By Gary Cope

The Hokies got another commitment for the 2008 recruiting class season this week. According to TSL, Rivals and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Tech received a verbal commitment from Hermitage High School (Richmond, VA) quarterback Joseph “Ju-Ju” Clayton. Clayton was the Times-Dispatch’s 2007 All Metro player of the year.

Clayton was not a highly-recruited prospected, mainly because he didn’t arrive on the scene until his senior year, by which point most big time Division IA schools had already handed out their scholarship offers. Virginia Tech and Army were the only D-IA schools to offer while W&M and Youngstown State, both D-IAA schools, had also offered.

Clayton is 6-2, 205 pounds and completed 153-of-255 passes for 2,117 yards in his senior year. He tossed 22 TDs to just nine picks.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch article made the assumption that Tyrod Taylor would be the only scholarship quarterback after Sean Glennon leaves following the 2008 season. That’s not entirely true.

The Hokies have a solid commitment from Amherst County quarterback Peter Rose, who is expected to sign his letter of intent on Feb. 6, 2008 (national signing day) and enroll at Tech in the fall. More than likely he will redshirt his freshman year and if the coaches do not move him to another position, he could compete with Clayton for the backup QB role behind Taylor in 2009.

Rose ran a the triple option at Amherst and even though new Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson, who ran the triple option at Navy, invited Rose down to Atlanta for a visit, Rose turned it down and has reaffirmed his commitment to the Hokies. Rose was The News & Advance’s all-area offensive player of the year for 2007. He was also the player of the year in Group AA, Region III and the Seminole District. His passing game apparently needs some work, but he accounted for 41 TDs last season.

He may end up on defense eventually, but it would appear that a projected lack of depth at the QB position beginning in ‘09 will likely force the Hokies coaching staff to give him a look.

Click here to read more about Rose.