The Virginia football team’s got rolling on the high school recruiting front last week. This week, it dove into the transfer portal for a commitment too. Ethan Sipe, a Dartmouth offensive lineman, made the call for the Cavaliers.
Sipe made the announcement on social media after making his choice earlier this week.
Committed. @UVAFootball
Thrilled to announce my commitment to the University of Virginia. pic.twitter.com/tbheL8u5yF— Ethan Sipe (@ethan_sipe) May 1, 2024
Sipe’s commitment provides important depth up front for the Hoos. While Virginia does have experience returning on the offensive line with McKale Boley, Noah Josey, Brian Stevens, Ty Furnish, Blake Steen, Ugonna Nnanna, and Jimmy Christ all starting games last season, injuries have been a challenge to the unit’s depth. Most of those players sat out this spring after offseason surgeries and Drake Metcalf, a winter transfer portal pickup from Central Florida, went down with an achilles injury during the practice as well. His surgery recovery timetable will likely extend into the season.
That sent UVA back into the transfer market where it had looked at Sipe previously. The fifth-year senior will come to Virginia with two years of eligibility remaining after the Ivy League did not play in 2020 and a redshirt season in 2021.
Sipe appeared as part of the regular rotation in 20 games the past two seasons. The 6’5”, 295-pound lineman played mostly tackle. In 2022, the Big Green allowed 15 sacks to rank in the top 25 in the Football Championship Subdivision. Last season, they improved on that already strong mark by allowing only 5 sacks in 10 games, which ranked No. 1 nationally at the FCS level.
Virginia allowed 34 and 43 sacks the last two seasons, which ranked 92nd and 123rd in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Hoos also want to establish a better running attack. That means the retooling and development of the O-Line remains a key focus as Terry Heffernan enters his second season as the position coach.
Sipe will join that effort as a graduate transfer once he completes his degree this spring at Dartmouth. He chose the Big Green out of Ensworth School in Tennessee. The Nashville native also wrestled in high school. He had transfer offers from Old Dominion, Middle Tennessee State, UTEP, and others plus preferred walk-on offers from Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and Kansas State.
Highlights for Sipe can be found on his Twitter profile here.
