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Mike London spoke with the media about the class of signees. |
Virginia’s first recruiting class under new head coach Mike London netted 17 players, seven of which hail from the Commonwealth. The mood in the pressroom on Signing Day was optimistic. London came into the job with unofficial commitments from 13 players. He lost one but added five, giving Wahoo fans something else to look forward to with the regime change.
“When I got here, there were 13 that were already committed, and it was to the great accomplishments of Anthony Poindexter and Bob Price to keep these commitments alive and made sure those young men stayed committed to the University,” London said. He described himself as, “Excited about the opportunity. Excited with the young men that are going to be members of this program. Had a chance to go see them and visit them, be in their homes, at their schools, had a chance to talk to them. They sound like they’re ready to go. So I’m excited about these guys. Ready to move forward.”
The official list of recruits, provided by the Virginia Athletics Department, is as follows:
- Pablo Alvarez , S/WR, 6-3, 190, Coral Gables, Fla., Belen Jesuit Prep
- Chris Brathwaite , LB/DL, 6-1, 250, Brooklyn, N.Y., Holy Cross HS
- Ryan Cobb , LB/FB, 6-1, 220, Saddle River, N.J., Don Bosco Prep
- Henry Coley , LB, 6-2, 230, Virginia Beach, Va., Bayside HS
- Conner Davis , OL, 6-5, 255, Henrico, Va., Deep Run HS
- Miles Gooch , QB/ATH, 6-3, 210, Decatur, Ga., Towers HS
- Stephen Lawe , OL/DL, 6-5, 285, Norfolk, Va., Maury HS
- Jake McGee , QB/ATH, 6-5, 210, Richmond, Va., Collegiate School
- Morgan Moses, OL, 6-6, 336, Richmond, Va., Meadowbrook HS/Fork Union Military
- Kevin Parks , RB, 5-8, 195, Salisbury, N.C., West Rowan HS
- Michael Rocco, QB/ATH, 6-3, 205, Lynchburg, Va., Liberty Christian Academy
- Earl “EJ” Scott, WR/DB, 5-11, 170, Ellicott City, Md., Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Khalek Shepherd , DB/WR, 5-8, 175, Upper Marlboro, Md., Gwynn Park
- Michael Strauss , QB, 6-2, 204, Key Biscayne, Fla., Gulliver Prep
- Zach Swanson, TE, 6-6, 225, Kady, TX, Kady High School
- Rijo Walker , CB, 5-10, 170, Hampton, Va., Bethel HS
- Cody Wallace , OL, 6-4, 265, Moorestown, N.J., Moorestown HS/Fork Union Military
Wallace and Moses were members of the recruiting class of 2009. Both athletes spent a year at Fork Union. Wallace was one credit short of being declared eligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse, and Moses did not have the scores needed to qualify.
Moses is by far the most highly anticipated arrival. Formerly a “four-star” Rivals.com and Scout.com recruit coming out of Meadowbrook High School, his deferred admission to the University set fans and coaches alike on edge. This offseason, several high-profile programs, such as LSU, made a push for Moses to de-commit from Virginia. Happily, Moses’ loyalties stayed with the University and he remains a Wahoo. He brings considerable size and quickness to the offensive line, which will lose valuable experience with fifth-year senior Will Barker moving on to pursue a professional career.
Compared to the 6’6″ Moses, 5’8″ RB Kevin Parks may not look like much in the way of physical presence, but his numbers are staggering. He holds the North Carolina state record for career rushing yards in high school with 10,895. Parks was just shy of setting the national record; his career yardage puts him in third-place all-time. He did set the national record for most career attempts with 1,370. His small stature has raised a few eyebrows, but Coach London remains firm in his appreciation of Parks’ talents.
“I look at the Pro Bowl. I saw a bunch of 5’9″ running backs having a phenomenal day there,” London said in defense of his diminutive back. “That’s probably one of the things people have talked about, his size. He’s on a mission, a man on a mission. I’m glad he’s on our team so he can prove his mission.”
London is quickly building a reputation as a skilled recruiter; he signed four players who had previous commitments to other schools. Quarterbacks Jake McGee and Michael Strauss both chose Virginia after verbally committing to other schools. His focus has been on recruiting personnel to fit the scheme, rather than concentrating solely on rankings and ratings. Wahoo fans also will be glad to see that London is taking a greater interest in areas previously under-recruited by the University. He is committed to establishing new relationships in addition to maintaining close ties with traditional recruiting grounds.
“I know there’s a lot of players out there that have outstanding qualities and skills, which people that are ranking classes or players would assign those stars to them,” London said. “But, you know, one man’s five-star is another man’s one-star. So I think it has to fit the ‘who’ that you’re recruiting.”
