“Crazy” Recruitment Ends With John Kirven Still A Cavalier

Woodberry Forest (VA) rising senior tight end/defensive end John Kirven describes his recruitment as “kind of a crazy experience, to be honest.”

The 6’5”, 240-pound prospect has good reason to feel the way he does. He verbally committed to the University of Virginia last October, accepting a scholarship offer as a tight end prospect from then Cavalier head coach Mike London. London resigned in late November, paving the way for Bronco Mendenhall to take the reigns as UVA’s head coach the following month.

Tight end is not a position Mendenhall is recruiting in the class of 2017, but he expressed interest in Kirven as a defensive end. Kirven, though, has never played on defense on the high school level and thus had to attend a Virginia one-day camp this year to solidify a scholarship from the former BYU head coach. He did just that, earning the offer on June 11.

“I kept fighting,” Kirven said, recalling his performance at the June 11 Virginia Elite Camp. “I actually got sick in the middle of camp and kept going. I just got worked hard. Coach Mendenhall made it very clear to me that I earned the offer at camp, meaning my toughness and grit got me the offer. He also said I’m one of three players he has ever picked out of warmups and said he wanted to offer. That kind of stood out and showed me I really earned it.”

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