD
Phelps is ultimately a cornerback prospect, but based on the current needs of the roster I think he ends up playing the centerfielder-type free safety role as a freshman.  And that might be a spot where he'll stick.  He's not big/strong enough to play in the box, but he's a cover guy who could be fantastic playing the ball in the air in the deep zone.  He's a gifted athlete who was recruited by a ton of different schools -- Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Duke, Illinois, Iowa, LSU, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, UCLA, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  I think he's an impact player right out of the chute.
Projected 2011 Impact: 2-deep at free safety and/or cornerback.
Projected Career Impact: Above-average 3-year starter in the secondary, with All-ACC potential as an upperclassman.

#5) Clifton Richardson / RB / 4-star / 6-1, 195 / Newport News, VA
Another 757 recruit, Richardson might have been the key to everything in this class -- he committed early, and became one of UVA's best recruiters down the stretch, working his friendships to leverage more players to Charlottesville.  On the field, he's a bigger back, but isn't a power runner.  He's more of a tall, upright-running one-cut slasher.  Think Fred Taylor.  ESPN compares him to Joe McKnight.  Not exactly the kind of back you'd think is a potential 25-carry bellcow, but fully capable of carrying a large workload as a starting halfback.  It's clear that London and Lazor will build the offense around the running game, and Richardson figures to be a key cog in those plans as we move forward as a program.
Projected 2011 Impact: #2 or #3 tailback behind Perry Jones and maybe Kevin Parks or Khalek Shepherd (though I think he'll beat both of those guys out in camp.)
Projected Career Impact: Workhorse tailback for the Hoos after Perry Jones graduates following the 2012 season.

#6) David Dean / DT / high 3-star / 6-1, 285 / Virginia Beach, VA
A national top-20 defensive tackle prospect who was universally a top-10 overall recruit in the state of Virginia.  He's another Hampton Roads kid who can only help the program firm its footing in recruiting that talent-rich area.  I think Dean is perfect for the Mike London-style 4-3 defense, as he's an active, penetrating-type tackle.  He's already pretty polished in the position, and thus might push his way into the 2-deep as a true freshman, unless guys like Will Hill and Chris Brathwaite can keep him off of the depth chart.  At this point, I'd say it's 50-50 that Dean will redshirt, pending the injury list at the DT position as the season grinds along.
Projected 2011 Impact: Redshirt... or maybe not.
Projected Career Impact: Heavily in the mix of the defensive tackle rotation as a redshirt freshman, 3-year starter after that; potentially a national-level star and NFL prospect if he can hone his interior pass rush skills.

#7) Vincent Croce / DT / high 3-star / 6-4, 260 / Olney, MD
Croce is a guy I thought might earn that fourth star but never did.  Good Counsel is similar to DeMatha -- it's a high-profile football school that produces a steady stream of high-level D-1 talent.  Landing Croce from this program was a big deal for Coach London.  But besides the obvious future recruiting ramifications, Croce is a damn fine player in his own right.  He's a great student and a really good athlete who played end, linebacker, tackle, o-line, and tight end in high school.  He's a bit high-slung for a d-tackle prospect, and will need to chip away at some flaws in his technique... but a redshirt season should have him ready to roll as a major contributor on the d-line for 2012 and beyond.
Projected 2011 Impact: Redshirt.
Projected Career Impact: 2- or 3-year starter at DT, with All-ACC potential as an upperclassman.

#8) Anthony Harris / DB / high 3-star / 6-2, 185 / Chesterfield, VA
He's listed as an athlete, but if you believe ESPN, he's a safety prospect all the way.  Corners and safeties tend to be pretty fluid as freshmen and redshirt freshmen, so no odds on that just yet.  Safety does make sense given his measurables and our pressing need at that position.  He's probably in line for a redshirt, but he has the ability to quickly emerge as a starter and an impact defensive player down the line.  He's not the type of recruit that can really get you excited, but he's a solid prospect who could form the bedrock of a very good secondary.
Projected 2011 Impact: Redshirt.
Projected Career Impact: 2-deep at safety, core special teamer, and all-around solid player.