Catching you up on some of the Virginia football recruiting news from this week…
Another De-commitment
Hallandale (FL) wide receiver Neru N’Shaka announced on Wednesday this week that he was de-committing from Virginia. The decision comes just several days after the 5’10”, 175-pound senior announcing that he had received a scholarship offer from Syracuse.
Might UVA lose a second class of 2016 commitment from the state of Florida to the ACC-rival Orange? It looks likely. Dillard (Fort Lauderdale, FL) linebacker Kenneth Ruff flipped from the Cavaliers to the Orange last weekend. N’Shaka and Ruff were both recruited to Virginia by assistant coach Chris Beatty, who is now on staff at Syracuse.
N’Shaka said he has not ruled out Virginia; however, as of two days ago he had not heard from any UVA coach since Bronco Mendenhall was introduced on December 4. At this point, it appears both parties will go their separate ways.
With N’Shaka and Ruff gone, Virginia now has 25 verbal commitments in the class of 2016. Tight end Christian Baumgardner, place-kicker Holland Corbett, tailback Tre Harbison and linebacker/defensive end Matt Terrell have signed grant-in-aids with UVA with the intention of enrolling next month, so there is room for Coach Mendenhall and company to add to the class of 2016.
Grant Solid?
In the week following Mendenhall’s introduction as Virginia football’s new coach, Courtland (Spotsylvania, VA) defensive back Nick Grant indicated that he was keeping his college options open. At the time this was reported, the 6’2″, 185-pound senior had yet to hear from Mendenhall. Well, Taft Coghill of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reports that new Virginia defensive backs coach Nick Howell has reached out to Grant.
According to the report, which you can read by clicking here, Grant remains solid at this point but wants to meet with Howell before determining if he will stick with his commitment or consider other options.
New Class of 2016 Offer Goes Out
6’4″, 300-pound center/offensive guard Toleafoa Auwae, a senior out of Kapolei (HI), announced through Twitter that he has received a scholarship offer from UVA.
Auwae, who goes by Sean, originally committed to UCLA but backed off of that pledge on November 23. Two days ago, he announced he had narrowed his list to Hawaii, Louisville and Vanderbilt. He reportedly made an official visit to Vandy in November.
Bronco Mendenhall recruited Auwae while with BYU, extending a scholarship offer in April of 2015. He will have to hope the 247Sports 4-star recruit gives the Hoos a look in January.
