A QB twofer...

As an update to HG's post below, I just wanted to pass along that VT actually received a commitment from TWO QBs today. In addition to Washington, D.C., prospect Ricardo Young, the Hokies received a solid verbal commitment from Delray Beach, Florida, dual-threat quarterback "Lethal" Mark Leal.

Allow that to sink in for a moment. We essentially prostrated ourselves for a QB in the '09 recruiting class only to come up empty, and we get commits from what Rivals is calling our "top two quarterbacks" (not sure how accurate that is) less than two weeks after the spring game.

Leal, whose numbers are impressive with a 3:1 TD to interception ratio as a junior, picked Tech over offers from Oregon, Minnesota, West Virginia, Rutgers, and considerably more local Florida International. It should also be noted that Leal plays for Atlantic High School, from whence came the likes of Brandon Flowers and the late surprise commit of '09, Jayron Hosley.

I might be wrong, but I think Leal will be our first QB from the sunshine state (please correct me if I'm wrong). For a random Thursday in May, this turned out to be a HUGE recruiting day.

On paper, Young looks more impressive. His numbers are simply sick, with 3,879 total yards of offense and 42 total touchdowns as a junior. Thirty-one TD passes to only five picks looks nice, too. A 4.5 40 time makes Young more of a run threat than Leal's 4.7. It might sound corny, but the number I like the most on Young's stat sheet is his 4.0 GPA. The kid's smart. That doesn't always translate into good decisions on the field, but given the choice I'd take my chances with an A+ student over a C- any day of the week.

Despite the apparent mismatch on the stat sheets, Rivals (whom I somewhat trust) has Leal ranked just a smidgen higher than Young. Both are 3-star prospects, but Leal earned one-tenth of a point higher in the ever-mysterious, always ambiguous, constantly consternating "Rivals Rating." Of course, a tenth of a point might simply be attributable to being from Florida, which has a reputation for great high school football.

Are either Young or Leal as promising as Kevin Newsome, Bryn Renner, or Tajh Boyd? The knee-jerk reaction is to say no, but that might be because both Young and Leal are relative unknowns to me while I heard about Newsome, Renner, and Boyd ad nauseum. One thing that's for certain, though, is that both Young and Leal are legitimate, respectable quarterbacks who have garnered national attention, and their verbal commitments this early in the recruiting game assuages what was unquestionably the biggest fear of this recruiting season.