Football: Granby's Clark commits to Virginia Tech

Curt Newsome told Telvion Clark he wanted to shout for joy, that a great journey was about to begin.

It was a party on the phone when Clark, a rising senior linebacker at Granby High School, called his recruiter at Virginia Tech with the good news Monday afternoon.

“I’m a Hokie,” said Clark, who became Virginia Tech’s sixth verbal commitment from the Class of 2009. “I’m a big fan of their defense. I like the hard hitting. I just fit perfectly in their scheme. I went up there and loved the campus, loved the coaches, and everything was perfect.”

Clark impressed Virginia Tech’s coaches when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds at a camp in Blacksburg earlier this month. That’s top-notch speed for a guy who’s 6-foot-1, 210 pounds and also bench-presses 370 pounds.

Clark received a scholarship offer from the Hokies immediately following the camp, which impressed him since Virginia Tech has roughly only a dozen scholarships to give for the Class of 2009.

“There were hundreds of guys at that camp,” Clark said, “and I think they only offered four or five scholarships. That made me feel like they really wanted me.”

He nearly committed right away but decided to take previously scheduled visits to Penn State, which also offered him during the trip, and UNC. Clark, who had 153 tackles and eight sacks as a junior, is rated the No. 21 outside linebacker in the nation by Rivals.com.

He also had offers from Colorado, East Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

But Virginia Tech, in the end, felt more like home. Clark said the large number of Hampton Roads players already in Blacksburg helped. He has been working out in recent weeks with current Hokies Kam Chancellor and Prince Parker, who are home for their summer break.

“That played a huge part,” Clark said. “You want to go somewhere to spend the next four years where you don’t feel like a stranger.”