The
WAR ROOM is back and this quick-hitting edition is full of football recruiting scoop! The Cavaliers have a new head coach and a new staff but in terms of 2016 recruiting, the biggest focus so far has been on keeping the commits that they've had in the fold. We'll go recruit by recruit in this week's edition and give you our view on if those commits stick with the Cavaliers or open things up. We'll also touch on two players who aren't committed to UVa that people should be paying close attention to as the end of the dead period nears and official visit season begins.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
How committed are the commits
While we've been rolling out articles for the past few weeks with various members of UVa's 2016 class, the trick for the team leading up to Signing Day will be to hang on to them. And with the decommitment Thursday night of Laderrien Wilson, it looks like the class will remain essentially intact from here on out.
So what we decided to do this week is to walk you through each commit and touch on their respective situations individually.
The easiest place to start is with the four early enrollees: Tight end
Christian Baumgardner, kicker
Holland Corbett, running back
Tre Harbison, and DE/LB
Matt Terrell are all set at this point. So, who all is coming with them?
Sonny Abramson: The three-star signal caller has been one of UVa's all-time biggest recruiters. Almost every recruit we talk to mentions having talked to the Sparta (NJ) Pope John XXIII standout. That being said, recruiting is a fickle thing and we're not sure if Virginia's pursuit of another QB (more on that later) will have a dramatic impact on Abramson or not. We've reached out to him several times to set up interviews and either the timing hasn't worked out because of the holidays or, most recently, he said via text that he didn't have much to say other than he's had great conversations with the coaches, he can't wait to get to Charlottesville, and he's excited for his official visit (January 22-24). So, is there reason for worry here? We can't advise that. But it's worth keeping in mind that sometimes situations can change. If the Wahoos get another quarterback, it'll be interesting to see how that impacts Abramson, if at all. Keep in mind, though, that it's already January and this kid committed in November 2014. It would be quite a challenge to pick up recruiting again and find the right fit in such a limited amount of time.
Cole Blackman: There was probably a moment or two very early on where the Richmond native was looking to move but since the hiring of
Bronco Mendenhall was announced and it became official that
Marques Hagans would return, Blackman's commitment firmed up nicely. We fully expect him to sign with UVa.
Darrius Bratton: The William Fleming standout is one of many on this list who are very likely going to stick with the Hoos. We have a full update coming on him soon.
Christian Brooks: Like the story this week made very clear, the Centreville native is planning to sign with the Cavaliers soon and that's good news for a variety of reasons. Not only is he a sleeper type in this class but his younger brother Caleb is going to be a highly recruited player very soon and though Brooks says he'll let his brother go through the process without much pressure, we still see that playing a role.
Osiris Crutchfield: The Western Albermarle defensive end is another that we think will definitely stick with the Cavaliers. Having committed to Virginia in late November, he didn't exactly have the background with the previous staff that others in the class did and that, plus him being able to attend college at home, likely plays a part in him sticking.
Deedrick Daniels: The last of the group of Florida kids to remain committed to the Cavaliers, we have to admit we have a bit of hard time getting a good read here. Daniels has seemed publicly like someone that will stick; he's regularly interacting with UVa's other commits and the vibe is that he's on board. Word we've heard is that the staff has touched base with him and we hope to finally do the same soon. For now, we're tentatively saying he'll stick but the fact that he's from the Sunshine State, which is like decommit capital of the world, leaves the door cracked until he signs his letter of intent.
Hasise Dubois: The three-star wideout from New Jersey might be, along with Harbison, UVa's best overall prospect in this class so obviously holding on to him is big. Early in, the vibes here weren't that good. But that seems to have turned around a bit lately in talking to both sources and other commits. We're hoping to finally get ahold of him soon but things here seem pretty promising. The key will be whether or not he takes any other official visits outside of his planned trip to UVa in two weeks.
Nick Grant: As we reported this week, the time for worry when it comes to the Courtland star has now passed. Since he's had a chance to touch base with UVa's staff and get the reassurances he needed, this one appears to be locked up.
Bryce Hall: He was one of the first recruits we talked to following the hire and the Bishop McDevitt athlete sounded then as sure as he did when he picked UVa back in the summer.
Aidan Howard: We've been playing phone tag a bit with the Monroeville (PA) Gateway receiver but we don't think that's a sign of anything that should invoke worry. We expect the three-star wideout to stick with the class.
Ben Knutson: Another one that we've been trying to set up an interview with, Knutson's initial reaction to Mendenhall's hiring would seem to indicate that he's sticking with the Wahoos and that's good because the 6-foot-8, 270-pound three-star is a key along the offensive line.
Jordan Mack: The Georgia safety was pretty clear in our recent conversation with him that he liked UVa's new coaches and that he couldn't wait to sign with the Cavaliers. We're a little surprised more teams haven't tried to flip him, though. Consider that a big win for UVa.
Chris Moore: As reported this week, this one is also a done deal and the Broad Run standout will sign with Virginia next month.
Stephen Moye: There are two big unknowns on this list and Moye is one of them. He's very, very hard to get up with so getting his insight on what he might be thinking is tough. At this point, we don't have much of a feel other than to say that if the three-star defensive end was planning on flipping, you'd think there would have been some smoke by now. As of yet, we haven't heard anything that would point us in that direction. Again, like Daniels, it's best to wait until he has signed.
Joeseph Reed: When it comes to forecasting the future, knowing how even a highly-rated recruit will develop is tough but in Reed we think UVa found perhaps the biggest sleeper in the Commonwealth. While it's hard to say that a three-star guy is but so underrated, in this case it's true. So it's great news for the Cavaliers then that the Charlotte Courthouse star is sticking with his commitment. He's going to be a great one.
Dillon Reinkensmeyer: As one of the few commits who has some sort of "experience" with UVa's new coaches during their time at BYU, Reinkensmeyer might know better than all of them just how successful that group has been. While he wasn't recruited by them directly, the Colorado native got a good sense of the type of program they run. We have a story coming on him but suffice to say he's already connected well with the coaches and remains solid.
Robert Snyder: The three-star linebacker from Suwannee (GA) Collins Hill is another that's hard to get up with and because of that, our read here is a little tougher. It certainly sounds from talking to sources like he'll stick but we'll feel better about that prognostication once we've had a chance to hear it from him. For now, though, there's no reason to think he won't sign with Virginia.
Stephen Spanellis: Though we haven't been able to do a full interview with him yet, the three-star offensive lineman from the Gilman School was pretty enthusiastic about his commitment both in the wake of the news that a change had been made and then when UVa hired Mendenhall. There's been plenty of buzz out there that other schools, namely Michigan, have tried to make a run at him and as of now, we think it's likely that he sticks. But there's a very real chance that he takes a visit to Ann Arbor before the big commit visit the following weekend. We'll have to wait and see how this one plays out.
Andrew Trainer: The three-star tight end from Alexandria committed to UVa somewhat surprisingly back in May after telling us at the Rivals Camp in Richmond about a month earlier that he liked the Cavaliers but wanted to see more of his options in the spring/summer. Unfortunately, it doesn't look at all like he's going to sign with the Cavaliers. There had been rumblings once Mendenhall took over that he and his staff were looking to sign one tight end in this class. With Baumgardner set to enroll early, it seemed that spot was already filled and word was that the staff had informed Trainer of that info. He hasn't said anything publicly about it and hasn't returned any of our messages but he did speak with another Rivals publisher recently about an ACC school that's in the mix for him and politely declined to get into specifics of what was happening with UVa. So, while it's not totally outside the realm of possibility that this one trends back towards the Wahoos, the writing clearly appears to be on the wall and the only thing left is for him to say something publicly once he's found his new home. Outside of the Florida kids, Trainer is the guy we think is most likely to end up elsewhere, at least as of now.
Landan Word: The UVa legacy told CavsCorner he was excited about the news that Mendenhall had been hired and we believe he'll sign with the Hoos. Things did get a little interesting, however, when Maryland decided to offer in the last 10 days or so. This is one to keep an eye but for now, we have a hard time seeing him land elsewhere.
Ball will be a focus for UVa
Now, with all of that said, we believe the Cavaliers are working with about four spots if and when Trainer comes off the board and there's no doubt from where we sit that four-star Rivals250 offensive lineman
Josh Ball is the guy they most want right now. And who can blame them, as the FSU commit is pretty much exactly the kind of player that the former regime missed on time and time again.
We said earlier this week that a source in northern Virginia that we spoke with recently said they would have a hard time seeing the Stafford standout flip but the rumblings have grown louder over time. The fact that he's planning to visit UVa when all of the other 2016 commits will be in town is an interesting wrinkle. We say "planning" because as of now, his official visit to Tallahassee is scheduled for the previous weekend and in recruiting, a trip to the school you're committed to sometimes has a way of taking all other visits off the board. Only time will tell here but we think the Hoos have a legitimate shot to flip him, something that we didn't think we'd say several weeks ago.
Only a matter of time for Cross?
Finally this week, it sure feels like it's just a question of when dual-threat quarterback
De'Vante Cross will join the fold. The 6-foot-1, 184-pound signal caller from Allentown (PA) Parkland Senior had formerly committed to Boston College but opened things up and quickly jumped to the top of UVa's board. We don't think it's as much a question of 'if' anymore. Like Ball, he's set to visit during the big weekend and we won't be surprised if he comes off the board even before then.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
