Hello: Victor Viramontes
Photo via 247
Now this is a Jim Harbaugh recruit. Norco (CA) QB/ATH Victor Viramontes committed to Michigan last night after earning an offer at the Fresno satellite camp. He's a dual-threat quarterback who can also play—wait for it—linebacker at the next level. A quarterback/linebacker. Nicknamed "Vicious Vic" if his Hudl page is any indication. Harbaugh.
Viramontes is the 14th commit in the 2016 class, joining Brandon Peters at quarterback, and the eighth to pledge this month, which is only half over.
GURU RATINGS
| Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
| 3*, #31 ATH | 3*, #19 D-QB | NR D-QB |
3*, 86, #57 ATH, #835 Ovr |
3*, #40 ATH, #630 Ovr |
Viramontes is ranked as a three-star on every site save ESPN, which apparently hasn't bothered to evaluate a significant portion of this class. He's relatively close to four-star status on both Scout and Rivals—three position rank spots away on Rivals, seven on Scout—while he's further off the pace on 247.
The listed heights for Viramontes range from 6'0" (Scout, ESPN) to 6'2" (247), with his weight listed anywhere between 205 and 220 pounds. Those extra couple inches would be of great use if he winds up at quarterback.
SCOUTING
Viramontes is a run-first dual-threat quarterback—SouthernCaliforniaPreps went so far as to list him at running back on their 2014-15 All-SoCal offense team—but that doesn't mean he lack ability as a thrower. His arm strength is consistently noted as a positive in scouting reports, and Scout's free evaluation indicates he has the potential to stick at the position in college:
Evaluation
Viramontes is dual threat quarterback who can beat a team with his arm or his legs. He might actually be more advanced as a runner than a pure thrower but in the right system, he can definitely play QB in college. He has the size, athleticism and toughness to move to defense as well and could end up at LB or safety. He's a very physical player, loves contact and is a highly competitive kid-BigginsStrengths
- Competitiveness
- Strength
- Toughness
Areas to Improve
- Change of Direction
At the B2G Los Angeles camp in May, Viramontes worked out on both sides of the ball, and Rivals named him their #3 performer in a field with some big-time talent ($):
This was the first time this offseason we've seen Viramontes in action and he was really impressive both at quarterback and linebacker. The Norco prospect is not going to play [blow?] anyone away with his size but he's a compact, physical prospect who has as much zip on his passes as any quarterback in California. On defense he flies around, reads the quarterback's eyes and has a real passion for playing the game.
At this month's Rivals Five-Star Challenge, Viramontes was the best quarterback in attendance, and he showed he's got more than just arm strength and athleticism to work with, per Blair Angulo ($):
Whether it was hitting receivers on underneath routes or completing passes deep, the strong-armed Viramontes did a bit of everything in Baltimore. The shaggy hairdo might suggest he's laid back -- something that is often the stereotype for prospects from California -- but the three-star prospect proved to be a fiery competitor and it showed, especially during the 7-on-7 competition. Though his future position has yet to be determined, particularly since he has garnered looks at linebacker, Viramontes showed the accuracy and timing that would make him a formidable signal caller at the next level.
Viramontes was the only quarterback to make the overall top performers list from the 7-on-7 portion, coming in at #12 after throwing seven touchdowns and no picks in five games ($). In the aftermath, Mike Farrell wrote that Rivals will have to debate whether to give him a fourth star ($):
Viramontes did emerge as the First-Team All-Challenge quarterback, so this is an impressive call, but the jury is out when it comes to four-star status. As a highly-rated three-star, Viramontes will be discussed at length during our next rankings meetings. He has a cannon of an arm, but doesn't show a ton of touch and despite some offensive talent his team, finished out of the finals in the 7-on-7. But he was the best of a group that struggled. Whether that earns him a fourth star or not will be determined.
We'll see what happens in the rankings; it's impressive for a dual-threat prospect to perform that well in a camp setting, which eliminates half the threat; at the same time, Viramontes' size could prevent him from being ranked higher as long as he's considered a quarterback, and there's much less film on him as a defensive player. Regardless, we know he can be very productive with the ball in his hands:
In one of the most memorable games of the year last season, Norco beat St. Bonaventure and USC QB signee Ricky Town in triple OT 71-70. Viramontes rushed for 354 yards, threw for 235 and accounted for eight touchdowns. When you look at his size, athleticism and toughness, it's easy to see why a lot of schools feel he's best suited to play on the defensive side of the ball but he's definitely a play maker with the ball in his hands as well.
That is a lot of yards.
OFFERS
Viramontes holds offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Nevada, San Diego State, Washington State, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, among others. The Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Nevada, and Washington State offers are especially intriguing for a quarterback prospect with Viramontes' skill set.
HIGH SCHOOL
Norco has consistently sent talent to Pac-12 schools, most notably former Stanford running back and Heisman finalist Toby Gerhart. Three-star 2016 safety Troy Dye also added an offer at the Fresno satellite camp.
STATS
MaxPreps has complete stats for Viramontes, and they're impressive. He completed 123 of 228 passes (53.9%) for 1,784 yards (7.8 YPA), 18 TDs, and only two INTs as a junior. He also rushed for 1,757 yards and 18 TDs on 214 carries (8.2 YPC), posting eight 100-yard games in 13 games played.
Since taking over at quarterback as a sophomore, Viramontes hasn't played much defense, but he's contributed on the side of the ball since he was a freshman; he recorded an interception in each of his first two high school seasons.
FAKE 40 TIME
Viramontes' Hudl page lists a three-FAKE 4.58; ESPN posts zero-FAKE SPARQ testing results that include a 4.71 40, which is still pretty fast for a high school quarterback.
VIDEO
Junior highlights:
Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Viramontes looks like a viable quarterback prospect, and you've probably noticed Michigan aquiring quite a few of those recently. When he gets to campus in 2016, Shane Morris, John O'Korn, Wilton Speight, Alex Malzone, and Zach Gentry are all slated to be on the roster, as well as fellow 2016 commit Brandon Peters. With Viramontes much more experienced on the offensive side of the ball, he's a lock to redshirt whether he ends up at quarterback or linebacker. He told Scout's Greg Biggins his future position isn't of major concern to him:
“I’m coming in as an athlete,” Viramontes said. “I trust the coaches so wherever they want to play me, I’m fine with. I worked out at quarterback and got great feedback from the staff. They said I remind them of Kap (Colin Kaepernick) because of how I can run and throw but we’ll see where I end up.
“It’s really not an issue for me, I’ll play wherever they want me. This is such an exciting time for me and it feels great to have the decision out of the way. My goal all along was to commit sometime in the summer so I can focus on Norco football and having a great senior year with my brothers on the team.
After watching his film, I'd love to see what a Harbaugh offense would look like with Viramontes at the helm, whether as the full-time starter or a situational option. If he doesn't beat out the considerable competition at quarterback, linebacker seems like a solid backup plan.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Michigan has filled all 14 spots currently open in the class. Of course, they're not done recruiting. Wide receiver, tight end (likely Naseir Upshur or Chase Claypool), offensive line, defensive tackle, weakside DE, outside linebacker, cornerback, and safety all remain needs, and recruiting shows no sign of slowing down. Again, I'll be taking a deeper look into the scholarship numbers in a post later this week. It's safe to say Michigan is set at quarterback for 2016, at least.
No. When Ohio State and Urban Meyer--with no track record whatsoever--plan for roster attrition, transfers and hardhsips, it's oversigning, but when Michigan does it, its ok.
It's smart roster management. In your case and ours. What happened to Jamel Dean sounds pretty shady and creepy on its face. Who knows what the real answer is. Hopefully doctors aren't risking their careers and reputations for the sake of a football team. Hopefully Dean gets cleared and has a great career at Auburn. If he is actually a casualty of oversigning, then man, we need to get better at it, because lopping a four-star freshman off the roster at the expense of some useless veteran is totally a backward way of going about it, Urbz. Tighten up.
Did I miss signing day for these kids? No? Shut up then, this isn't even the same situation.
Dean went to Dr. James Andrews for his second opinion who cleared him to play. Dr. Andrews isn't exactly chopped liver in the medical field. That said, I don't want to ever hear that UM is relying on medical hardships to clear roster spots. It's too shady of an area and the kids get the shaft, a la Dean.
... (1) whether a school/coach averages 25+ LOIs over a four year period, and (2) whether a school coach has a number of medical hardships and other forms of players abandoning eligibility significanlty hihger than the national average.
If you see either of these, it is safe to presume oversigning, unless and until legitimate reasons are produced.
So, in short, no. So far there is no reason to even raise an eyebrow about Harbaugh and Michigan. Much more data is needed.
The way to solve the oersignng problem is very simple. Shift form a maximum of 85 scholarshios per year to a maximum of 90 LOIs over a four year period. No more oversigning. Problem solved.
Coaches will have every reason to keep players on the roster, and to stop pushing them out the door if they dont make the two deep by the end the the sophomore eligibility season.
to solve oversigning. Yours is in going from 85 to possibly more than110 scholarships. That's a significant cost, especially when you factor in Title IX mandating they're have to be matched in women's sports.
There are also questions about how JC transfers and other transfers would be handled. On its face, your system would not treat those players fairly.
pros and cons. If you want to solve oversigning, this is the only way to do it, and the pros far outweighs the con, in my book.
The pro of my rule is that it solves oversiging and is very easy to enforce and administer (unlike the current rule which is impossible to police and encourages oversigning).
The con is that on very rare occassions (bell curve tails) a team would get stuck with substantially fewer total scholarship players compared to most other teams because of an extraordinalrily high number of true and legitimate career ending injuries, and academic flameouts, etc. That would be a competitive disadvantage for 1 season, due to random bad luck., would self correct, and would be randomly distributed.
However, under the current system, the teams that are fair and honest (the teams that do not oversign) are at a systematic disadvantage EVERY season.
For the schools that oversign now, they already have the competitive advantage of what is, in effect, 110 scholarship players. It is just that they have forced out 30 of them over a four year cycle
Transfers of any type would count against the max numer of LOIs. Nothing unfair about that.
It is very unlikely that the rule I propose would generate 110 scholarship rosters. There is natural and legitimate attrition, so teams would never get near 110 scholarship players. If that does not convince you, then lower it to 80 or 85 LOIs per 4 year cycle.
Finally, are we really going to say 'Sorry, Title IX requires athletic scholarship gender parity so there is just not a damn thing we can do about oversigning."? No. Just set the 4 year cycle max LOIs so that it averages out to roughly the same number of football scholarships as under the current sytstem (85), and you are done.
over its drawbacks.
Title IX. You can't pretend it doesn't apply and you can't calculate some number below the maximum number of scholarships to use. Every coach in the country will try to get as many players as he can. Of course, you can't make a hard cap below that max, because then you've reintroduced the current problem. If you go with 90 LOIs over four years, pretty much every school in the country is going to have to add multiple women's sports.
If you go with 80 LOIs, it's still going to mean one or two extra women's sports. While your maximum is 100, what is the lower quarter of your distribution going to look like? There are a lot of kinds of legitimate attrition and good players still mostly won't want to redshirt.
As Michigan fans it's easy to forget about JC players. After all, we don't take them. But don't they deserve a path to playing major college football? If they count for four years, their chances will be greatly limited. The same is true for transfers. Who's going to accept a transfer for a year or two when they count against your roster for four years? This isn't helping players, who may well have very good reasons to transfer.
There are possibilities that don't have such broad effects. Medical hardships can be regulated by requiring schools to get independent second opinions from approved doctors. Oversigning can be limited by caps like the Big ten has in place. No solution is going to be perfect, but leveling the playing field shouldn't be done at the expense of the players and shouldn't have to cost too much.
I am not pretenting Title IX does not apply. As I said in the previous post, pick whatever number you want for the running 4 year LOI cap. If 90 over four years would cause Title IX issues, then calculate a lower number that would not necessitate more female sport scholarship.
As for transfers, I just don't think it matters much. There could be less incentive for taking JC transfers. So what? Maybe that is a feature, not a bug. As it currently stands, the incentive structure ecourages a coach to cut a junior that has not made the two deep to make room under the 85 scholarship limit for a JC transfer, That screws over the guy who was pushed out. Why is that a good thing?
My rule is better because in creates an incentive to keep and develop the Junior. And if there are still serious enough problems in the two deep, a coach is still free to decide that it is worth it to take a JC transfer to fill a dire positional need and count it against the running 4 year LOI cap.
A main reason my approach is best is that it is (1) very easy to detect violations, and (2) impossible to game. The NCAA has proved that it does not have the will/ability to administer anything even remotely complex. The NCAA is simply incapable of dealing with a school saying 'yeah but our attrition is real you see so are not cheating blah blah blah therefore nothing to see here with our 115 LOIs over 4 years..." Given the serious limits of the NCAA as an enforecement body, we need a rule that does not require the sort of fact intensive inquiry that would be needed to rebut this sort of defense.
The current rule and the proposal of requiring independent doctors to verify career ending/threatening injuries is easy to game. Are the 'independent' doctors really independent (like the local prosecutor in Tallahasse)? Answering that question requires the NCAA to conduct the sort of fact intensive inquiry that it has been incapable/unwilling to do well in the past.
My rule has just one simple question that requires no complex factual inquiry and is impossible to game: Did you exceed XX number of LOIs over 4 years, yes or no?
Plus independent doctors don't do anything about the bigger way that players are pushed out to make room for annual 28+ classes--the coach saying to a player "I know that you have no injury, but nonetheless, you just are not wanted here anymore, so hit the road Jack!'
Under the current rule (and your proposal) there is no reliable way to know if a guy left of his own accord after self-assessing his chance of playing time (legit transfers), versus a guy who left becasue the coach sat a kid down and basically said 'you are not wanted here anymore' (rule breaking cutting of a player). SEC schools expoit this and magically are able to sign giant classes every year. The Big Ten rule is a slight improvement, but still open to gaming.
The Big Ten and Pac 12 should get behind my rule and get it adopted by the NCAA. That will level the playing field with the SEC. SEC still might end up being better (based on football culture in the South producing more HS talent), but the gap would be narrowed, and the playing field would be leveled.
68 is the number of LOIs you could have over four years if you want to avoid problems with Title IX. That was simple to calculate. How do you think that would work out?
You seem to think most transfers happen because the coaches push out players that want to stay. I'd guess many more are initiated by the players. How many of the players transferring in here were forced out?
Do walkons get to earn scholarships? There will be plenty available. If yes, then you've just added an easy way to game the system. If no, you're punishing players and guaranteeing that there will ultimately be many fewer players on scholarship than there are now.
Go back and look at what your proposal would have done at Michigan over the last few seasons. Players buried on the depth chart wouldn't have been able to transfer to FBS schools. Players that no longer fit schemes because of coaching changes would have been stuck.
You're punishing the players in the name of protecting a few. You're also overlooking that most attrition is completely legitimate. Cracking down on a few unscrupulous coaches doesn't just affect them. it affects a lot of innocent parties. Generally speaking, any proposal that makes everyone pay because it's too hard to punish cheaters is fatally flawed.
I would set the number so that schools would average about 85 football scholarship per year (as now) taking into account honest natural attrition. This would not be a Title IX problem.
On Title IX, there is no legal rule requiring absolute numerical gender parity in athletic scholarship. Gender parity is one factor (albeit an important one) that courts and OLC will take into account. A XX per four year cycle LOI cap that is set to average 85 actual scholarship football players per year would not violate Title IX. If you do the numbers this way, I think you would get a higher number than 68.
Walk-ons: They would count as LOIs agains the cap. That does not prevent any coach from awarding a scholarship to a few walk ons each year. I would guess that coaches would intentionally leave a cushion for a few walks ons to earn scholarships each year, as they do under the current system.
Transfers: I would also count the transfers against the LOI cap. That does not prevent any coach from taking transfers. A Rawls could still transfer to CMU, for example. Did Rawls get to transfer to CMU because some kid was wrongly pushed out to make room under the 85 scholarship limit? I don't know and really it is impossible to know under the current system. But under my system we would be sure that no one was told to 'hit the road Jack' so that a new guy could transfer in.
I guess I don't see how my rule punishes players. They can still transfer. Walkons can still earn scholarships. It is just that when these events occur it will never be because some kid was told to 'hit the road Jack' in order to make room for an incomming transfer or to give his scholarship to a former walk-on.
If anything, my rule protects all players, as they will all know that they won't be cut to make room for another guy (recruit, transfer, walk-on scholarship), and that the coaching staff, therefore, will have every incentive to develop them and maximize their potential.
Anyway, getting on a plane now, so you get the last word if you want it...
...at least if you read both of my posts.
Under my rule there will be no incentive for coaches to push players out (cheating/fake attrition to achieve technical compliance with the 85 scholarship limit). If a player leaves we will know it was due to self-evaluation (honest attrition), and not a coach exaggerating/inventing injuries or saying 'hit the road Jack.'
If this honest and natural attition leaves a team a thin at a couple of positions, such an event would be (1) randomly distributed, (2) rare tail of the bell curve events, (3) self-correcting, and (4) could still be addressed by taking JC transfers, if a coach decides it is worth it.
So, really, what's not to like????
I just hate the way the current rules put some one like Harnaugh in an impossible bind. He is tasked with getting Michigan to the top 10 level again. But the Sabans and Meyers of the world are gaming the 85 scholarship limit. So how is Harbaugh supposed to compete if his is the only guy in the room who refrains from the oversigning/'hit the road Jack' shenanigans?
Last 4 recruting cycles for OSU (per 247): 27 + 28 + 26 + 26.= 107.
Highly unlikely that was all due to fair, honest and legitimate attrition. Very likely that there were some 'hit the road Jack' conversations and exaggerated career ending 'injuries'.
20 LOIs per year is consistent with an honest attrition and no 'hit the road Jack' conversations. If Harbaugh averages 20 per year over the next 4 cycles, that is 80 players, or, 27 fewer players than Meyer has had over the last 4 years.
How in hell is Harbaugh supposed to compete with that? So if he wants to compete he is almost forced to cut corners and game the current rule structure, of just accept being a 2nd tier team in the Big Ten, at best.
By the way, Michigan over the last 4 recruiting cycles: 20 + 25 + 28 + 16 = 91
The only enforceable way to deal with this mess and give a coach that wants to NOT be dirty a level playing field is to adopt a 80, 85, 90 (pick your number) hard cap on LOIs over each running 4 year cycle.
I do not think the NCAA will ever do anything about SEC bag men. And there is no changing the fact that the South has lot of quality HS talent. But the oversigning advantage can be fixed very easily with a hard LOI cap replacing the 85 per year scholarship cap.
No it's it's not the same thing at all. We've signed no one and won't for more than 7 months. OSU's oversigned with players that are actually signed and some have to go fast, whether legitimately or not.
It'll be exactly the same if a year from now we're over the limit. For now, we have 15 openings, (I know Ace says 14) and 14 commits. The coaches surely know about more attrition that's coming. They can also clear room by not bringing some players back for a 5th year, like everyone else, including our former coaches, does. This is oversigning by no one's definition, ever.
Welcome Vicious Vic Viramontes! Oh yeah, that's real fun to say indeed.
I really like everything I read and see here, what a great pick-up...FOOTBALLl!!!
HARBAUGH!!!!!
I really like the idea of this guy making headlines as "Vicious Vic, the Wolverine". Just has a nice ring to it.
Love this. The kid floursihes when chaos ensues and the play breaks down. He has a great feel for when and where to tuck and run....hits the hole well. Harbaugh does love versatility and these recruits are beginning to resemble some of the Stanford prototypes. I think McKeon can be a great asset on offense if that 4.6 is legit. This kid can QB, RB, FB, HB or LB and do so with aggressiveness. This is my favorite recruit from all the camps.
Um...yeah!
Tebow wishes he had Vic's flow.
I wish I had Vic' s flow. Said the 56 year old man.
Heck I'm in my 20's and I'd love it.
Sweep...the...leg
HEAD BANDZZZ and ARMBANDZZZZ. Love this guy already.
Top photo reminds me of a Wheaties boxcover. Headband, hair, cropped t-shirt and Adidas three-stripe. Gonna watch Fast Times at Ridgemont then play kissy face in the backseat tonight with Seger playing when I get home. It's obligatory now.
Welcome to Michigan, Vic from California.
I love this guy. Looks like a stud on his film. Basically if he was one inch taller he'd be a 4 star. If he were 2-3 inches taller maybe 5 star. He may not even be done growing. I grew two inches in height in college. It happens.
Faster Tim Tebow with a much arm and throwing mechanics??
I totally disagree that Viramontes needs to work on his change of direction skills. He changes direction very well for a 6'2", 220 lb. quarterback (or however big he is). I'm not sure where that criticism came from; it's pretty random.
"Random?" You're being diplomatic.
I'd say it's fucking stupid, but I'm just some knucklehead on a blog so what do I know.
Did the morons over at Scout actually watch this kid's tape? If his change of direction improves one iota, he's Barry Frickin Sanders.
Clearly, Magnus is a significantly nicer, more diplomatic person than I am.
This is the way everyone's going now - no positions, everyone can guard 1-4 and shoot the rock. Point-forward, shooting-center, QB-LB. Harbaugh's really ahead of the sport here.
Wait, am I misunderstanding something?
Every player is going to play both sides of the ball. Only 11 starting spots total. TWICE THE COMPETITION.
Irony: in 2015, Michigan invents single platoon football
Woo, we're recruiting the 70s. Someone buy this kid one of those half shirts that were all the rage in the 70s/80s.
Victor = Hot Rod!
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Victor reminds me of Jake Locker in his UW days.
Oh please bring back the QB Oh Noes oh please please pleeeeeeeez...
Not sure what's on the embedded video as it doesn't run for me, but at 1:00 of the "Vicious Vic 2014-2015 Full Season" video on Hudl page, he puts a DB on his butt with nothing but change of direction. Awesome and hilarious.
Also, he seems to genuinely begrudge people with the temerity to attempt tackling him.
MICHAEL ONWENU STRENGTHS
- Foot speed
- Arm strength
- Two-piece bikini runway walk
- Vertical
MICHAEL ONWENU WEAKNESSES
- Lacks 20/20 vision
- Size
HARBAUGH STRENGTHS:
-Keeping a low profile
-Not upsetting people
-Bronzed upper body physique reminiscent of Greek God
HARBAUGH WEAKNESSES:
-Not sure which foot to put in ground before throw
-Needs more enthusiam for job
-Looking beyond backyard for recruiting talent
I'd love to hear Bob Ufer use that line.
Michigan's next 2-way Heisman winner -- at QB and LB.
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