ODU Monarchs - Stake Your Claim

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Heisman Watch - Updated: Sep 29, 2013
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Ben Malena	HB	Texas A&M		81 Car, 410 Yds, 8 TD, 14 Rec, 275 Yds, 5 TD
Carlos Hyde	HB	Ohio State		98 Car, 667 Yds, 6 TD, 10 Rec, 128 Yds, 2 TD
James White	HB	Wisconsin		93 Car, 604 Yds, 6 TD, 4 Rec, 111 Yds
Taylor Martinez	QB	Nebraska		54-99, 839 Yds, 7 TD, 3 INT, 59 Car, 365 Yds, 5 TD
Johnny Manziel	QB	Texas A&M		87-123, 1152 Yds, 11 TD, 4 INT, 58 Car, 337 Yds, 2 TD

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Monarchs Land Five, Battle for Two More

After a disappointing loss to FCS SE, the Old Dominion Monarchs and their fan base actually got some good news to brighten their spirits a bit. Their first recruiting commitment as an FBS team came from kicker Victor Turner of Bolivar, TN. Turner was on the sideline for the game this past Saturday. Although the outcome wasn't ideal, it wasn't going to deter him from signing.

Later that night, four phone calls followed by their own faxes came in, one for each other recruit that wanted to make it official and sign with the Monarchs. Frank Minor, a receiving fullback out of Florida, will become the first fullback on the roster. How much playing time he gets remains to be seen but, nonetheless, he is on the team.

Next up was Adam Booth, a coverage corner from Tennessee. He flashes some good athletic ability and with a little work on his technique, his ball skills will develop as well. He'll be buried on the depth chart with three seniors and three sophomores projected to be in front of him next season, so a redshirt season has already been discussed and agreed upon.

Gabe Bryant, a mammoth tackle out of South Charleston, WV, agreed to come and beef up the offensive line for this air raid attack. Although there are some bodies to replace the outgoing seniors at both tackle spots, Bryant will almost certainly be a starter by his second year on campus. Whether he redshirts or not next year has not been discussed.

The fifth, and certainly not least, commitment came from the top prospect on Old Dominion's board: offensive guard Waylon Woods. Although only rated as a two-star prospect by multiple recruiting services, Woods is highly underrated and Old Dominion is lucky to grab a player of his caliber. Some big name schools tried to jump in late, but Woods never wavered on his commitment to come to Virginia to play for the Monarchs. With that, he will be rewarded with a starting spot, be it at the left or right guard position, next season when he is enrolled.

Two unsigned recruits, FS Jordan Harrison and SS Derek Reid, have both locked out all schools from recruiting them besides two...and Old Dominion is in the hunt for both of them. It seems to be neck and neck, but something tells us that ODU will end up signing both safeties in the coming weeks. Look for them to make it official hopefully after Week 7 when they both visit campus.

After those seven recruits, there are four scholarships remaining with three already being offered out. The three other players with offers are HB Micah Jackson, WR Scott Freeman and T Greg Joseph. Here's to hoping they make their decision soon and decide to come to ODU as well.

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Jakwail Bailey seeing it all the way in after burning the safety for six.


Antonio Vaughan finding the soft spot of the zone with room to run. The Monarchs are trying to find ways to the big play wideout more touches in this offense.


Harvey Taylor pounds in his first touchdown of the season, which would prove to be the game-winner!

[R1zzo23]

Heisman Watch - Updated: Oct 5, 2013
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Ben Malena	HB	Texas A&M		81 Car, 410 Yds, 8 TD, 14 Rec, 275 Yds, 5 TD
Carlos Hyde	HB	Ohio State		116 Car, 756 Yds, 7 TD, 11 Rec, 127 Yds, 2 TD
Taylor Martinez	QB	Nebraska		67-126, 969, 8 TD, 5 INT, 75 Car, 451 Yds, 8 TD
Marcus Mariota	QB	Oregon		71-103, 985 Yds, 9 TD, 2 INT, 71 Car, 303 Yds, 6 TD
Tyler Murphy	QB	Florida		47-107, 644 Yds, 7 TD, 4 INT, 71 Car, 312 Yds, 9 TD

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Game-winning field goal that did the Monarchs in against a lesser opponent. The chip shot was made easy by a facemask penalty just the play before, giving them a free 15 yards.

[R1zzo23]

Heisman Watch - Updated: Oct 12, 2013
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		LAST GAME
Ben Malena	HB	Texas A&M		22 Car, 115 Yds, 2 TD, 3 Rec, 47 Yds
Taylor Martinez	QB	Nebraska		15-25, 239 Yds, 16 Car, 101 Yds, 4 Total TD
Carlos Hyde	HB	Ohio State		18 Car, 89 Yds, TD
James Franklin	QB	Missouri		16-28, 203 Yds, 21 Car, 100 Yds, 4 Total TD
James White	HB	Wisconsin		18 Car, 84 Yds, 2 TD, 3 Rec, 42 Yds

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Recruiting Roundup - Monarchs Closing In On Finals Targets

Old Dominion Monarchs - Week #8 Update - Committed Prospects - 2013
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Waylon Woods	G	HS	Dundalk, MD	6'2"	303
Micah Jackson	HB	HS	Belle Haven, VA	6'1"	193
Gabe Bryant	T	HS	South Charleston, WV	6'3"	320
Scott Freeman	WR	HS	Quantico Station, VA	6'0"	180
Victor Turner	K	HS	Bolivar, TN	6'0"	185
Adam Booth	CB	HS	Sparta, TN	6'2"	172
Frank Minor	FB	HS	Coconut Creek, FL	6'1"	262

With the above seven prospects signed, sealed and delivered, Old Dominion has just four remaining scholarships left. All four of those have been offered to high school seniors and the coaching staff is doing all they can to persuade these teenagers to come to Virginia to play for the Monarchs. Let's take a look at the prospects.

Jordan Harrison is the quintessential free safety this team is looking for to play center field in its 3-3-5 defense. He may not have the best top-end speed, but he's great in coverage and has above-average agility to make up for it. Although only a two-star prospect, the University of Virginia is also looking to keep him in-state and holds a slight lead over Old Dominion. Temple is also being considered, but most experts say that they are no longer in the running.

With strong safety being a position of need, there's no doubt that you're going to see some on this list. Derek Reid, a New Jersey product, is being recruited hard by ODU and is on the verge of committing. Don't count out Buffalo as they are still lurking and trying to steal him away from the Monarchs. Reid is a tackling machine from the safety position, not afraid to get up in a receiver and jam him at the line or run downhill to stop the run. In time, Reid could carve out a nice role for himself on this defense.

For a team that loves to throw the ball, adding offensive linemen to the roster is never a bad thing. Greg Joseph is a West Virginia looking to stay close to home and is deciding between Marshall and Old Dominion. He's already developed great pass blocking skills and shows good strength on the line, which would fit in perfectly in ODU's air raid offense. His acceleration for a man his size is scary and could prove to be useful in some designed runs for the Monarchs.

That is not a typo, folks. George Jackson, the two-star strong safety prospect out of Florida, stands at 6'5" and weighs in at 214 pounds. With that size, he shows great form on his tackles. With his long arms he's able to press receivers and disrupt routes. He's got a good knack for playing in space as well, but his speed leaves a lot to be desired. Either way, he'll fit in great playing in the box in our 3-3-5 defense and could be a big play maker for this defense over the next four seasons.