Wednesday marked National Signing Day for the early signing period of Division 1 football. Virginia received National Letters of Intent from 18 total recruits. For UVA, 13 of the signees are currently seniors in high school, while the remaining 5 come from the transfer portal.
With the added wrinkle of the portal now regularly in play, working both high school recruiting and portal recruiting is a major part of roster management. When addressing the media, Cavalier coach Tony Elliott talked about how he wanted to strike a balance between transfer players and high school recruits.
“I’ve said from day one I want to be a developmental program, meaning that the bulk of your guys are going to be high school guys that you recruit and then you develop and they become the good players over time,” Elliott said. “They also help you establish the culture and the environment. … We want to be a developmental program and then supplement through the transfer portal as needed. And so that’s how we strike the balance. And that’s the approach that we take.”
With 2/3 of the incoming class being high schoolers, it seems Coach Elliott got what he wanted. Let’s take a closer look at those 13 individuals. Check out more on the 5 transfers here.
Virginia 2024 Recruits
- Player: Dane Wleklinski
- Position: Offensive Tackle
- Height/Weight: 6’6”/280
- Ranking (Position; State): #141 OT; #74 in Ohio
- School: Dublin Jerome High School (Dublin, OH)
- Notes: The Ohio native picked Virginia over schools like Duke and West Virginia.
- Player: KeShawn Adams
- Position: Safety
- Height/Weight: 6’1”/185
- Ranking (Position; State): #135 S; #8 in Connecticut
- School: Avon Old Farms (Avon, CT)
- Notes: Was a leader for Avon Old Farms on defense. Selected to the Second Team All-NESPAC (New England Preparatory School Athletic Council), and the First Team All-Founders League. Chose UVA over West Virginia and fellow ACC opponent Syracuse.
- Player: Benjamin York
- Position: Offensive Tackle
- Height/Weight: 6’5”/ 285
- Ranking (Position; State): #97 OT; #30 in Virginia
- School: Lake Braddock Secondary School (Burke, VA)
- Notes: Recognized as one of the top offensive tackles in the state of Virginia. Had a strong senior season. As a result, was selected to the First Team All-Region, First Team All-Met (Washington Post), and Second Team All-State.
- Player: Kevon Gray
- Position: Cornerback
- Height/Weight: 6’1”/170
- Ranking (Position; State): #109 CB; #134 in Georgia
- School: Creekside High School (Fairburn, GA)
- Notes: Gray will have to put on some weight when he arrives in Charlottesville, but countless scouts can see his potential. The cornerback from Georgia decided on UVA after receiving offers from Louisville, Florida State, Colorado, and seven other Power Five programs.
- Player: Ethan Minter
- Position: Athlete
- Height/Weight: 6’0”/185
- Ranking (Position; State): #203 ATH; #45 in Virginia
- School: Thomas Dale High School (Chester, VA)
- Notes: The Virginia native played quarterback for his high school, setting countless school records in the process. Unfortunately, he missed the bulk of his senior season due to an injury. As someone who played on both sides of the ball, it is currently unclear as to where Minter will line up for the Cavaliers.
- Player: Jewett Hayes
- Position: Edge Rusher
- Height/Weight: 6’4”/220
- Ranking (Position; State): #94 EDGE; #55 in OH
- School: Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, OH)
- Notes: Hayes is an impressive edge rusher who garnered quite a bit of attention after his junior season. He ultimately chose Virginia over the likes of Illinois and Iowa. Like Gray, he’ll have to bulk up when he arrives on Grounds, but there is a lot of upside to get excited about.
- Player: Tyler Simmons
- Position: Edge Rusher
- Height/Weight: 6’3”/265
- Ranking (Position; State): #143 EDGE; #151 in FL
- School: Windermere Preparatory School (Windermere, FL)
- Notes: The big defensive end from Florida had a great senior season, capping it off by being named to the All-District First Team. Simmons brings a combination of speed and size. Despite his larger stature, Simmons runs a 4.60 40-yard dash. The Central Florida product had a ton of offers, including schools like Kansas, Miami, South Carolina, and more.
- Player: Kameron Courtney
- Position: Athlete
- Height/Weight: 6’0”/180
- Ranking (Position; State): #84 ATH; #20 in Virginia
- School: Freedom High School (Woodbridge, VA)
- Notes: Originally headed to Indiana, Courtney is an in-state player who just verbally committed on the 19th (Tuesday) before officially signing. The two-way high school standout also had offers from North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia Tech, and others. At Freedom, Courtney especially excelled as a defensive back, making First-Team All-Met. Virginia wide receivers coach Adam Mims was his primary recruiter, so it is possible he focuses on the offensive side of the ball.
- Player: Triston Ward
- Position: Wide Receiver
- Height/Weight: 6’1”/ 185
- Ranking (Position; State): #192 WR; #8 in MA
- School: Deerfield Academy (Deerfield, MA)
- Notes: The Cavaliers were able to beat out a trio of ACC schools (Boston College, Pitt, and Duke) in order to land the wideout from Deerfield. Ward is exceptionally good after the catch. He played a key role in Deerfield’s NESPAC Championship run.
- Player: Grant Ellinger
- Position: Interior Offensive Lineman
- Height/Weight: 6’4”/270
- Ranking (Position; State): #81 IOL; #26 in IL
- School: Naperville Central High School (Naperville, IL)
- Notes: Ellinger has been a verbal commit since this past summer. The Hoos were able to land the talented guard after it was unknown whether or not he would leave the midwest for college. Ultimately, Ellinger decided on Virginia, who’s main competition was the Kansas Jayhawks.
- Player: Myles Brown
- Position: Linebacker
- Height/Weight: 6’3”/195
- Ranking (Position; State): #142 LB; #19 in SC
- School: Ridge View High School (Columbia, SC)
- Notes: Brown is an All-State linebacker from South Carolina. Virginia was his only Power Five offer, but don’t let that fool you. Brown is a versatile linebacker who can both stop the run, and drop back into coverage.
- Player: Chase Morrison
- Position: Edge rusher
- Height/Weight: 6’4”/ 235
- Ranking (Position; State): #86 EDGE; #138 in GA
- School: Roswell High School (Roswell, GA)
- Notes: Morrison is the highest ranked of the three edge rushers in the 2024 class. As a junior in 2022, he was named the Region 7 player of the year in Georgia. Virginia was able to beat out fellow ACC school Duke.
- Player: John Rogers
- Position: Tight End
- Height/Weight: 6’4”/ 220
- Ranking (Position; State): #44 TE; #13 in VA
- School: Episcopal High School (Alexandria, VA)
- Notes: Arguably the most highly anticipated of the recruits is Rogers, as he is the highest ranked player from in the state. The tight end from Episcopal High School chose Virginia over a number of FCS schools. Surprisingly, Virginia was his only Power Five offer. With a 4.56 40, Rogers is a versatile tight end who could see playing time early in his career.
Summary
There were no real surprises for the Cavaliers on signing day – 11 of the 13 recruits have been verbally committed for some time now, with Virginia adding Brown midseason and Courtney just a few days ago after he decommitted from Indiana. There were hopes that Virginia could pull some last second miracles and possibly land either cornerback Amare Sanders or athlete Greg Smith III, but both young men ultimately chose elsewhere (Nebraska and Florida).
Still, 7 of Wednesday’s signees will join the Cavaliers next month: Minter: Hayes, Morrison, Adams, Brown, Ellinger, and Courtney. That’s more than half of the high school class. Coach Elliott discussed the importance of getting recruits to campus in January.
“It allows them to get acclimated academically,” Elliott said. “When you’re talking about from the player perspective, they get acclimated in the spring, they get a chance to go through 15 practices, they get the winter workouts. It’s huge. And so by the time you actually hit the grass in the fall, it’s almost like they’ve had a year under their belt, so that transition doesn’t take as much time.”
It is always really tough for a young player to break into the starting lineup or receive any type of playing time. A lot of the time, injuries to older, more experienced players will push true freshmen into these types of roles. This past season, Virginia had to rely on a few true freshmen, quarterback Anthony Colandrea and linebacker Kam Robinson in particular. Robinson likely would have played regardless of who lined up at his position, while the plan to redshirt Colandrea changed with a second late-season injury to Tony Muskett.
When asked about who he could see potentially getting playing time in 2024, Elliott highlighted Adams, Courtney, and Simmons in particular.
“When I look at the list of guys, I’m excited about Keke [Keyshawn] Adams,” Elliott said. “He’s a guy on the back end. … I think Kam Courtney is a guy that can contribute both in the return game and then at receiver. Really excited about what he brings coming from a championship caliber program. … Tyler Simmons is a guy that I could see kind of like Jason Hammond last year. As we get into the season, being a guy that could be a rotational guy. You never know, but I think if I had to say, I’d say Kam Courtney, Keke, and then possibly Tyler Simmons as I project.”
Courtney is a player in particular that the Virginia coaching staff really liked. The Hoos recruited him heavily before he originally committed to Indiana. Coach Elliott has made an emphasis on trying to keep the best Virginia high school players in state and come to UVA. When the opportunity presented itself after a coaching change at Indiana, he and the rest of the staff were really excited to get another crack at Courtney, who has won back-to-back state titles.
“Not only are you getting the talent, but you’re also getting the championship character and somebody that can speak to what it takes and what it’s like,” Elliott said. “It’s a huge get, he’s a very versatile guy too. He can play a lot of positions. Obviously we’re going to start him at wideout, but he could play corner, he could play kick returner, and he’s just a football player.”
Recently, current Virginia players Kam Butler and Chico Bennett Jr. have announced that they will be returning for the 2024 season. This will really allow both Morrison and Hayes to take time developing and hitting the weightroom. Coach Elliott is really excited about this opportunity.
“So I think with both of those guys, what you like is the upside and the potential,” Elliott said. “So you have some really, really good raw materials that you can kind of shape into some really good players when it’s all said and done. So the upside is what you really like, the athleticism and then their frame and the projection on how big their frames can get.”
As for addressing positional needs, cornerback was one area of concern. Coach Elliott himself stated that Virginia will need to continue to recruit at this position heading into the second signing day in February. While Kevon Gray was a standout in high school, at just 170 pounds, he needs to spend time getting bigger. It would be tough to expect a guy like him to be ready to play Division 1 football come fall 2024.
The offensive line was a glaring issue for the Cavaliers too. Brian Stevens announced that he will be returning for the 2024 season, and Virginia will be adding transfer Drake Metcalf from Central Florida to bolster the interior of the line. Sophomores McKale Boley and Blake Steen both received significant playing time in 2023. What this all means is the three incoming linemen should have time to develop. There should be no pressure on them to play right away.
Overall, the Virginia coaching staff seems happy with the incoming class. There is a solid balance between high school recruits (13) and transfers (5). As mentioned earlier, this is exactly what Coach Elliott is looking for in terms of roster management.
One thing to look out for is while there is a ton of potential and upside with the incoming class, that also means they require a lot of time and work to develop. That’s particularly important to keep in mind as 247 Sports ranks the class at No. 67 nationally and 16th among the 17 ACC schools. Coach Elliott obviously has a lot of faith in his staff and believes they can develop these players enough to the point where they can contribute in the next 2-3 years. It’ll be interesting to see how many of these recruits pan out and become starters or contributors or how many never reach the field for the Cavaliers.
