Tim Settle to Virginia Tech: Hokies Land 4-Star DT Prospect

Defensive tackle was one of the deepest positions in this year's recruiting class, so Virginia Tech didn't have to settle for an inferior talent at the position. It did Settle, however, by landing 4-star recruit Tim Settle, one of the top prospects in the 2015 class.

Andy Bitter of The Roanoke Times has the news:

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Settle is a 4-star recruit from Stonewall Jackson High School in Virginia. Standing 6'3" and weighing 318 pounds, he is already a mountain of a man. He's considered the No. 3 prospect in the state of Virginia, the No. 11 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 78 prospect overall. 

Settle was named to the MaxPreps Junior All-American second team and the All-Met first team. In his sophomore season, he accumulated 72 tackles, three sacks and five pass breakups. Last year, he had five sacks and a whopping 32 tackles for loss. 

ESPN Insider (subscription required) provided the following scouting report on Settle:

"

Strong, physical presence on the inside who can move and penetrate. Big bodied defender who demonstrates very good short-area quickness and long speed burst for an interior lineman. Flashes dominant upper and lower body strength and is very explosive off the ball. Has a nose for the football, particularly on the move. Gets down the line quickly and shows high pursuit effort. Very productive versus the run and pass showing good technique; he's sound yet disruptive.

"

His head coach, Mike Dougherty, offered his own scouting report on Settle, via Wesley Sinor of AL.com:

"

His explosiveness off the ball and his ability to disrupt are what makes him special. He's like a hand grenade going off when he comes out of his stance. For a kid with his size to be that athletic... there's only 10 kids across the country who can do what he does. That's what the recruiters keep telling us.

"

Of course, you can always see him in action for yourself.

Settle is a man amongst boys at the high school level, at least physically. He's powerful enough to play the nose tackle position in the 3-4, explosive enough to play defensive end in that same scheme and could easily slide into the defensive tackle role in a 4-3. 

While he'll certainly add strength and power as he gets older, keeping his weight about where it is now will be important. But it's rare to find a player who can both completely disrupt the running game and collapse the pocket when the quarterback goes back to pass, which will make his development as a college player so fun to track.

Settle is a huge addition for Virginia Tech. While he'll need some fine-tuning like most college athletes, his adjustment to the college game should be pretty swift, and it shouldn't be long before he makes an impact.

No need to settle when you have Settle, after all.