New Virginia Football Coach Tony Elliott Attempts To Sway Commits Ahead Of Early Signing Period

By: Chris Horne |

High among the list of priorities for new University of Virginia head football coach Tony Elliott is keeping as many of the Cavaliers’ recruiting class of 2022 intact. Hired last Friday and with the Early Signing Day starting on Wednesday, December 15 (it lasts through Friday, December 17), Coach Elliott has a challenge on his hands to convince these recruits to either sign early or, for those who are exploring other options, to wait until the Regular Signing Period to sign.

Hardy (red jersey, white helmet) is a key commitment for Virginia at a position of need (safety). Can Tony Elliott keep the Peach State standout in the fold following an official visit to UNC? ~ Photo credit: Jim Blackburn

Prior to Bronco Mendenhall’s resignation, Virginia had 15 commitments from high school senior prospects as well as a commitment from transfer wide receiver Devin Chandler. Since Mendenhall’s resignation …

– Three-star defensive lineman Anthony Holmes Jr. decommitted. The 6’2”, 285-pound Houston (TX) native has since announced scholarship offers from Minnesota and TCU. Where he goes from here is unclear.

– Three-star offensive lineman Joe Brown decommitted. Brown, a Utah native, has since committed to BYU.

– Three-star safety Will Hardy took an official visit to UNC this past weekend. Hardy visited Chapel Hill earlier this fall, but following a trip to UVA the weekend of the Notre Dame game the Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross, GA) standout reaffirmed his plans to sign with Virginia. Mendenhall’s resignation caused him to take a closer look at the Tar Heels.

– Three-star twins Dominique McKenzie (WR) and Marcus McKenzie (DB) were at BYU this past weekend on official visits. According to Cougs Zone, the brothers have now committed to BYU.

– Monday morning (December 13), Matoaca (VA) defensive end Keyshawn Burgos announced his decommitment to UVA.

Burgos tweeted just an hour earlier that he will sign on Wednesday. If this holds true, look for him to announce elsewhere soon. Virginia Tech, which hosted the 6’5″, 235-pound senior on an official the first weekend in December, would seem like the likely choice.

– Graham (Bluefield, VA) offensive tackle Brody Meadows, UVA’s most highly rated recruit in the class, is now considering a scholarship offer from Virginia Tech and several 247Sports analysts predict he will flip from the Hoos to the Hokies. Meadows tweeted that he will signing on Wednesday.

So, as of this writing, the following prospects/transfers are at least publicly committed to the Hoos: Quarterbacks Delaney Crawford and Davis Lane, running back Xavier Brown, wide receivers Devin Chandler (transfer), Dakota Twitty and Sean Wilson, tight end Karson Gay, Meadows, linebackers Stevie Bracey and Trey McDonald, and placekicker Will Bettridge. However, Hardy has not publicly decommitted but is obviously looking closely at the Tar Heels, Meadows could be considering a flip, and Bettridge no longer lists himself as a Virginia commit on social media.

Multiple outlets, including Rivals and 247Sports, report that Elliott met with UVA commits via Zoom on Sunday (December 13). Xavier Brown, Delaney Crawford, Karson Gay, Trey McDonald, Dakota Twitty and Sean Wilson appeared to reaffirm their decisions via Twitter last night.

2 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. When a ship springs a small leak, the rats are first to jump ship.
    Next year will be a bit rough, but much better times are coming for UVAFB (and BB).
    We now have two super Tony coaches.
    Our future is so bright, we gotta wear shades.

Comments are closed.