The
WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of football recruiting scoop! With the another visit weekend on tap for the Wahoos, we'll give you a sense of who will be on Grounds tomorrow evening as well as look back on several new offers that came out of last weekend's visit. We'll also touch on some of the vibes we've getting from those on the trail and how that might impact UVa's recruiting efforts both in the class of 2017 and beyond.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
Another visit weekend at UVa
While Virginia closes out its regular season on the hardwood tomorrow night and says goodbye to a standout group of seniors,
Bronco Mendenhall and his staff will once again be hosting a number of their targets in the class of 2017.
Given how much success UVa had last weekend with guys like four-star Rivals100 Midlothian defensive back and current Arizona State commit
Jermani Brown as well as four-star Cox defensive end
Jordan Williams it's no surprise to see some important names on this list for tomorrow's visit, including three-star defensive tackle
Tommy Christ, who we reported on recently, as well as standout Highland Springs offensive lineman
Mekhi Becton, the 6-foot-7, 300-pound three-star tackle.
There will be some other prospects from the 804 in attendance including Dinwiddie ATH
Tye Freeland and 2019 Varina signal caller
Jalon Jones. And speaking of non-2017 kids, the Cavaliers are looking to host 2018 quarterback
Tyler DeSue, the 2018 prospect out of Ocean Lakes, as well.
UVa offered three-star Hoschton (GA) Mill Creek offensive lineman
Tyler Fannin last week and the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Peach State prospect is planning to be in Charlottesville tomorrow. Fannin also has offers from Cincinnati, ECU, Illinois, Kansas State, Southern Miss, and Western Kentucky, among others.
Staying in the Peach State, several weeks ago after he picked up his offer from UVa we told you more about three-star linebacker
Solon Page. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Marietta (GA) Kell standout is planning to make the trip up to Virginia tomorrow and it'll be a key visit for both Page and the Wahoos.
Another three-star prospect, UVa is also expecting to host Hampton defensive end
Elijah Conliffe. Looking at his offer list, the 6-foot-4, 263-pound prospect already has Cincinnati, Georgia, Iowa State, Maryland, Ole Miss, UNC, NC State, Penn State, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech, among others. Clearly, this is a big opportunity for the Cavaliers to make an impression.
After he was in Blacksburg last weekend, the Cavaliers are also expecting to host Bethel safety
Jeremiah Owusu. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound defensive back fits Mendenhall's defensive system very well but it could be an interesting recruitment for the Hampton native.
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Lastly, when we caught up with three-star Garner (NC) defensive end
Matthew Butler, he said he wasn't going to be able to visit as soon as he'd like because of basketball but his teammate, running back
Collin Eaddy, had also picked up an offer from the Cavaliers. This weekend, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back will be taking his trip to The Hook.
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Quiet week on the offer front
Coming off of what was one of the busiest weeks in terms of offers, it's no surprise that this week was significantly quieter. There were three that came out of the weekend, though, with two of them going out to players in the class of 2018.
UVa offered two-way Southampton lineman
Tyran Hunt. The 6-foot-6, 270-pound defensive end/offensive tackle already has several ACC offers in addition to the one from the Cavaliers.
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The Wahoos also offered Hopewell running back
Ronnie Walker, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound prospect who is already getting some solid early in interest from the likes of Duke, Michigan State, and Ohio State in addition to UVa.
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The other 2018 prospect that picked up an offer from Virginia coming out of the visit was
James Mitchell, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound tight end/receiver from Big Stone Gap.
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A growing sense of togetherness
Finally this week, we wanted to talk about an interesting situation among several recruits that could lead to potential commitments but also speaks to a larger vibe that UVa's been able to instill already.
This is something that's been clear in a number of the updates we've done but specifically, it sort of comes from three different recruits. We told you more this week about ATH
Joey Blount, the legacy recruit out of Fairburn (GA) Landmark Christian School who clearly loved his visit last weekend and is probably as close to a fearless prediction candidate that we've seen in 2017 thus far. We also told you this week about three-star Covington (GA) linebacker
Jaquan Henderson deciding to decommit from UCLA following his visit. It's too early to project for sure that he'll end up in Charlottesville but it's certainly trending that way.
There's no doubt that Blount, Henderson, and 2018 Bethel ATH
Mondo Walker, younger brother of Rijo and Ricky, have become fast friends after spending time together last weekend. And this is the sort of thing that happened in UVa's 2016 class and why so many guys stuck with their commitments despite the coaching change.
In essence, players building bonds like this is the cornerstone of recruiting and it's a good sign that kids who really didn't know each other came out of the visit feeling that sense of togetherness. Considering folks were worried about this staff as recruiters, it seems much of that worry was misplaced. We'll see going forward to what degree the staff has success on the trail, even among these three, but the signs are clear that they are going to be solid.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
