The WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of football recruiting scoop! It’s another big official visit weekend in Charlottesville, as the Wahoos will have a number of important targets in town including the top player in the state and likely the top player on Virginia’s board for some time. We’ve got the details on those visitors as well as a handful of other recruitments of note.
As always, what’s said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let’s go!
Slew of official visits on tap in Charlottesville
After landing three-star QB Davis Lane last weekend and then three-star DL AJ Holmes coming off his OV, the Cavaliers have gotten June off on the right foot and enter the second weekend of officials with some momentum. And that’s good news considering that of the four visit weekends this month, this projects to be among the biggest of the bunch.
There is no better place to start with this weekend’s visitors other than five-star Rivals100 offensive lineman Zach Rice. A Virginia legacy who is among the best at his position nationally, Rice has been the top target on the board since the board took shape many moons ago. The Lynchburg standout is coming off an unofficial visit to North Carolina—a team thought to be a legit contender— and an official visit to Ohio State—a team that many thought would be a bit on the outside looking in—heading into this trip to UVa. In talking to various sources, it certainly sounds like a muddy recruitment is even harder to break down right now. Simply put: Both Carolina and OSU impressed the heck out of the kid, which really means UVa’s visit weekend is even more of a big deal now than it was before. That’s even more critical given that from here he’s scheduled to take OVs this month to both Alabama and Notre Dame.
The Wahoos have always had a better odds in this thing than most have given them credit for but the reality is that in a recruitment like this, that still amounted to a puncher’s chance. If you’re looking for a confidence meter of sorts, there’s just too much uncertainty beyond UVa having made the top five and getting the OV, which is significant.
While there is no longer a real consensus around how this one plays out, what we do know is that Garett Tujague gets his chance this weekend to really show Rice and his family what UVa is all about and how integral he is to waht the Hoos have planned going forward.
Of course, Tujague will have his hands full this weekend with both four-star OL Fisher Anderson and three-star OL Jake Maikkula also taking their OVs.
Fresh off his visit to Northwestern, Anderson is an interesting one. The Rivals250 prospect from Tennessee saw the Wildcats on an “unofficial” unofficial not long before the dead period was lifted (much like he did UVa as well). Word is he’s still got trips lined up to both Carolina and Stanford, at least as of now. There are also potential visits down the road to others like Michigan, Penn State, and even home-state Tennessee. So, it seems like there’s still a good bit of runway left in his recruitment.
Cal and Duke, meanwhile, seem to still be the main competition for UVa when it comes to the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Maikkula. He was in Berkeley last weekend and is set to see Durham at the end of the month. The three-star lineman from Colorado (who is from the same HS as former Virginia standout Dillon Reinkensmeyer) might have the lowest ranking among the linemen coming this weekend but he’s someone that we’ve heard Tujague and Co. really like and have for a long time. Much in the way UVa handled Holmes last weekend (when there were other potential DT/DE guys on the board) this one will be interesting to watch. We would not be surprised if he pulled the trigger nor if he decided to wait things out a bit longer. Of the linemen, though, we feel like he’s the most likely to pop “early.”
Now, Lane won’t be the only commit in town for an official this weekend, as he’ll be joined by fellow UVa pledge Trey McDonald. That’s a smart play by Virginia in our estimation: Not only will Lane obviously help when it comes to his Liberty Christian teammate who will also be on Grounds but it’s good for the group to have a mix of commits and recruits alike. While most of the action is in the trenches this weekend, there are still several other targets expected and that should also provide for some potential fireworks.
A couple of weeks ago in this space we mentioned a few skill position guys in Amari Jackson, Tariq Watson, and Jaiven Plummer would be on their visits this weekend. That continues to be the case and we could see, if UVa is going to have a commitment this weekend, it being from this trio.
Like Anderson, Jackson is coming off his first official visit to Northwestern and his UVa trip will come before he heads out to Boston College next weekend. At this point, though, there haven’t been any other visits set and, with BC being a relatively new player, this one may well come down to the OVs between Northwestern and UVa.
Watson, meanwhile, has been turning all kinds of heads in recent weeks any time he’s been able to show off his speed. But this is one that Ricky Brumfield is going to want to shut down this weekend. A potential cornerback with good size, the Louisiana product is the type of playmaker UVa hasn’t signed with regularity at that position in recent classes.
And then there’s Plummer, a talented and speedy receiver from Episcopal. Coming off a visit to Rutgers, as of now he’s got two California trips lined up to finish out the month with visits to Stanford and Cal on the docket. Our read right now is that Bronco Mendenhall and his staff would really have to blow him away in order to get him to cancel those trips, especially since there had been talks of a decision further down the line. The next 72 hours could be telling.
Where things stand with a few others
While that’s the extent of this weekend’s visitors, we wanted to touch on a few other recruitments this week as well.
And we’ll start with King William RB Demond Claiborne. As you could tell when reading our full update this week, Claiborne didn’t just have a good or great time on his visit; he had an amazing one. With a trip to Vandy still on the agenda, it’s hard to say exactly when this one will end but given that he’s picked a commitment date the chances are good that it won’t be much longer until the decision is made. In truth, we fully expect at this point that Claiborne will end up being a part of Virginia’s 2022 class but that may not actually come out until next month.
Ryan Baer, meanwhile, is coming off a very good OV to Virginia and is scheduled to be at Illinois this weekend. Our read on that one had been a little tough to land but it sure seems like, in talking to a few non-UVa sources, that the Cavaliers did a whole lot of heavy lifting in this one. The OL board is as stacked as it’s been in years and Baer is just the latest example of a kid the staff really likes who is now really liking them just as much.
The good news keeps coming, as we’ve heard UVa also did a great job with three-star in-state receiver Leon Haughton last weekend. Coming off an unofficial visit to Georgia this week, the Benedictine star is expected to be in Chapel Hill this weekend and then at Penn State to close out the month. Maybe the Heels or Nittany Lions blow him away but for right now we have a hard time seeing UVa as anything other than the most-likely choice.
That is not the case, however, with four-star Clover Hill DE Bryson Jennings. After cutting his list to a top five this week of Kentucky, North Carolina, Penn State, UVa, and Virginia Tech, we did some digging and feel pretty confident in saying that the Hokies have the lead here. Word we’ve heard is that they think he’s close to committing to Tech and any other visit plans beyond his trip to Blacksburg last week haven’t been made. It’s recruiting, after all, so anything is possible but right now, the tea leaves don’t look promising for UVa’s chances in this once.
That is it for this week, and as always, what’s said here, stays here!
Our thanks to MyPerfectFranchise for their support of CavsCorner:
Are you a displaced corporate executive or wanting to put your career in your own hands? Or are you an experienced entrepreneur wanting to diversify? Well, @Andy MyPerfectFranchise.Net can help! Having owned multiple franchises and businesses in his career, he uses his expertise to helps others find their American Dream through a very thorough and FREE consultation process. Call Andy, put your life and career in your own hands. It’s 100% free, so what do you have to lose?!!*
Call Andy at (404) 973-9901 today or email him: andy@myperfectfranchise.net
As always, what’s said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let’s go!
Slew of official visits on tap in Charlottesville
After landing three-star QB Davis Lane last weekend and then three-star DL AJ Holmes coming off his OV, the Cavaliers have gotten June off on the right foot and enter the second weekend of officials with some momentum. And that’s good news considering that of the four visit weekends this month, this projects to be among the biggest of the bunch.
There is no better place to start with this weekend’s visitors other than five-star Rivals100 offensive lineman Zach Rice. A Virginia legacy who is among the best at his position nationally, Rice has been the top target on the board since the board took shape many moons ago. The Lynchburg standout is coming off an unofficial visit to North Carolina—a team thought to be a legit contender— and an official visit to Ohio State—a team that many thought would be a bit on the outside looking in—heading into this trip to UVa. In talking to various sources, it certainly sounds like a muddy recruitment is even harder to break down right now. Simply put: Both Carolina and OSU impressed the heck out of the kid, which really means UVa’s visit weekend is even more of a big deal now than it was before. That’s even more critical given that from here he’s scheduled to take OVs this month to both Alabama and Notre Dame.
The Wahoos have always had a better odds in this thing than most have given them credit for but the reality is that in a recruitment like this, that still amounted to a puncher’s chance. If you’re looking for a confidence meter of sorts, there’s just too much uncertainty beyond UVa having made the top five and getting the OV, which is significant.
While there is no longer a real consensus around how this one plays out, what we do know is that Garett Tujague gets his chance this weekend to really show Rice and his family what UVa is all about and how integral he is to waht the Hoos have planned going forward.
Of course, Tujague will have his hands full this weekend with both four-star OL Fisher Anderson and three-star OL Jake Maikkula also taking their OVs.
Fresh off his visit to Northwestern, Anderson is an interesting one. The Rivals250 prospect from Tennessee saw the Wildcats on an “unofficial” unofficial not long before the dead period was lifted (much like he did UVa as well). Word is he’s still got trips lined up to both Carolina and Stanford, at least as of now. There are also potential visits down the road to others like Michigan, Penn State, and even home-state Tennessee. So, it seems like there’s still a good bit of runway left in his recruitment.
Cal and Duke, meanwhile, seem to still be the main competition for UVa when it comes to the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Maikkula. He was in Berkeley last weekend and is set to see Durham at the end of the month. The three-star lineman from Colorado (who is from the same HS as former Virginia standout Dillon Reinkensmeyer) might have the lowest ranking among the linemen coming this weekend but he’s someone that we’ve heard Tujague and Co. really like and have for a long time. Much in the way UVa handled Holmes last weekend (when there were other potential DT/DE guys on the board) this one will be interesting to watch. We would not be surprised if he pulled the trigger nor if he decided to wait things out a bit longer. Of the linemen, though, we feel like he’s the most likely to pop “early.”
Now, Lane won’t be the only commit in town for an official this weekend, as he’ll be joined by fellow UVa pledge Trey McDonald. That’s a smart play by Virginia in our estimation: Not only will Lane obviously help when it comes to his Liberty Christian teammate who will also be on Grounds but it’s good for the group to have a mix of commits and recruits alike. While most of the action is in the trenches this weekend, there are still several other targets expected and that should also provide for some potential fireworks.
A couple of weeks ago in this space we mentioned a few skill position guys in Amari Jackson, Tariq Watson, and Jaiven Plummer would be on their visits this weekend. That continues to be the case and we could see, if UVa is going to have a commitment this weekend, it being from this trio.
Like Anderson, Jackson is coming off his first official visit to Northwestern and his UVa trip will come before he heads out to Boston College next weekend. At this point, though, there haven’t been any other visits set and, with BC being a relatively new player, this one may well come down to the OVs between Northwestern and UVa.
Watson, meanwhile, has been turning all kinds of heads in recent weeks any time he’s been able to show off his speed. But this is one that Ricky Brumfield is going to want to shut down this weekend. A potential cornerback with good size, the Louisiana product is the type of playmaker UVa hasn’t signed with regularity at that position in recent classes.
And then there’s Plummer, a talented and speedy receiver from Episcopal. Coming off a visit to Rutgers, as of now he’s got two California trips lined up to finish out the month with visits to Stanford and Cal on the docket. Our read right now is that Bronco Mendenhall and his staff would really have to blow him away in order to get him to cancel those trips, especially since there had been talks of a decision further down the line. The next 72 hours could be telling.
Where things stand with a few others
While that’s the extent of this weekend’s visitors, we wanted to touch on a few other recruitments this week as well.
And we’ll start with King William RB Demond Claiborne. As you could tell when reading our full update this week, Claiborne didn’t just have a good or great time on his visit; he had an amazing one. With a trip to Vandy still on the agenda, it’s hard to say exactly when this one will end but given that he’s picked a commitment date the chances are good that it won’t be much longer until the decision is made. In truth, we fully expect at this point that Claiborne will end up being a part of Virginia’s 2022 class but that may not actually come out until next month.
Ryan Baer, meanwhile, is coming off a very good OV to Virginia and is scheduled to be at Illinois this weekend. Our read on that one had been a little tough to land but it sure seems like, in talking to a few non-UVa sources, that the Cavaliers did a whole lot of heavy lifting in this one. The OL board is as stacked as it’s been in years and Baer is just the latest example of a kid the staff really likes who is now really liking them just as much.
The good news keeps coming, as we’ve heard UVa also did a great job with three-star in-state receiver Leon Haughton last weekend. Coming off an unofficial visit to Georgia this week, the Benedictine star is expected to be in Chapel Hill this weekend and then at Penn State to close out the month. Maybe the Heels or Nittany Lions blow him away but for right now we have a hard time seeing UVa as anything other than the most-likely choice.
That is not the case, however, with four-star Clover Hill DE Bryson Jennings. After cutting his list to a top five this week of Kentucky, North Carolina, Penn State, UVa, and Virginia Tech, we did some digging and feel pretty confident in saying that the Hokies have the lead here. Word we’ve heard is that they think he’s close to committing to Tech and any other visit plans beyond his trip to Blacksburg last week haven’t been made. It’s recruiting, after all, so anything is possible but right now, the tea leaves don’t look promising for UVa’s chances in this once.
That is it for this week, and as always, what’s said here, stays here!
Our thanks to MyPerfectFranchise for their support of CavsCorner:
Are you a displaced corporate executive or wanting to put your career in your own hands? Or are you an experienced entrepreneur wanting to diversify? Well, @Andy MyPerfectFranchise.Net can help! Having owned multiple franchises and businesses in his career, he uses his expertise to helps others find their American Dream through a very thorough and FREE consultation process. Call Andy, put your life and career in your own hands. It’s 100% free, so what do you have to lose?!!*
Call Andy at (404) 973-9901 today or email him: andy@myperfectfranchise.net
