For the second time this recruiting cycle, Washington State has landed a defensive prospect from the Sunshine Stateas three-star cornerback Zaire Webb has verbally committed to play for the Cougars at the next level, as first reported by Cougfan.com.

Extremely blessed and excited to announce my verbal commitment to Washington St. University #wazzu pic.twitter.com/6O7BgK8qGZ

— savagely raw (@ZaireWebb) August 1, 2016

Webb, listed at 5-foot-11, 170-pounds, has spent the majority of his prep career on the West Coast, previously attending Vista Murrieta (Calif.) High School before transferring to Duncan U. Fletcher High School in Neptune, Florida.  Webb committed to Washington State over offers from North Carolina, Central Michigan, Ohio and several others.

Washington State, however, led by primary recruiter Ken Wilson, was the first program to offer Webb, and that immediately put the Cougars in the drivers seat.

“Washington State is in a special place for me because they were my first offer,” Webb told Rivals.com in June. “They were the first team that pulled the trigger on me, so they are up there. I grew up watching Pac-12 football, so I have love for Washington State pulling the trigger on me.”

Webb, who has yet to visit campus, is an athletic defensive back, reportedly running a 10.63 100-yard dash on the track and a 4.56 40-yard dash at a Nike camp in Miami this spring. He’s the fourth defensive back prospect to verbally commit to the Cougars in the 2017 recruiting class and 12th overall.

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There are somethings that offer reasons to be concerned, and then can be dismissed like milkweed fluff blowing on a Spring breeze.  Then there are those “things” that worry the tar out of you; and you have good reason to be.

The Virginia Tech Defensive Back roster situation for 2016 is largely intact from last season.  With the reinstatement of Adonis Alexander (though any continued discipline or limitations are a matter of internal Virginia Tech Athletic Department action).  There will only be two Seniors with playing experience on the squad.  There have been some recent roster additions that will hopefully add some depth.

Again, we see a good starting depth profile, but positions in the 2 and 3 boxes of the chart become more of the “/” move overs from some other position from a 2 or 3.  So let’s take a look at the players who are both experienced and likely to start at each position.

Chuck Clark -€” true Senior, has been listed as a Defensive Back, which means that he might be playing anywhere.  In his three full seasons Chuck has played every DB position on the field at some time or another.  He is a real leader for the defense.  He started every game last season, and by the end had racked up 107 total tackles with a sack in the mix, and an interception to but some icing on the cake.   His tackling and cover skills made him critical to Coach Foster’s adjustments to the lack of linebacker depth for the prior two seasons.  Look for him to be a major factor again this season.

Next up are the two season players who bring some interesting skill sets to the mix, and will be challenged to step up in a major way this season.

Brandon Facyson -€” redshirt Junior, (Cornerback) Brandon really stepped it up last season.  He seems to have gotten over that scary and unfortunate bout of leg problems and surgery and finished up 2015 with 10 starts, and 20 solo tackles.  Let’s hope he gets his full 2013 form back and grabs a few more picks this season.  Facyson will undoubtedly be the critical shutdown corner for the team this season with Kendall Fuller playing for the Redskins, not the Hokies.

Greg Stroman -€” true Junior, (Cornerback) Stroman has yet to find an actual position on the field.  He’s been shifted back and forth between offense, defense, and return duties.  Last season Greg seemed to settle into the defensive backfield.  He has also been the primary punt returner for the team for the last two seasons.  With a new position coach, and some new stability look for Stroman’s talents to gain some notice.

Der’Woun Greene -€” redshirt Senior, (Free Safety) Der’Woun is another of the experienced players who have not been star starters, but have contributed solidly on both defense and Special Teams.  Greene has spent most of his playing time on the Pride and Joy squad.  The Hokies will be looking for him to gear up and spend more time on defense this season.

The last group of players in potential starting and heavy playing roles are some young people whose names we just began to see last season,

Adonis Alexander -€” true Sophomore, (Cornerback) There isn’t much more to say about Alexander than his personal loss of judgement at the end of last season almost wrecked the starting defensive scheme for this season.  Alexander can play both Free Safety, and Cornerback, for which he is listed to perform duties this season.   Last year, Alexander came from the bench as a true Freshman to wow Hokie nation with a standout performance including four interceptions (some of which were acrobatic feats).  Adonis needs to build on that great start; first by following the new coaching staff’s mentoring.

Mook Reynolds — true Sophomore, (Free Safety) Reynolds played all 13 games last season.  His experience at Free Safety will be doubly needed this season as the safeties will undoubtedly be supplementing the linebackers as the season progresses.

Jahque Alleyne — true Sophomore, (Free Safety) Jahque played in 12 games last season on Special Teams.  Look for that experience to be used in both Special Teams and some more field time at defense.

Terrell Edmunds -€” redshirt Sophomore, (Rover/Whip) We have already talked about Terrell Edmunds in the Linebacker review.  It’s very important to note that within the prior seasons’ defensive schemes and adjustments that a Strong Safety who could switch between a Rover technique (Strong Safety) and a (Whip -€” Will Linebacker) on the fly as the play demanded proved invaluable.  His skill at the position improved over the entire course of the 2015 season.  It is going to be interesting to see how the coaching staff uses his talents this season.  It is also really important to note that the Rover position is only two players deep and there will be some shifting to lend it depth.

The remainder of the Defensive back roster will probably be challenged in some way or another.  The number of injuries over the last several seasons, to key personnel, is still a bitter taste that must be dealt with this season.  There are more than a few players from the bench who might see playing time.  There might even be a redshirt or two burned to complete three deep rosters for game time.  Khalil Ladler and Jovonn Quillen could actually see a move to the active roster instead of the traditional redshirt year.

2016 Virginia Tech Hokie Defensive Back Roster:

The overall impression of the defensive five (Nickel) backfield looks like we have the following:

There just is not a particularly deep chart, here.  Once we get past the starting five positions, the backups begin to move toward true Freshmen, inexperienced bench players, and Special Teams players.  The defensive backfield is basically 1 and a half positions deep, and once again, a key injury will be extremely disruptive.

#DBU looks like it might be taking a bit of a performance hit, until the experience levels out the playing field again.

Special Teams are up next, with the conclusion as we get ready to head into Fall practices.

GO HOKIES!!!

304 ✈️ 919 pic.twitter.com/Zm57DAJoFs

— Billy 5️⃣5️⃣ (@RossBr7813) August 1, 2016

It’s August 1 and that means “official” scholarship offers can go out to prospects entering their senior seasons. Essentially, this takes the offer status from a promise and puts it on paper, thus, making the offer official.

Here’s the NCAA bylaw in question:

Before August 1 of a prospective student-athlete’s senior year in high school, an institution shall not, directly or indirectly, provide a written offer of athletically related financial aid or indicate in writing to the prospective student-athlete that an athletically related grant-in-aid will be offered by the institution. On or after August 1 of a prospective student-athlete’s senior year in high school, an institution may indicate in writing to a prospective student-athlete that an athletically related grant-in-aid will be offered by the institution; however, the institution may not permit the prospective student-athlete to sign a form indicating his or her acceptance of such an award before the initial signing date in that sport in the National Letter of Intent program.

And here’s a look at some of the handful of Texas Longhorns targets and commits who have tweeted out their official offers from the ‘Horns.

• Montrell Estell – 4-star safety – Texas commit

The safety commit was a bit of a surprise pledge in April and is still solid to Texas, though Estell told Horns247 that Alabama is still pursuing him and plans on changing his mind during a visit.

• Xavier Newman – 3-star OG – Texas commit

This can be taken as an encouraging sign from the potential flip, who could potentially sign with Oklahoma when all is said and done. Newman’s still a Longhorn, even if that’s just temporary.

• Anthony Hines – 4-star ILB

Hines is among Texas’ top 2017 priorities and being able to get the Plano East product to play football in Austin would be among Charlie Strong’s most impressive recruiting feats to this point at Texas.

• Taquon Graham – 4-star WDE

The Temple product is widely considered a heavy Longhorn lean and outside of a surprise, will be playing football on the Forty Acres in 2017.

• Kobe Boyce – 3-star CB – Texas commit

The three-star cornerback pledge is another potential flip, although not quite as likely as Newman since last week’s commitment of his friend Josh Thompson, a three-star cornerback who was previously committed to TCU. It will be interesting to see how his recruitment plays out with Oklahoma and Iowa pursuing the Lake Dallas product.

• Josh Thompson – 3-star CB – Texas commit

The recent TCU flip became a Longhorn following Under the Lights, in which he called Texas “home.”

• Kenneth Murray – 3-star OLB

The Elkins product is another big-time in-state talent Texas hopes to haul in for 2017. Murray is high on the Longhorns.

• Jalen Reagor – 4-star WR – Oklahoma commit

The Oklahoma commit tweets out his official offer. He doesn’t appear to be a flip candidate at this point, but you never know with Charlie Strong’s closing ability.

For the past two seasons, Vanderbilt’s offense has stopped and started with Ralph Webb. Even if Kyle Shurmur reaches his potential this fall, the same will probably be true in 2016.

Webb has established himself as the program’s best back since Zac Stacy — and possibly better — while gaining an average of 1,029 yards per season in his two years as a Commodore. He could gain even more if his Commodores move the needle gauging their quarterback play from “terrible” to merely “competent” this fall. In his two year career, Webb has been the victim of opportunistic defenses with no fear of Vandy’s passing attack. Opponents stacked eight players near the line of scrimmage to make things difficult for the young back, but he still found a way to average more than four yards per carry despite matchups where defenders often outnumbered blockers by a wide margin.

While Webb was a bit anonymous on a national level in his first three years on campus, he won’t be able to sneak up on opponents in 2016. He was named to the Doak Walker Award watchlist and earned preseason second-team All-SEC honors this summer. He’ll be the face of the Vanderbilt offense as coordinator Andy Ludwig waits for a new star to emerge for the Commodores.

Vanderbilt needs their dynamic running back to find holes if it’s going to win. In 2015, the team was 3-3 in games against FBS competition when he gained 99 rushing yards or more. It was 0-5 when he was held to 98 or fewer. Those rates will improve as Shurmur develops as a quarterback, but two years under Derek Mason suggest the running game will be the foundation laid for the Commodore offense this fall.

Here’s who Ludwig will turn to in 2016.

The Starter

Ralph Webb, redshirt junior: In only his third season on the active roster, Webb will have an opportunity to rewrite Vanderbilt’s record books. He’s only 1,084 yards from becoming the team’s all-time leading rusher, and a 1,194 yard season would make him the team’s single-season record holder as well. Both are, at worst, even-odds bets as opening night looms.

Webb’s strength as a runner is his field of vision; he finds holes where there shouldn’t be and turns upfield with quickness to convert losses into gains. He’s quick enough to prevent all but the fastest defensive backs from catching him from behind, and he’s elusive at the line of scrimmage. He’s struggled with making defenders miss at the second level, but told reporters earlier this year that juking safeties and turning six yard gains into 19 yard gains was one of his biggest areas of improvement in the offseason.

Webb’s growth as a receiver is an important part of the versatility he’ll bring to the backfield this fall. After catching 10 passes for 30 yards as a freshman, he bumped those numbers up to 24 and 188 last season. That development will help add an extra dimension to the Vandy offense — he’s more than just a screen pass outlet now — and will be important for a young quarterback like Shurmur to utilize.

We didn’t see what Webb has to offer in the spring game since he was held out due to injury. In the interim, he’s gone ahead and promised an opening night victory over South Carolina. If there’s anyone on this offense who can back that up, it’s Webb.

The Change-of-Pace Backs

Dallas Rivers, junior: Rivers has yet to make good on the athletic promise that made him a four-star recruit out of Stone Mountain, GA, but his bulky frame and breakaway speed still make him a dangerous weapon for the ‘Dores. He’s never ripped off a run of more than 16 yards in his two years with the team (3.3 yards per carry), and his predisposition to dance around the line of scrimmage rather than blasting his big frame through it has hindered his impact. That’s something that will improve as his offensive line does, and the 2016 debuts of guys like Andrew Jelks, Justin Skule, and true freshman center Sean Auwae-McMoore could be a major boon for him.

However, it’s still too soon to trust Rivers to be locked in as 1b behind Webb. The athletic ability is there, but the pieces just haven’t fit together. If he can’t press the ball forward and give Vanderbilt the thunder it needs to complement Webb’s lightning, it may be time to stop hoping for a breakout and start looking at him as a career backup.

Josh Crawford, sophomore: Crawford broke into this team’s offense last fall as a true freshman, but a lack of effectiveness and concerns about ball protection helped limit him to just 18 carries. He failed to inspire confidence in this year’s spring game, where he managed only 16 yards despite getting more touches (eight) than anyone else on the roster. He’s still young, and has the quick feet and frame needed to be an effective NCAA back, However, he may not be different enough than Webb to be a true change-of-pace guy or good enough to carve out his own role in Ralph’s wheelhouse.

The New Guys

Jaire George, redshirt freshman: What does Eddie George’s son bring to the table? He was the team’s most effective running back in the team’s spring game, and his combination of field vision and straight line speed led to some solid gains the past year. He’ll get his first real game experience this season, and we’ll see if his strong practice showings can translate to the big leagues. Physical concerns could be an issue here; he’s had his past two seasons cut short by injury.

Khari Blasingame, redshirt sophomore: Blasingame, at 6’1 and 235 pounds, will spend his first season in the backfield after spending his first two years on campus as a safety and linebacker. He’ll give the Commodores another short yardage bulldozer, but questions remain about his straight line speed and escapability. He wasn’t especially fast as a defensive back, but he moves well laterally, has fluid hips, and was a solid tailback at Buckhorn High School in Alabama.

He plowed into the end zone from a yard out and finished with 18 yards on four other carries in the Black and Gold Game, so there’s a chance he works his way into the rotation if Rivers and Crawford disappoint. He’ll be a powerful weapon out of the backfield for Vanderbilt, but he’ll have to impress this August to work his way into the backfield in 2016.

Jamauri Wakefield, freshman: Wakefield was one of Vanderbilt’s targets in 2016 after emerging as a bruising high school back. The 215-pound runner doesn’t shy away from contact, but his ability to make defenders miss in the open field were what drew Derek Mason’s attention last fall. He chops up his steps to make quick changes near the line of scrimmage, but once he hits the open field he’s got a long, loping stride few high school defenders could catch up with. We’ll see how that translates to the SEC, but possibly not until 2017. With five other running backs on the depth chart, a redshirt year could be in order.

The Fullback

Kyle Anderton, sophomore: Anderton, a former high school quarterback, can line up all over the field but will likely be deployed as an H-back in his biggest role this season. He had just one reception as a true freshman and he made it count, scoring a touchdown in a 21-17 win over Kentucky. He’s not going to see many — or any — carries, but he’ll add a competent set of hands and a solid blocking skillset to the Vanderbilt backfield.

Dan Mullen addressed local media members at MSU media days today. Here’s the most important quotes from his press conference:

On the quarterback competition:

Me too Dan, me too.

That could be up to 8 games and a bye week into the season. That’s a long time for a quarterback competition.

On the switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 scheme for the defense:

On Jeffery Simmons:

2017 Ohio State commit Shaun Wade, a five-star cornerback, has told Maize n Brew that he will not be visiting Michigan for the BBQ at The Big House.

Wade committed to Ohio State on January 12, 2015, but has seemed to have Michigan in the back of his mind throughout his entire recruitment process. However, it now seems like Wade is destined for Ohio State and the Wolverines are out of the picture.

The No. 17 overall player in the 2017 class, according to 247Sports, has offers on the table from Ohio State, Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida State, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Akron, Clemson, Duke, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Indiana, Kentucky, Miami (FL), North Carolina, Old Dominion, Ole Miss, Penn State, Purdue, South Alabama, Tulane, UCLA, USF, Utah and Wisconsin. The third-best cornerback in the nation and the fourth ranked player in the state of Florida was recruited to play for Michigan by Don Brown and Chris Partridge.

Even without Wade, the BBQ at The Big House will host multiple stars. Believe it or not, Alabama commit Najee Harris, who is the top player in the Class of 2017, will be in attendance.