The WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of football and basketball recruiting scoop! We'll break down a pair of important recruitments on the offensive line, tell you about where things stand with running backs, and give some more background on one of UVa's biggest recruitments in the cycle before we break down a few new offers out there. Meanwhile on the basketball front, we'll fill you in on who we'll be watching tomorrow during the EYBL stop in Hampton. What 2017 prospects are we going to focus on? And what about some of the 2018s?
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
Cavaliers continue to push forward
With camp season about to start early next month for Bronco Mendenhall and his staff, the 2017 recruiting class continues to take shape. At this point, you have to give the staff high marks for a solid start. There's no doubt, though, that they have a lot of work to do in order to make this class the sort of foundation for their program rebuild as they want it to be.
No recruit embodies that more that UVa's recruitment of three-star Highland Springs standout Mekhi Becton. Considering he's up to 24 offers now after Southern Cal and Rutgers offered this week, it's safe to say Virginia isn't alone in its pursuit of the 6-foot-7, 300 pounder. We have long thought that Garett Tujague and the Cavaliers had the lead over the field and we still feel that way. But as we've said before (and it becomes even more true as more offers come), this is the kind of recruitment the staff has to find ways to close. Becton doesn't seem close to a decision at this point but as with most everything recruiting related, the status quo is only that way until it's not.
Greensboro (NC) Dudley tackle Bryson Speas, while not rated as highly as Becton, is another offensive lineman UVa likes a lot and in talking to him, it seems that level of interest is mutual. Truthfully, had he not had Shrine Bowl practice when Virginia held its spring festival, Speas definitely would've been in town and likely would have committed, too. This one, from our point of view, feels like only a matter of time.
RB recruiting takes on even more meaning
With the decision by Tre Harbison this week to transfer from UVa, that brings some interesting questions about impact. Truthfully, we don't think it changes too much for the Wahoos in the short term. The roster is pretty loaded and even after this coming season, things seem to line up pretty well.
UVa already has a commitment from three-star RB Lamont Atkins and the staff has a great jump on things. We really like where Virginia is right now for three-star bruiser Jamari Peacock as well as fellow three-star Florida RB Michael Carter, though the offer from UF might be tough for the Hoos to overcome.
One thing is clear, though: Virginia is going to keep plugging when it comes to running backs and we could definitely see them adding at least one more in this class.
Wahoos remains solidly in the mix for Williams
Considering how big a recruit he is in the Commonwealth, it's a very good sign for UVa that the Cavaliers are still solidly in the mix for four-star Cox defensive end Jordan Williams.
Even while adding SEC offers (and more are probably coming now that Alabama has offered), the Virginia Beach native still speaks very, very highly of Mendenhall and his staff. We think UVa has a legit chance of staying in the race for a very long time and if you doubted that, hopefully his quotes this week went a long way towards calming those fears.
There is little doubt that Williams is the type of player who can make a recruiting class. And he's at a position of need for the Hoos as well. Needless to say this is one Virginia has to stay in and credit the staff for doing just that so far. Clearly, Williams has made great connections with the coaches and they have done a great job of making him feel comfortable with them and the idea of spending his college career in Charlottesville. Those should be big for him as he moves forward in his recruitment, which means taking a lot of visits over the summer including one back to UVa.
New offers this week
Finally, we wanted to pass along some details on a few new offers that are out there.
Late last week, UVa offered three-star DE Alden Tofa, a 6-foot-4, 240 pounder out of West Jordan (UT). Though BYU has yet to offer, he does have offers from Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon State, Utah, and Washington State, among others.
Virginia became the latest school to offer 6-foot-6, 305-pound Darien (CT) offensive lineman Andrew Stueber this week. While he might be a two-star recruit right now, he doesn't have the offer list to support that. Boston College, Duke, UConn, Maryland, North Carolina, Northwestern, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt, among others, have offered as well.
Lastly, UVa offered Justus Woods this week, a 6-foot, 185-pound running back out of Charlotte (NC) Charlotte Christian. He's got early offers from Elon and Wisconsin.
EYBL comes to Hampton this weekend
As we transition to the hardwood, we're happy to say that you'll be getting some live updates from EYBL this weekend. After missing it last year due to the timing of spring practice, we'll once again be on site both watching players and also doing interviews.
One quick point on interviews: Nike has (for some reason) changed up the process for interviewing players. Whereas in the past we'd be able to talk to any players we wanted after any game, this year we only get access to players after their first game of the day. What that means is that if two players on different teams start at the same time on the same day, you only get to speak to one of them. And that's tough for us since we'll only be there for all of tomorrow's games. I'm hopeful that we've worked out a fix but I wanted to set that expectation.
Regardless, it should be a great chance to evaluate some of UVa's top guys. As it stands, there are four names in the mix that we think matter most in 2017.
The most important, though maybe not the highest rated, is four-star Gonzaga guard Chris Lykes. UVa is still working hard on four-star Reading (PA) guard Lonnie Walker as well but we think Lykes is at the top of the list.
Interestingly, while Villanova and Virginia are the rumored standouts on Lykes' list, both are after Walker, too. And it'll be interesting to see how this plays out given the geography involved for both players and the recent spike in interest for Walker, who picked up an offer from Kentucky in the past 10 days or so.
In talking to various sources the past few weeks, it sounds to us as though Lykes (currently averaging 18.4 points per game on the circuit for Team Takeover) is the player UVa probably wants a little more. But as we've said in the past, Tony Bennett doesn't necessarily always look at recruiting through this prism.
We think he'd very, very happy with Lykes, Walker, or four-star South Kent (CT) standout Tremont Waters. Interestingly, while UVa is having to fight off Kentucky and Nova for Walker, the Wildcats have also offered Waters. How that might impact Lykes is interesting because there is some thought that, coming off a national title, Jay Wright might try to send a message in Walker's recruitment to fend off the other powerhouse programs. So will he makes Lykes a priority the same way? And if not, might another team join UVa at the top of his list? It should be an interesting few months.
Of course, EYBL is also home to four-star Norfolk native Matt Coleman (Boo Williams), and five-star forward Michael Porter (Mokan Elite). At this point, we'll spend some time on the latter if it works in our schedule but we will still plan to watch and talk with Coleman to see where things are for him. He continues to lay back and not really dive too deep into the recruiting side of things but we expect that to pick up significantly shortly after Peach Jam. For now, UVa remains in the same spot and it should be very clear to the Oak Hill standout that if he wants to be a Wahoo, he's definitely wanted.
There are also a few 2018s that we'll be keeping an eye on this weekend, too. That list will definitely include five-star guard Keldon Johnson, who plays for Boo Williams, and four-star guard Darius Garland, who is running with the St. Louis Eagles. Lastly, though this one is probably a bit of a long shot, we'll also be watching one of Walker's teammates on Team Final: Five-star Westtown (PA) forward Cameron Reddish as well. Word is that he continues to respond well to UVa and that gives the Cavaliers some legit hope that they might have staying power for one of the top players in 2018, a class that will no doubt be a big one for Bennett and Co.
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!
Cavaliers continue to push forward
With camp season about to start early next month for Bronco Mendenhall and his staff, the 2017 recruiting class continues to take shape. At this point, you have to give the staff high marks for a solid start. There's no doubt, though, that they have a lot of work to do in order to make this class the sort of foundation for their program rebuild as they want it to be.
No recruit embodies that more that UVa's recruitment of three-star Highland Springs standout Mekhi Becton. Considering he's up to 24 offers now after Southern Cal and Rutgers offered this week, it's safe to say Virginia isn't alone in its pursuit of the 6-foot-7, 300 pounder. We have long thought that Garett Tujague and the Cavaliers had the lead over the field and we still feel that way. But as we've said before (and it becomes even more true as more offers come), this is the kind of recruitment the staff has to find ways to close. Becton doesn't seem close to a decision at this point but as with most everything recruiting related, the status quo is only that way until it's not.
Greensboro (NC) Dudley tackle Bryson Speas, while not rated as highly as Becton, is another offensive lineman UVa likes a lot and in talking to him, it seems that level of interest is mutual. Truthfully, had he not had Shrine Bowl practice when Virginia held its spring festival, Speas definitely would've been in town and likely would have committed, too. This one, from our point of view, feels like only a matter of time.
RB recruiting takes on even more meaning
With the decision by Tre Harbison this week to transfer from UVa, that brings some interesting questions about impact. Truthfully, we don't think it changes too much for the Wahoos in the short term. The roster is pretty loaded and even after this coming season, things seem to line up pretty well.
UVa already has a commitment from three-star RB Lamont Atkins and the staff has a great jump on things. We really like where Virginia is right now for three-star bruiser Jamari Peacock as well as fellow three-star Florida RB Michael Carter, though the offer from UF might be tough for the Hoos to overcome.
One thing is clear, though: Virginia is going to keep plugging when it comes to running backs and we could definitely see them adding at least one more in this class.
Wahoos remains solidly in the mix for Williams
Considering how big a recruit he is in the Commonwealth, it's a very good sign for UVa that the Cavaliers are still solidly in the mix for four-star Cox defensive end Jordan Williams.
Even while adding SEC offers (and more are probably coming now that Alabama has offered), the Virginia Beach native still speaks very, very highly of Mendenhall and his staff. We think UVa has a legit chance of staying in the race for a very long time and if you doubted that, hopefully his quotes this week went a long way towards calming those fears.
There is little doubt that Williams is the type of player who can make a recruiting class. And he's at a position of need for the Hoos as well. Needless to say this is one Virginia has to stay in and credit the staff for doing just that so far. Clearly, Williams has made great connections with the coaches and they have done a great job of making him feel comfortable with them and the idea of spending his college career in Charlottesville. Those should be big for him as he moves forward in his recruitment, which means taking a lot of visits over the summer including one back to UVa.
New offers this week
Finally, we wanted to pass along some details on a few new offers that are out there.
Late last week, UVa offered three-star DE Alden Tofa, a 6-foot-4, 240 pounder out of West Jordan (UT). Though BYU has yet to offer, he does have offers from Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon State, Utah, and Washington State, among others.
Virginia became the latest school to offer 6-foot-6, 305-pound Darien (CT) offensive lineman Andrew Stueber this week. While he might be a two-star recruit right now, he doesn't have the offer list to support that. Boston College, Duke, UConn, Maryland, North Carolina, Northwestern, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt, among others, have offered as well.
Lastly, UVa offered Justus Woods this week, a 6-foot, 185-pound running back out of Charlotte (NC) Charlotte Christian. He's got early offers from Elon and Wisconsin.
EYBL comes to Hampton this weekend
As we transition to the hardwood, we're happy to say that you'll be getting some live updates from EYBL this weekend. After missing it last year due to the timing of spring practice, we'll once again be on site both watching players and also doing interviews.
One quick point on interviews: Nike has (for some reason) changed up the process for interviewing players. Whereas in the past we'd be able to talk to any players we wanted after any game, this year we only get access to players after their first game of the day. What that means is that if two players on different teams start at the same time on the same day, you only get to speak to one of them. And that's tough for us since we'll only be there for all of tomorrow's games. I'm hopeful that we've worked out a fix but I wanted to set that expectation.
Regardless, it should be a great chance to evaluate some of UVa's top guys. As it stands, there are four names in the mix that we think matter most in 2017.
The most important, though maybe not the highest rated, is four-star Gonzaga guard Chris Lykes. UVa is still working hard on four-star Reading (PA) guard Lonnie Walker as well but we think Lykes is at the top of the list.
Interestingly, while Villanova and Virginia are the rumored standouts on Lykes' list, both are after Walker, too. And it'll be interesting to see how this plays out given the geography involved for both players and the recent spike in interest for Walker, who picked up an offer from Kentucky in the past 10 days or so.
In talking to various sources the past few weeks, it sounds to us as though Lykes (currently averaging 18.4 points per game on the circuit for Team Takeover) is the player UVa probably wants a little more. But as we've said in the past, Tony Bennett doesn't necessarily always look at recruiting through this prism.
We think he'd very, very happy with Lykes, Walker, or four-star South Kent (CT) standout Tremont Waters. Interestingly, while UVa is having to fight off Kentucky and Nova for Walker, the Wildcats have also offered Waters. How that might impact Lykes is interesting because there is some thought that, coming off a national title, Jay Wright might try to send a message in Walker's recruitment to fend off the other powerhouse programs. So will he makes Lykes a priority the same way? And if not, might another team join UVa at the top of his list? It should be an interesting few months.
Of course, EYBL is also home to four-star Norfolk native Matt Coleman (Boo Williams), and five-star forward Michael Porter (Mokan Elite). At this point, we'll spend some time on the latter if it works in our schedule but we will still plan to watch and talk with Coleman to see where things are for him. He continues to lay back and not really dive too deep into the recruiting side of things but we expect that to pick up significantly shortly after Peach Jam. For now, UVa remains in the same spot and it should be very clear to the Oak Hill standout that if he wants to be a Wahoo, he's definitely wanted.
There are also a few 2018s that we'll be keeping an eye on this weekend, too. That list will definitely include five-star guard Keldon Johnson, who plays for Boo Williams, and four-star guard Darius Garland, who is running with the St. Louis Eagles. Lastly, though this one is probably a bit of a long shot, we'll also be watching one of Walker's teammates on Team Final: Five-star Westtown (PA) forward Cameron Reddish as well. Word is that he continues to respond well to UVa and that gives the Cavaliers some legit hope that they might have staying power for one of the top players in 2018, a class that will no doubt be a big one for Bennett and Co.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
