2011 Recruiting Update: Athlete Dominque Terrell

Dominique Terrell
Osbourn Park High School
Mannassas, Virginia
5'10", 165 lbs, 4.4 seconds
Offers: Virginia Tech, Maryland, Miami, Tennessee, West Virginia, NC State, UNC, Duke, and more.

Editors Note

Since the 2010 recruiting class seems to be wrapped up now with Furman being a silent commit to Michigan, I'm going to start focusing on some of the 2011 kids since they are now rising seniors.

Justin's Take

I've been debating on whether to do a post-season ranking of the top 2011 players in the state of Virginia.  If I don't get around to it, I do want to admit that Dominique Terrell would be my number one player right now.  Terrell is just so explosive with the ball in his hands and really reminds me of a smaller Ryan Williams with the way that he runs.


Terrell has the ability to play on either offense or defense but with his athletic ability most coaches probably won't commit to one position until they get him on campus.  The Hokies will be looking at Terrell as either a cornerback for Foster or a wide receiver for Coach Sherman.  With the ball in his hands, Dominque can do things that just make you say "wow" but If he wants to play at the NFL, cornerback may be the way for him to go.

Strengths:

• I love the way he runs especially when he can get to the outside and cut up the sideline.  He doesn't have the moves that some running backs have but he has enough speed that he really doesn't need those moves. 
• Terrell has that big play ability that most coaches look for now days, especially those in the SEC.  Through two years of starting, Dominique has five runs of 50 or more yards in just four playoff games. 
• Although he hasn't really played much receiver in his career, he does have a few plays on film where he's catching the ball.  He does seem to have good hands, which leads me to believe that some teams may try to get a leg up on the competition by promising him that he'll get the chance to start on the offensive side of the ball. 

Weaknesses

• For me, size is a bit of a concern.  Terrell is listed at 5'11" on his Rivals.com profile more realistically he's about 5'9".  What concerns me the most is that he's only listed at about 165 pounds heading into the season.  I think Dominique has the ability to play at about 190 pounds but at that weight it would all but rule out running back, especially in the system that Virginia Tech has. Can he bulk up, can he maintain his speed at a heavier weight?  Those are really the only concerns I have.  

As far as recruiting goes, Terrell is still wide open and hasn't taken any visits to date.  He claims to like the bigger schools such as Miami, USC, Florida, but also has expressed interest in both in-state schools.  The Hokies will have to battle if they want to keep this kid in-state but it will all start with getting him on campus for the junior day in February or for the Spring game in April.  If Terrell doesn't visit for either or both of those events, Tech will be in a deep hole that they'll really struggle to dig themselves out of.

Terrell's recruitment is going to be interesting to follow because if the Hokies want to take that next step and be able to compete with the SEC, they're going to have to get kids like Terrell to commit and come play in Blacksburg.  Also, it will be interesting to see if the new coaching staff at UVA will be able to make a play for Terrell as well.