The WAR ROOM is back and this quick-hitting edition is full of football and hoops recruiting scoop! As the Wahoos prepare for their bowl game later this month, the staff has been on the road recruiting. We'll give you a lay of the land now that UVa has its dual-threat QB transfer in the fold and break down some of the offers that have gone out this week, especially those to players in the class of 2018 that the staff will be trying to get on Grounds for a visit. On the hoops side, we'll get into what the coaches think about their needs, how they plan to approach the spring and setting up for 2019, and get into two recruitments (one 2018, one transfer) that have been in the news of late.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
Where things stand
The Cavaliers now have 20 commitments in 2018 when counting former Arizona State quarterback Bryce Perkins, who made it public earlier this week. In the interest of full disclosure, word had spread since his OV that Perkins was very likely the dual-threat QB that Bronco Mendenhall was going to get. But at the same time we heard his name some weeks back, we also heard two more: Woody Barrett and Terry Wilson. At this point, it's not clear where Barrett might end up but Wilson's recruitment has really taken off. Of the three, the Wahoos really couldn't do poorly and getting Perkins is a huge boost to the program and especially to the position.
Now, where do things go from here? The immediate focus is on shoring up a couple of the commits and getting as many signed on December 20 as possible. As we broke down last week, there are only a few who are thinking they might not sign early and only one of them, three-star DB DJ Brown, has been looking seriously at other programs. And even in his case, with the OV to Notre Dame cancelled, things are trending in UVa's direction for sure.
Outside of that, with no official visitors expected this weekend per a source on Thursday, the staff has been out on the road and tossing out a number of new offers, especially to players in the 2018 class.
The new offers
Several weeks ago, Mendenhall mentioned that the Miami game had been a real game changer for the program in terms of interest from recruits. Whether the new offers this week are drive by that increased interest or just the coaches finally being back on the road once senior film was in, there have been several new offers that went out this week and some of them were key ones in the class of 2018.
Paris Johnson, Jr.: The first of the new offers to go out this week was to the 6-foot-7, 260-pound 2020 prospect. The Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier standout now has offers from Cincinnati, Clemson, Michigan State, and Rutgers, among others.
Ryan Winkel: Next came one in 2018 to the Memphis (TN) Christian Brothers offensive tackle. The 6-foot-7, 290 pounder now has a host of small offers in addition to Northwestern, UCF, and UVa. What will be interesting here is when he visits and who else comes to the table before then. Word is he'll be at NW next weekend with a trip to Charlottesville next month.
Jackson Cravens: Then the Wahoos went to the defensive line to target the 6-foot-3, 270-pound three-star tackle from Provo. To this point, Cravens has a pretty solid offer list to choose from and getting a visit will be tough, as Arizona, Boise State, Fresno State, Georgia, Michigan State, Oregon State, Utah, and Vandy have all offered as well.
Ahmad Craig: The Cavaliers stayed on the defensive line but moved back to the 2019 class with an offer to Craig, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound defensive end from Buford (GA). The three-star junior is also claiming offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Wake Forest.
Tayvion Robinson: Sticking in 2019 but moving closer to home, the Wahoos have also offered the four-star Virginia Beach native. The 6-foot, 170-pound Cox standout is a Rivals250 prospect and has early offers from Duke, Maryland, Temple, and Virginia Tech as well.
Joshua Ezeudu: The third of the 2018 offers to go out this week, the Cavaliers tossed their hat into the ring for the 6-foot-5, 300-pound three-star offensive tackle. So far, UConn, Missouri, Colorado State, Kansas, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, and West Virginia, among others, have also offered the Lawrenceville (GA) Archer standout. He appeared to have a top three of UConn, Missouri, and Syracuse at some point and he's scheduled to be checking out the Tigers this weekend. UVa, obviously, will be pushing hard for an OV as too is Carolina.
Jaylon Baker: Sticking in 2018, UVa also tossed out an offer yesterday to the three-star cornerback from the Baylor School in Chattanooga (TN). UVa appears to be the first Power 5 school to offer the 6-foot-2, 162 pounder.
Tony Grimes: Lastly, the Cavaliers decided to get in real early with the 2021 cornerback from Princess Anne. The 6-foot, 170 pounder already has early offers not only from Virginia but also from Maryland and Tech.
Evaluating needs
As we switch to the hardwood, there isn't a single doubt in our minds that UVa is not even remotely done with recruiting in 2018. Though the board is a little down on the two signees to this point, the staff likes those additions. That being said, there is a real sense of knowing that they still need help, which is something one source told us explicitly.
The plan as of this week is to hit the road during the exam break primarily scouting for 2019 but also looking for opportunities in 2018, too. The biggest focus in the spring will be on transfers (especially grad transfers) and kids who were committed/signed to schools that went through coaching changes.
From a needs standpoint, we hear the staff has two specific types of player in mind. The first and most important add would be an athletic combo guard. The staff believes the team needs a scoring punch but also someone who can handle the ball well enough to run point at times, too. Ideally, this would be a player will some size as well. In addition to that athletic combo guard, UVa also believes the roster could use another big as well. This doesn't have to be a dominant scorer but they'd like to find a balanced guy for that spot.
This weekend, the staff will be in the D.C. area for the Gonzaga Classic as well as the Hoops Festival at DeMatha. Word we heard is that in the last few days, they've been in to see four-star 2019 big man Isaiah Stewart and Kira Lewis, a 6-foot-3 four-star shooting guard from Alabama.
The latest on Brooks
One name that seemed to make a lot of sense for UVa is four-star power forward J'Raan Brooks. As you'll likely recall, the Seattle native came to Charlottesville this past summer for NBPA Top 100 Camp and said he was looking to take several official visits, including one to UVa. At that time, that sounded like extremely positive news and couldn't have come at a better moment for the Wahoos given the way the class of 2018 was unfolding.
Of course, Brooks took one of those planned visits, to USC, and shut things down shortly thereafter in favor of the Trojans. Then this fall, with everything happening related to the FBI investigation and USC being implicated, Brooks decided to step back and reopen his recruitment.
Now, as far as UVa's interest: We hear the staff immediately reached out and things seemed good from the jump. As time has gone on, however, the ease of communication has continued but any follow through (both in returning calls and setting visits) has dried up. It's hard to say why the kid would message but not talk yet maybe that doesn't matter. He's looking to take visits on the east coast but for whatever reason, the Hoos haven't gained any traction.
At this point, we would be really surprised if UVa becomes a factor for the 6-foot-8 forward again.
A decision on Jones?
Lastly this week, we wanted to give a brief update on where UVa is with the potential recruitment of former Highland Springs and Huntington Prep guard Curt Jones. The former four-star recruit is leaving Indiana and immediately upon seeing his name on the wire, we wondered if the Cavaliers might get involved.
As explained above, the staff is looking for an athletic combo guard to transfer in and in talking to sources in the last 24 hours, we hear the Cavaliers don't see Jones fitting that mold. We were told that at this point, there should be no expectation that they make any sort of push. He's a terrific shooter but his ball handling for his size and position just isn't what the staff feels Virginia needs.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
Where things stand
The Cavaliers now have 20 commitments in 2018 when counting former Arizona State quarterback Bryce Perkins, who made it public earlier this week. In the interest of full disclosure, word had spread since his OV that Perkins was very likely the dual-threat QB that Bronco Mendenhall was going to get. But at the same time we heard his name some weeks back, we also heard two more: Woody Barrett and Terry Wilson. At this point, it's not clear where Barrett might end up but Wilson's recruitment has really taken off. Of the three, the Wahoos really couldn't do poorly and getting Perkins is a huge boost to the program and especially to the position.
Now, where do things go from here? The immediate focus is on shoring up a couple of the commits and getting as many signed on December 20 as possible. As we broke down last week, there are only a few who are thinking they might not sign early and only one of them, three-star DB DJ Brown, has been looking seriously at other programs. And even in his case, with the OV to Notre Dame cancelled, things are trending in UVa's direction for sure.
Outside of that, with no official visitors expected this weekend per a source on Thursday, the staff has been out on the road and tossing out a number of new offers, especially to players in the 2018 class.
The new offers
Several weeks ago, Mendenhall mentioned that the Miami game had been a real game changer for the program in terms of interest from recruits. Whether the new offers this week are drive by that increased interest or just the coaches finally being back on the road once senior film was in, there have been several new offers that went out this week and some of them were key ones in the class of 2018.
Paris Johnson, Jr.: The first of the new offers to go out this week was to the 6-foot-7, 260-pound 2020 prospect. The Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier standout now has offers from Cincinnati, Clemson, Michigan State, and Rutgers, among others.
Ryan Winkel: Next came one in 2018 to the Memphis (TN) Christian Brothers offensive tackle. The 6-foot-7, 290 pounder now has a host of small offers in addition to Northwestern, UCF, and UVa. What will be interesting here is when he visits and who else comes to the table before then. Word is he'll be at NW next weekend with a trip to Charlottesville next month.
Jackson Cravens: Then the Wahoos went to the defensive line to target the 6-foot-3, 270-pound three-star tackle from Provo. To this point, Cravens has a pretty solid offer list to choose from and getting a visit will be tough, as Arizona, Boise State, Fresno State, Georgia, Michigan State, Oregon State, Utah, and Vandy have all offered as well.
Ahmad Craig: The Cavaliers stayed on the defensive line but moved back to the 2019 class with an offer to Craig, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound defensive end from Buford (GA). The three-star junior is also claiming offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Wake Forest.
Tayvion Robinson: Sticking in 2019 but moving closer to home, the Wahoos have also offered the four-star Virginia Beach native. The 6-foot, 170-pound Cox standout is a Rivals250 prospect and has early offers from Duke, Maryland, Temple, and Virginia Tech as well.
Joshua Ezeudu: The third of the 2018 offers to go out this week, the Cavaliers tossed their hat into the ring for the 6-foot-5, 300-pound three-star offensive tackle. So far, UConn, Missouri, Colorado State, Kansas, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, and West Virginia, among others, have also offered the Lawrenceville (GA) Archer standout. He appeared to have a top three of UConn, Missouri, and Syracuse at some point and he's scheduled to be checking out the Tigers this weekend. UVa, obviously, will be pushing hard for an OV as too is Carolina.
Jaylon Baker: Sticking in 2018, UVa also tossed out an offer yesterday to the three-star cornerback from the Baylor School in Chattanooga (TN). UVa appears to be the first Power 5 school to offer the 6-foot-2, 162 pounder.
Tony Grimes: Lastly, the Cavaliers decided to get in real early with the 2021 cornerback from Princess Anne. The 6-foot, 170 pounder already has early offers not only from Virginia but also from Maryland and Tech.
Evaluating needs
As we switch to the hardwood, there isn't a single doubt in our minds that UVa is not even remotely done with recruiting in 2018. Though the board is a little down on the two signees to this point, the staff likes those additions. That being said, there is a real sense of knowing that they still need help, which is something one source told us explicitly.
The plan as of this week is to hit the road during the exam break primarily scouting for 2019 but also looking for opportunities in 2018, too. The biggest focus in the spring will be on transfers (especially grad transfers) and kids who were committed/signed to schools that went through coaching changes.
From a needs standpoint, we hear the staff has two specific types of player in mind. The first and most important add would be an athletic combo guard. The staff believes the team needs a scoring punch but also someone who can handle the ball well enough to run point at times, too. Ideally, this would be a player will some size as well. In addition to that athletic combo guard, UVa also believes the roster could use another big as well. This doesn't have to be a dominant scorer but they'd like to find a balanced guy for that spot.
This weekend, the staff will be in the D.C. area for the Gonzaga Classic as well as the Hoops Festival at DeMatha. Word we heard is that in the last few days, they've been in to see four-star 2019 big man Isaiah Stewart and Kira Lewis, a 6-foot-3 four-star shooting guard from Alabama.
The latest on Brooks
One name that seemed to make a lot of sense for UVa is four-star power forward J'Raan Brooks. As you'll likely recall, the Seattle native came to Charlottesville this past summer for NBPA Top 100 Camp and said he was looking to take several official visits, including one to UVa. At that time, that sounded like extremely positive news and couldn't have come at a better moment for the Wahoos given the way the class of 2018 was unfolding.
Of course, Brooks took one of those planned visits, to USC, and shut things down shortly thereafter in favor of the Trojans. Then this fall, with everything happening related to the FBI investigation and USC being implicated, Brooks decided to step back and reopen his recruitment.
Now, as far as UVa's interest: We hear the staff immediately reached out and things seemed good from the jump. As time has gone on, however, the ease of communication has continued but any follow through (both in returning calls and setting visits) has dried up. It's hard to say why the kid would message but not talk yet maybe that doesn't matter. He's looking to take visits on the east coast but for whatever reason, the Hoos haven't gained any traction.
At this point, we would be really surprised if UVa becomes a factor for the 6-foot-8 forward again.
A decision on Jones?
Lastly this week, we wanted to give a brief update on where UVa is with the potential recruitment of former Highland Springs and Huntington Prep guard Curt Jones. The former four-star recruit is leaving Indiana and immediately upon seeing his name on the wire, we wondered if the Cavaliers might get involved.
As explained above, the staff is looking for an athletic combo guard to transfer in and in talking to sources in the last 24 hours, we hear the Cavaliers don't see Jones fitting that mold. We were told that at this point, there should be no expectation that they make any sort of push. He's a terrific shooter but his ball handling for his size and position just isn't what the staff feels Virginia needs.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
