State of position: Virginia and defensive ends
In the final part of a weeklong series, we look at states that have had surprising success at a certain position in the Rivals era dating back to 2002. We continue with an in-depth look at Virginia and just how many elite defensive ends it has produced during that stretch.
MORE STATES: North Carolina and running backs | Alabama and wide receivers | South Carolina and defensive ends | Maryland and defensive ends
OVERVIEW
A quick search of the Rivals database could skew the average observer when searching for elite defensive end talent in the state of Virginia because so many top prospects did a post-graduate year at either Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy or Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy.
This project eliminated any post-graduate players - and still Virginia had an impressive haul of outstanding defensive ends.
There were four five-stars in the Rivals era at that position, and what was really striking was that three of them came from the 2013 class or later: Jonathan Allen, followed by Da’Shawn Hand, followed by Josh Sweat in three straight seasons. The talent seems to be getting even better in the state at defensive end. Virginia Beach Princess Anne's Kai Parham in the 2002 class was the fourth.
Allen and Hand played at Alabama and Sweat chose Florida State. Allen was a first-round pick by the Washington Redskins and Hand and Sweat were fourth-round selections. All three are still playing in the league.
Nineteen four-star defensive ends have also come from Virginia - again, taking out the post-grads. If they were included, there would have been 41 four-stars. Virginia Tech has done an especially strong job getting in-state players, with seven commits from four-star recruits.
Arguably the biggest success story out of all those players at the four-star level is former Richmond (Va.) Benedictine School standout Clelin Ferrell, who finished with 27 sacks over three seasons at Clemson. He’s expected to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft later this month.
This region of the country has been strong across the board developing defensive end talent over the years. Maryland has produced six five-star defensive ends. North Carolina has had three, but also 24 four-stars. Washington, D.C., has had one five-star defensive end in Alabama’s Terrell Hall (now Lewis) and four four-stars
Especially recently, Virginia has been keeping pace if not overtaking some of those states in the position.
FARRELL'S TAKE
A lot of this has to do with the success of programs and development of players in northern Virginia, where Allen and Hand showed their skills. Virginia Beach has always been known for athletes as well, but Sweat was one of the best prior to his gruesome injury his senior season. The state of Virginia came into focus in the late 1990s when it comes to top-end talent and had a ton of top players at multiple positions ranked highly, but lately it’s been about the defensive linemen and especially the defensive ends. Hand, of course, was the No. 1 player in the country and Allen could make a case based on his career at Alabama and first-round grade. Between Maryland, D.C., and Virginia the DMV has been loaded with athletic defensive ends.