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Rarely do you hear of Virginia being included in discussions of recruiting hotbeds across the country, but the reality is that Virginia each and every year has produced some outstanding, under-the-radar prospects who end up being great college football players.

Top Virginia Prospects
NAME	POS	GRADE
Tyrod Taylor	QB	85
Jay Smith	WR	79
C.J. Fleming	CB	79
J'Courtney Williams	OLB	79
Peter Lalich	QB	78
Bud Tribbey	DT	78
Andrew Nuss	OT	78
Cristopher Hill	WR	78
Davon Morgan	QB	77
Torrey Smith	WR	77

In 2005, 18 of 22 starters on the Virginia Tech roster were from the state of Virginia. Most followers of recruiting and college football would have never thought that Virginia year in and year out would have enough talent to fuel a top-15 program. Last year, there were four players from Virginia in the ESPN 150, and two of them, Percy Harvin and Damon McDaniel, were from the same high school, Landstown in Virginia Beach, though neither signed with Tech.

Harvin and running back Brandon Minor (Richmond, Va./Varina) have made splashes as freshman at Florida and Michigan, respectively.

Out of the top 30 players we evaluated from Virginia in 2006, the Hokies only signed three of them. In fact, of their 21 signees, only six were from Virginia. It appears that Virginia Tech has developed a wider recruiting range since entering the ACC, though Frank Beamer has said he wants to refocus on Virginia and the mid-Atlantic with this year's class.

Tyrod Taylor, Quarterback
Hampton, Va.
Verbal: Virginia Tech

Yes, Taylor is a great athlete, but he is a passer first. Once he gets the tutelage he needs on the nuances of the position, he could be a dangerous dual-threat guy. He has also been called upon to return punts and play cornerback in limited duty on defense for his high school team.

Taylor does not get one-on-one coaching since he does not have a true quarterback coach in high school, so he is going to have to make up some ground at the next level. Physically, he can do it all, but there may be a steep learning curve for him when he makes the jump to Division I football.

Taylor has the credits necessary to enroll at Virginia Tech early and is debating on whether it would be best for him to redshirt or try and play right away. Taylor's father, Rodney Taylor, has spent a lot of time speaking with former college players and current NFL players like Michael Vick, Brian Randall, Ronald Curry and Aaron Brooks about what direction to take so that Tyrod will benefit the greatest.

Despite what you may have heard, Taylor is not a lock to play right away, and in fact he and his father feel it may be best for him to redshirt in order to develop as a player both mentally and physically. If he enters school in the spring, he would be able to compete in spring ball and enter the fall much better prepared to play if needed, but I get the feeling that at this point, redshirting is in his future even though Beamer has told Taylor he will be in the mix next fall.

Phillip Thaxton, Running back
Grafton (Yorktown, Va.)
Considering: James Madison, Virginia, Alabama, Virginia Tech, Marshall

Right now most of the attention Thaxton is receiving is from the Division I-AA level, but he is a Division I-A running back. He has great speed, and while he doesn't have great bulk, he runs much bigger than his size and displays impressive power.

Thaxton is one of those kids who need a big senior season, and as the year rolls on, I would expect him to at least begin to see some offers trickle in from MAC and even some Big East schools. Unfortunately for Thaxton, he broke his right hand in a preseason scrimmage and just recently got his cast taken off. Apparently, it was just in time as he rushed for 261 yards, had 52 yards receiving and chalked up five touchdowns in Grafton's first win of the season.

Right now Mississippi State is on the right path with 11 commitments from the top 30 While the Hokies may have taken a year off from luring the state's top recruits to Blacksburg, they seem to be back on track in 2007. They already have seven commitments from in-state prospects, including Taylor, athlete Davon Morgan (Richmond, Va./Varina) and offensive tackle William Alvarez (Woodbridge, Va./C.D. Hylton).

Tom Luginbill is the national director of recruiting for Scouts Inc. Tom is a college football and recruiting studio analyst for ESPNU.