Virginia football announced not one, but two graduate transfer wide receivers in an official press release on Tuesday (April 30).
Former University of Richmond star Dejon Brissett, who announced his verbal commitment to the Cavaliers on Monday (April 29), was revealed to have signed grant-in-aid papers with Virginia. Joining the Mississauga, Ontario, Canada native is former Arizona State wideout Terrell Chatman, who has also signed grant-in-aid papers with Virginia football.
Brissett and Chatman are both immediately eligible to play next season. Each has just one year of eligibility remaining. Meanwhile, Virginia will welcome a third grad-transfer this summer, when former Penn State offensive lineman Alex Gellerstedt arrives on Grounds. Gellerstedt is a grad-transfer who has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Brissett, who measures in at 6’2”, 190 pounds, played four seasons with the Spiders. After totaling just seven catches for 87 yards and one touchdown in 19 games his true freshman and sophomore seasons combined, he flourished as a junior in 2017, finishing with 63 catches for 896 yards and seven touchdowns on his way to earning All-CAA First Team honors.
An ankle injury limited Brissett to just three games as a senior last season. He played well in those three games, however, totaling 16 receptions for 304 yards and a touchdown as well as 206 yards and a touchdown on four kickoff returns.
Chatman brings great size at 6’4”, 193 pounds. As part of the same Arizona State recruiting class (the class of 2015) as current Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana native redshirted his freshman year, played in only three games as a redshirt freshman in 2016, and totaled one catch for eight yards in seven games his redshirt sophomore campaign. As a redshirt junior last season, Chatman had three receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown in three games played.
VirginiaSports.com notes that Chatman was roommates with Perkins while the two were at Arizona State.
UVA is seeking to replace Olamide Zaccheaus, who led the Hoos in receptions (93), receiving yards (1,058), and receiving touchdowns (9) last season. Four of the Cavaliers’ returning receivers reached double-digit receptions in 2018 – Hasise Dubois (52 receptions, 578 yards, 5 TDs), Joe Reed (25 receptions, 465 yards, 7 TDs), Terrell Jana (11 receptions, 151 yards, 1 TD), and Tavares Kelly (10 receptions, 121 yards).
Of UVA’s proven returning wideouts, only one (Dubois at 6’3”) measures in above 6’1”. The Hoos added former Cavalier baseball player Jalen Harrison, who is 6’3″, to the roster this spring and landed more size at receiver on the recruiting trail with 6’3” Dorien Goddard, who enrolled in January and took part in 2019 spring practice, as well as incoming freshmen 6’5” Nathaniel Beal III and 6’2” Dontayvion Wicks. However, head coach Bronco Mendenhall has open about his desire to add experienced receivers with size to the 2019 season roster.
