Some Virginia football class of 2018 recruits have more high school football left to play, while others are finished and preparing for the next level.
UVA’s lone quarterback commit, Wyatt Rector, has concluded his career at Leesburg High School (FL). He has, however, been selected to play in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association North-South Classic taking place on December 16.
Returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for most of his junior campaign, Rector was the catalyst of a Leesburg offense that averaged 34.5 points per game and scored over 40 points four times. According to MaxPreps.com, he completed 169 of 333 passes (50.8%) for 3,013 yards, 24 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, and rushed 131 times for 857 yards and 16 touchdowns. Rector had a long touchdown run of 66 yards.
Rector was sensational in back-to-back wins over Tavares and South Lake, totaling 56 completions in 83 attempts for 909 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Leesburg finished with a 4-6 record in 2017.
Virginia’s 2018 Class Update: The Wide Receivers
All three of Virginia’s wide receiver commits — Tavares Kelly, Ugo Obasi and Wooby Theork — will play in playoff games this week.
Kelly, who attends heralded prep power St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL), has gained 851 all-purpose yards so far this season according to MaxPreps.com. The 5’7” senior has 18 receptions for 264 yards and four touchdowns, 290 yards on kickoff returns with one touchdown, and 255 punt return yards. Kelly has a rushing score to his credit as well.
St. Thomas Aquinas hosts West Broward in a 7A regional semifinal this week.
Obasi, UVA’s tallest receiver prospect at 6’2”, 170 pounds, has helped Milford Mill (Baltimore, MD) to 10 straight wins (10-1 overall) heading into this week’s Class 3A North regional final against Edgewood. Obasi has promise as a cornerback on the next level; however, he told TheSabre.com he has primarily played receiver in his final high school campaign.
Obasi has about 700 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns on the year. He has a pair of interceptions on defense, too.
Like Kelly, the 5’10” Theork should help boost UVA’s special teams. Theork has returned two kickoffs for scores this season (per MaxPreps). He also has 14 catches for 232 yards and three scores. There was no bigger score than last week, when Theork hauled in a 28-yard touchdown reception in the final seconds to lift Naples (FL) to a thrilling 13-7 playoff victory over Port Charlotte.
Check out Theork’s heroics below. As a result, the Golden Eagles advance to meet Largo on November 17 in the Class 6A regional semifinals.
Offensive Line
Memorial (Houston, TX) had a disappointing 3-6 season, although the team concluded the year with two straight wins. Football was secondary to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in this area of the country, though.
North Allegheny (Wexford, PA) had a good season, finishing 8-4. Devine has potential on offense and defense but appears set to play offense for the Cavaliers.
Postgraduate transfer Haskins, in his first and only season at The Hun School (Princeton, N.J.), helped the team to an 8-1 overall record.
– Will Lawrence – 3-8
The Harding Academy of Memphis (TN) lost eight of 11 games in 2017.
Red Bank Catholic (Red Bank, N.J.) is 8-2 heading into its Thanksgiving matchup with DePaul. The season is over beyond this game, however, as Red Bank Catholic fell to St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.) in playoff action last week. McNamara, who was featured in this TheSabre.com EDGE article by Shane Mettlen, has potential on both sides of the line but believes Coach Mendenhall and company are leaning towards playing him at offensive tackle.
Weisz and his Benjamin School (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) teammates are 8-2 heading into this week’s playoff matchup versus Chaminade-Madonna.
Defensive Linemen
Virginia’s newest commitment, defensive tackle Jordan Redmond, has 37 tackles including nine sacks to his credit in 2017 (per MaxPreps). Osceola (Kissimmee, FL), which is undefeated in 10 games, takes on Dr. Phillips in playoff action this week.
Kahuku (HI) faces St. Louis this weekend with a state championship on the line. ScoringLive.com credits the 6’3”, 260-pound Reed with 50 tackles including 21.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks in this his senior season. Kahuku has compiled an 11-1 overall record.
Like Redmond, Reed projects as a nose tackle at Virginia.
Linebacker
Garrett’s interception helped The Peddie School (Hightstown, N.J.) escape Blair with a 19-17 win on November 4. This was the final game of 2017 for Peddie, which won seven times and lost twice.
Driving deep into Peddie territory late in the 4th quarter, Blair’s quarterback was picked off by Garrett at the Peddie 1 yard line. Click here to read the full game story.
Garrett has the physical makeup of a hybrid/safety type for the Cavaliers, depending on how he develops.
The Collins Hill (Suwanee, GA) senior finished the 2017 campaign with 55 tackles (32 solo), six tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries, one sack, one pass deflection and one fumble recovery. Collins Hill went 6-5, losing to Milton in the first round of the playoffs.
Potomac Falls (Sterling, VA) went 5-6 in 2017, losing to top program Tuscarora twice to finish the season. Misch, a linebacker in high school, could play linebacker or defensive end at Virginia.
Avalon (Gaithersburg, VA) went 3-9 in 2017. The 6’4” Taylor needs to bulk up but brings considerable speed and athleticism to the outside linebacker position.
Defensive Backs
– DJ Brown
Brown plays for USA Today Super 25 program St. John’s (Washington, D.C.), which will face Gonzaga in the WCAC postseason championship this weekend. The 6’2” senior has excellent potential as a cornerback in college, and given UVA’s injury problems at that position, could be one to watch to play next season.
White has been a key contributor on offense (wide receiver) and defense for Landstown (Virginia Beach, VA), which is undefeated and ranked no. 1 in the Group 6A South, Conference 1 & 2 playoffs. Landstown takes on Woodside on November 17. The winner of this game will meet the winner of Ocean Lakes and Oscar Smith the following week.
Special Teams
The talented placekicker helped Seneca (S.C.) to an 8-4 overall record. The season came to an end last weekend with a loss in the second round of the playoffs.
