The WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of football and basketball recruiting scoop! Another spring football weekend is set in Charlottesville and the Hoos will get another opportunity to host unofficial visitors. We'll tell you who is expected and who might be next to join the movement. We'll talk numbers and give you a brief snapshot of a couple of key recruitments as well as tell you about some new offers out this week. On the basketball front, the recruiting period opened yesterday and we'll tell you where UVa was, who the Cavaliers were seeing, and what details are out there on one wing out west.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
Visitors expected this weekend
Another weekend, another chance for Bronco Mendenhall and the Cavaliers to bring players on Grounds and show them how the new regime really does things. As he mentioned this week during his teleconference, getting that in-person view is especially important for recruits who are interested in the program.
Virginia is expecting to have legacy recruit Joey Blount back in town this weekend and the 6-foot-2, 175-pound defensive back from Landmark Christian in Fairburn (GA) has to be considered a heavy lean to the Wahoos right now. You've officially been put on notice...
Three-star prospect Thomas Hennigan also told CavsCorner that he's planning to be back in Charlottesville tomorrow, too. The 6-foot-3, 195pounder from Greensboro (NC) Northwest Guilford was in town last month and raved about it. The only question is the position: UVa likes him as a DB.
With one in, who's next?
Last weekend's pull of three-star Dominion defensive end Tommy Christ was a big one. Not only is the 6-foot-5, 255 pounder from Sterling one heck of a prospect at tackle or even end depending on what Mother Nature does with him but it's also worth pointing out that Mendenhall's first "real" commit was an in-state kid.
There's no doubt that UVa has the space to go for a full class and we could see something like nine if not 10 of them being in the trenches. Clearly, the Cavaliers have made offensive and defensive line recruiting a premium in this class.
Think about the guys the Hoos are in a good spot with thus far: A host of linemen lead the list.
As we previewed earlier this week, UVa hosted three-star Hoschton (GA) Mill Creek offensive lineman Tyler Fannin on Thursday and it's a little surprising that the Cavaliers didn't get the nod from the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Peach State prospect. That doesn't deter us from being right on the cusp of a fearless prediction here, as Garett Tujague has done a tremendous job of making Fannin and his family see the staff's vision clearly.
Though he may hold off a couple of weeks, he might not even be UVa's first commit on the OL by then. Though we haven't been able to get up with him for a full update, it sounded to us from our communication with Navy commit Peter Nestrowitz that the 6-foot-3, 280 pounder from Paramus Catholic in Paramus (NJ) came away from his visit last weekend extremely impressed. And it's easy to see why from even these short clips why the staff likes him:
New offers out
This week, Virginia tossed out a couple of offers and one of them went to 6-foot-5, 250-pound Forest City (NC) Chase defensive end Zeke Brandle. He told CavsCorner that he's hoping to get to UVa for a visit very soon and he's got some other trips around the ACC he'd like to take to, including stops at North Carolina and Wake Forest. But considering the timing of his offer from the Wahoos, this is certainly one to keep an eye on moving forward.
The Cavaliers also became the first school to offer 6-foot-3, 280-pound Massillon (OH) Washington defensive tackle Malcolm Robinson this week.
Hoops recruiting tidbits
As we transition to the hardwood, we'll start right away with a brief assessment of where things stand in the aftermath of the way this past season ended.
According to a source, the staff took the loss to Syracuse in the Elite 8 especially hard, and the fact that the recruiting period opened yesterday and the first live period of the spring is next weekend all come at the right time. Simply put: This group, like fans, needed something to help them move forward.
With word spreading in the last 12 hours or so that Georgia Tech could be in negotiations with Memphis' Josh Pastner, we'll stop short of our plan to tell you that Virginia's coaching staff will remain in tact this offseason. If the Memphis job opens up, that could start an unexpected series of dominoes and the unknowns there would be too much to cover.
Now, as we always do, we'll get into which prospects the staff will be watching during next weekend's live period in the War Room but we wanted to pass along a few nuggets.
First, UVa had assistant coach Jason Williford in yesterday at Gonzaga, obviously to see four-star 2018 guard Prentiss Hubb. In fact, the D.C. standout picked up an offer from Georgetown and that could make for an interesting DMV battle over the next however many months. Maryland, UVa, and now Georgetown are likely going to be tough to beat unless his recruitment truly does go national. We like how UVa has played this one but the Hoyas are definitely one to watch.
Now, there's also been talk out there that four-star 2017 wing Corey Kispert will take an official to UVa April 20-21 following a trip to Notre Dame two days earlier with a visit to Gonzaga coming the following week. In talking to a Virginia source in the last 24 hours, we can't tell you it won't play out that way but we can tell you that it certainly sounds like those plans could change. Simply put, Tony Bennett has still not seen this kid play live, per our source. Ron Sanchez has continued to recruit the 6-foot-6, 190-pound prospect from Shoreline (WA) Kings but we can't tell you too much more about UVa's interest. It seems to us like Kispert is a lot further along in his recruitment than Virginia is and, as our source openly admitted, the thought process is still to get a point guard in this class. So for now, look for the Cavaliers try to get out and see him before that OV and see if things continue to move or not. It likely won't be this weekend, though, as the staff as well as the team itself will be at Anthony Gill's wedding, which former assistant coach Ritchie McKay will officiate.
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!
Visitors expected this weekend
Another weekend, another chance for Bronco Mendenhall and the Cavaliers to bring players on Grounds and show them how the new regime really does things. As he mentioned this week during his teleconference, getting that in-person view is especially important for recruits who are interested in the program.
Virginia is expecting to have legacy recruit Joey Blount back in town this weekend and the 6-foot-2, 175-pound defensive back from Landmark Christian in Fairburn (GA) has to be considered a heavy lean to the Wahoos right now. You've officially been put on notice...
Three-star prospect Thomas Hennigan also told CavsCorner that he's planning to be back in Charlottesville tomorrow, too. The 6-foot-3, 195pounder from Greensboro (NC) Northwest Guilford was in town last month and raved about it. The only question is the position: UVa likes him as a DB.
With one in, who's next?
Last weekend's pull of three-star Dominion defensive end Tommy Christ was a big one. Not only is the 6-foot-5, 255 pounder from Sterling one heck of a prospect at tackle or even end depending on what Mother Nature does with him but it's also worth pointing out that Mendenhall's first "real" commit was an in-state kid.
There's no doubt that UVa has the space to go for a full class and we could see something like nine if not 10 of them being in the trenches. Clearly, the Cavaliers have made offensive and defensive line recruiting a premium in this class.
Think about the guys the Hoos are in a good spot with thus far: A host of linemen lead the list.
As we previewed earlier this week, UVa hosted three-star Hoschton (GA) Mill Creek offensive lineman Tyler Fannin on Thursday and it's a little surprising that the Cavaliers didn't get the nod from the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Peach State prospect. That doesn't deter us from being right on the cusp of a fearless prediction here, as Garett Tujague has done a tremendous job of making Fannin and his family see the staff's vision clearly.
Though he may hold off a couple of weeks, he might not even be UVa's first commit on the OL by then. Though we haven't been able to get up with him for a full update, it sounded to us from our communication with Navy commit Peter Nestrowitz that the 6-foot-3, 280 pounder from Paramus Catholic in Paramus (NJ) came away from his visit last weekend extremely impressed. And it's easy to see why from even these short clips why the staff likes him:
New offers out
This week, Virginia tossed out a couple of offers and one of them went to 6-foot-5, 250-pound Forest City (NC) Chase defensive end Zeke Brandle. He told CavsCorner that he's hoping to get to UVa for a visit very soon and he's got some other trips around the ACC he'd like to take to, including stops at North Carolina and Wake Forest. But considering the timing of his offer from the Wahoos, this is certainly one to keep an eye on moving forward.
The Cavaliers also became the first school to offer 6-foot-3, 280-pound Massillon (OH) Washington defensive tackle Malcolm Robinson this week.
Hoops recruiting tidbits
As we transition to the hardwood, we'll start right away with a brief assessment of where things stand in the aftermath of the way this past season ended.
According to a source, the staff took the loss to Syracuse in the Elite 8 especially hard, and the fact that the recruiting period opened yesterday and the first live period of the spring is next weekend all come at the right time. Simply put: This group, like fans, needed something to help them move forward.
With word spreading in the last 12 hours or so that Georgia Tech could be in negotiations with Memphis' Josh Pastner, we'll stop short of our plan to tell you that Virginia's coaching staff will remain in tact this offseason. If the Memphis job opens up, that could start an unexpected series of dominoes and the unknowns there would be too much to cover.
Now, as we always do, we'll get into which prospects the staff will be watching during next weekend's live period in the War Room but we wanted to pass along a few nuggets.
First, UVa had assistant coach Jason Williford in yesterday at Gonzaga, obviously to see four-star 2018 guard Prentiss Hubb. In fact, the D.C. standout picked up an offer from Georgetown and that could make for an interesting DMV battle over the next however many months. Maryland, UVa, and now Georgetown are likely going to be tough to beat unless his recruitment truly does go national. We like how UVa has played this one but the Hoyas are definitely one to watch.
Now, there's also been talk out there that four-star 2017 wing Corey Kispert will take an official to UVa April 20-21 following a trip to Notre Dame two days earlier with a visit to Gonzaga coming the following week. In talking to a Virginia source in the last 24 hours, we can't tell you it won't play out that way but we can tell you that it certainly sounds like those plans could change. Simply put, Tony Bennett has still not seen this kid play live, per our source. Ron Sanchez has continued to recruit the 6-foot-6, 190-pound prospect from Shoreline (WA) Kings but we can't tell you too much more about UVa's interest. It seems to us like Kispert is a lot further along in his recruitment than Virginia is and, as our source openly admitted, the thought process is still to get a point guard in this class. So for now, look for the Cavaliers try to get out and see him before that OV and see if things continue to move or not. It likely won't be this weekend, though, as the staff as well as the team itself will be at Anthony Gill's wedding, which former assistant coach Ritchie McKay will officiate.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
