National Signing Day 2011: Where Top 30 Prospects in Virginia Are Headed

Of the top 30 prospects in the commonwealth of Virginia, only three remain uncommitted.  Of the 27 prospects that have decided where they will attend school, 24 of them will play in the ACC.

The University of Virginia is the big winner.  Mike London and company have done a great job of recruiting in the Hampton Roads area, a place that Virginia Tech has had a stranglehold on over the past decade or so.

Virginia has 12 prospects committed so far, and remain in play for the remaining three prospects that have yet to commit.

Virginia Tech has taken eight of the 30 prospects from Virginia, and have only one offer pending to the three prospects remaining.

North Carolina and Clemson are the only other ACC schools that have prospects committed from Virginia, but each school has a few.

Virginia has long been considered a place to find talented football players, and is one of the best states for high school football.

Here's a look at the top 30 prospects, according to Rivals, in Virginia and a look at where they will all be playing in 2011.

#30: Dwayne Alford

Dewayne Alford is a defensive end from Suffolk, VA who committed to Virginia Tech back in July.  He's got good size at 6'3" and 220 pounds, but he will need to add weight to his frame and bulk up.

Alford did not have a lot of offers.  In fact, Old Dominion and James Madison were the only other schools to offer him a scholarship.  Alford will almost certainly be redshirted in his first season, and will likely need a couple of years to learn the system before he will see any playing time on defense.

#29: Ross Burbank

Ross Burbank is an offensive lineman from Virginia Beach who's expected to play guard in college.  He committed to Virginia last April, and had only one other offer on the table, which was from Old Dominion.

Boston College, Maryland and Virginia Tech had interest but decided not to offer him a scholarship.

Burbank is 6'5" and weighs 299 pounds.  He's got good size, and UVA always seems to get the most out of their offensive lineman.  In fact, you could call Virginia an offensive lineman factory, and Burbank will likely have some time to grow and learn the offense.  He will likely be hit with a redshirt next season.

#28: Timmy Keith

Timmy Keith is a wide receiver prospect out of Manassas.  He's got a few offers on the table, but has not yet committed to a school.

Rivals has him listed as a 6'1" 180 pound receiver, but his 40-time is a disappointing 4.6 seconds.  Keith will likely be a work in progress, and could be moved to another position.

Virginia, North Carolina, Connecticut, Towson, East Carolina and Illinois have offered him a scholarship. 

#27: Eric Frohnapfel

Eric Frohnapfel is a big tight end prospect who committed to West Virginia in July.  Frohnapfel stands 6'6" and weighs 210 pounds.  He will likely need to add a few pounds to his frame.

Frohnapfel received scholarship offers from a number of schools, including Marshall, Virginia, Maryland but decided to head to Morgantown.

Frohnapfel is likely a year or two of way from contributing to West Virginia's offense, but when he does get on the field, expect him to be 30 pounds heavier.

#26: Kameron Mack

Kameron Mack is a huge safety, standing at 6'5" and weighing 200 pounds, who has committed to Virginia.  Surprisingly, he only had one other offer, which was from Virginia Tech.

He did draw interest from some of the country's top programs, but none of those schools offered him a scholarship.  Mack may also be able to move to linebacker if need be, but Mike London and his coaching staff have a player with good size and good upside.

#25: Michael Holmes

Michael Holmes is a running back out of Harrisonburg who committed to Virginia Tech.  He also had offers from UVA and James Madison.

Holmes is 6'0" tall and weighs 200 pounds.  He also has a 40-time of 4.47 seconds, according to Rivals.  It's unlikely he will contribute to the Hokies offense this season, but is definitely a viable option down the line.

#24: Chris Hall

Chris Hall is listed as an athlete out of Dinwidde who has committed to Virginia Tech.  The Hokies have a number of places they could use him.  They could chose to develop him at quarterback, or they could move him to tight end or defense.

Hall is 6'4" and weighs 231 pounds.  He also received scholarship offers from Virginia and Marshall.

#23: Michael Nebrich

Michael Nebrich is a quarterback prospect from Burke, VA who has committed to Connecticut.  He did not receiver offers from any high-profile programs.  Rivals has him listed as the 30th best quarterback prospect in the country.

Nebrich is 6'1" and weighs 191 pounds and runs the 40 in 4.44 seconds.  He's likely to redshirt in his first season at UConn, but could develop into the starter in a couple of years.

#22: Caleb Taylor

Caleb Taylor is an inside linebacker prospect from Hampton who will play under Mike London at UVA.  He's only 5'11 and weighs 229 pounds. 

Taylor did receive scholarship offers from Louisville, Maryland and West Virginia.

#21: Michael Cole

Michael Cole is a safety out of Roanoke who has committed to Virginia Tech.  Cole is very athletic and intelligent, sporting a 4.0 GPA.

He stands 6'3" and weighs 198 pounds.  Cole drew interest and offers from a number of programs, many of which were in the ACC.

Look for Cole to redshirt in his first season in Blacksburg, but he will be a factor on Bud Foster's defense in the future.

#20: Thompson Brown

Thompson Brown is a defensive end prospect who will play defensive end at Virginia.  He's out of Richmond, VA and attended St. Christopher's.

Brown received a number of offers, including Boston College, Duke and Maryland.

Brown had nine sacks in his senior season and commited to UVA last June.

#19: David Watford

It almost wouldn't have been right if David Watford decided to go anywhere other than the ACC.  Watford played at Hampton High School, which is where former North Carolina quarterback Ronald Curry and former Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor played.

The Taylor connection had many people thinking Watford would choose to play at Virginia Tech, but he decided to go play under Mike London at UVA.  He also received an offer from West Virginia.

Watford is 6'2" and weighs 180 pounds.  It's unlikely he will play in 2011, but could develop into a solid player in a couple of years.

#18: Daquan Romero

Daquan Romero is a defensive end prospect out of Hampton, VA who will play at UVA.  He's a December graduate who received offers from UNC, Maryland and West Virginia.

If Romero is part of spring practice, there's a chance he may see the field in 2011.

#17: Jake Goins

Jake Goins is an offensive tackle prospect from Manchester High School in Chesterfield, VA.  Rivals has him listed as the 67th best offensive tackle prospect in the country, and Goins has committed to Virginia Tech.

He's got good size at 6'5" and 288 pounds, and is said to be versatile, meaning he can play a number of different positions on the line.  Goins will likely be redshirted in 2011.

#16: Rob Burns

Rob Burns could be the sleeper of the 2011 class for Mike London and the Virginia coaching staff.  Why?  Do you remember Georgia Tech's Michael Johnson?  He was huge, as is Burns.

Burns is 6'8" and weighs 226 pounds.  He will gain weight, and if he can get up to 250-260 pounds, this guy could be an absolute beast.

He received offers from all over the country, including a number of ACC schools, along with Stanford and Penn State.  Virginia Tech did not offer him a scholarship.

#15: Lafonte Thourogood

Lafonte Thourogood was a highly sought after dual-threat quarterback out of Virginia Beach.  Thourogood will play at Virginia Tech.  He chose the Hokies over Stanford, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee and Virginia, just to name a few.

It's also thought Thourogood could play another position if the Hokies wanted him to, but it sounds like they will keep him at quarterback, likely redshirt him this season and then take over for Logan Thomas once he graduates.

#14: Jay Whitmire

Jay Whitmire is a highly sought after offensive tackle prospect from Alexandria, VA who will play for Virginia.  Whitmire received scholarship offers from every school that had interest in him except for Virginia Tech.

Penn State, Notre Dame and over half of the ACC offered the 6'7" 283 pound prospect a scholarship, but decided to go to the offensive line factor that is UVA.  He's projected as a tackle and could play the opposite Morgan Moses.  Those are two big human beings.

#13: Anthony Harris

Anthony Harris is the 34th ranked athlete in the country by Rivals and it's unknown where exactly he will play on the field.  We do know that Harris will play under Mike London at UVA.

Harris is out of Richmond, VA, and his biggest weakness is probably his strength.  However, his versatility is a huge asset.

#12: Tim Scott

Tim Scott is a defensive back who stands 6'0" tall and weighs 170 pounds.  He will play for Butch Davis and the Tar Heels.  He's very fast with a 40-time of 4.4 seconds, and he could play either safety or cornerback.

Virginia did offer him a scholarship, along with ECU, Maryland, Tennessee and West Virginia.

#11: Isaiah Battle

Isaiah Battle is an offensive tackle prospect who will play for Clemson.  He attended prep school, and only received offers from three schools (Clemson, New Mexico, ECU) despite being ranked as the 36th best offensive tackle in the country by Rivals.

Battle is 6'7" and weighs 260 pounds.  He committed to Clemson last June.

#10: David Dean

David Dean is a defensive tackle out of Virginia Beach who will play for Virginia.  He's 6'1" and weighs 285 pounds.  He's rated as the 30th best defensive tackle in the country by Rivals and will give UVA good size on the defensive line.

Dean received offers from Duke, Louisville and West Virginia.

#9: Quinta Funderburk

Quinta Funderburk is a highly sought after wide receiver prospect he committed to Arkansas in September.  He played at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, VA, and had offers from a ton of schools.

He spurned in state schools Virginia and Virginia Tech, and also had offers from Florida, Michigan, Penn State, USC, and Alabama.

Rivals has Funderburk ranked as the 48th best wide receiver in the country.

#8: Ronny Vandyke

Ronny Vandyke is a big defensive back out of Lorton, VA.  He stands 6'3" and weighs 200 pounds, and has been clocked at running the 40 in 4.5 seconds.

Vandyke will be in Bud Foster's defense at Virginia Tech.  He's rated by Rivals as the 21st best safety in the country.

#7: Corey Marshall

Corey Marshall is a big defensive end prospect out of Dinwiddie who will play for Virginia Tech.  Rivals rates Marshall as the 21st best defensive end in the country.

Marshall is 6'2" and weighs 239 pounds.  He had 13.5 sacks and over 100 tackles in his senior season, and is somebody who is bound to fit well in Bud Foster's defense.

#6: Clifton Richardson

Clifton Richardson is a running back prospect out of Newport News who will play for Virginia.  He's rated the 238th best prospect in the nation by Rivals and the 20th best running back.

Richardson is fast, with a 40-time of 4.4 seconds.  He's 6'1" and weighs 195 pounds.  He committed to UVA last March.

#5: Dominique Terrell

Dominique Terrell is a highly sought after prospect who is listed as an athlete.  He has not decided where he will play, but has 16 offers on the table from top programs all over the country.

Virginia and Virginia Tech are among those schools, and he has a scheduled visit to UVA set for January 21st.

Terrell had over 4,000 yards of total offense in his senior year at Osburn High School in Manassas.

#4: Travis Hughes

Travis Hughes is a linebacker prospect out of Virginia Beach who will play at North Carolina.  He rushed for over 1,000 yards in his senior season and had over 100 tackles on defense.

He's very athletic, standing at 6'1" weighing 228 pounds.  He's the 9th rated linebacker in the nation and the 171st rated player in the nation according to Rivals.

#3: Landon Turner

Landon Turner is a huge offensive guard, standing at 6'5" and weiging 315 pounds.  He's out of Harrisonburg, VA and will play at North Carolina.

Turner was highly sought after, but chose to play under Butch Davis.  He's the 3rd best guard and the 106th best player in the nation, according to Rivals.

#2: Demetrious Nicholson

Demetrius Nicholson is a stud defensive back prospect from Virginia Beach who will attend UVA.  He's listed as the 5th best defensive back and 92nd best prospect in the nation by Rivals.

Nicholson is 5'11" and weighs only 167 pounds, but has a 40-time of 4.43 seconds.  He had nine interceptions his junior year in high school and three picks his senior season.  He's also had success at wide receiver.

#1: Curtis Grant

Curtis Grant, who's, according to Rivals, the best rated linebacker and the 2nd best prospect in the nation, is still weighing his options.

Grant is from Richmond, VA and played at Hermitage High School.  He's cut his list to four schools: Ohio State, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina.

Grant is 6'3", weighs 222 pounds and runs a 4.5 second 40.  Whoever lands him will likely play him immediately, and he has two visits remaining.

He will visit UVA on January 21st and North Carolina on January 28th.  You can expect a decision soon after that.