ACC Recruiting Breakdowns: Virginia Wahoo fish

Well, here I am reviewing the latest class from the defending Coastal champs. Looks like a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and again...or is it a blind wahoo swims up on a bait fish? I don't know.

I'm actually really interested in looking at UVA. They were faced with many of the same challenges on the recruiting trail this cycle that many ACC teams were: the state of Virginia was just not very deep and UNC did more damage in North Carolina than usual. This resulted in UVA singing more players from Louisiana (3) than Virginia (2). It wasn't just the Hokies.

Here's UVA's breakdown:

2020 Class:
ACC Rank: 9
National Rank: 48
# of Signees: 17
Average Recruit Rating: 0.8618
Top Recruit: Andrew Gentry, OT, Littleton CO (0.9630)

Biggest Need: Defensive Backs
In my first breakdown, I said Syracuse was the most quarterback dependent program in the ACC. UVA may be second. Bryce Perkins elevated that team to a different level the past two seasons. Last year's team was not a 9 win talented team, but they had a player at quarterback that was simply sensational.

That's the story of many programs. But you can't rely on a gamechanger like that consistently. Perkins is the kind of talent that, in modern football, you either always recruit or you stumble upon.

If you're UVA and you see Trevor Lawrence, Sam Howell, Jamie Newman, and Hendon Hooker + Dematrius Davis on your schedule for the next 2-3 years, you better be able to defend the pass. Against those QB's (excluding Jamie Newman whom the Wahoos did not play) UVA allowed an average 322 yards passing per game. They also let up 283 to Liberty. If you stayed away from Bryce Hall, you were golden.

In this class, UVA signed 3 DB's. Elijah Gaines (0.8776) is the highest rated of those three. He has really good size for a corner at 6'2" 193lbs. and was the 13th ranked player in Virginia.
UVA will need some younger guys to step up and play major minutes. Whether those guys have actually improved is a whole different story.

Most Exciting Recruit: Lavel Davis, WR, Dorchester SC (0.8647)
A 6'6" wideout? Sign me up. Davis had a stellar 2018 season where he hauled in 70 catches for over 1000 yards and 15 touchdowns. He slid a bit last season, however. Whether that'd due to an injury, bracket coverage, or something else I have no idea. Davis had offers from Oregon and Georgia Tech, with serious interest from Clemson and South Carolina.

If they can use him correctly, Davis could be a matchup nightmare for any defense. Those are the kind of players you need if you want to punch above your weight. I wouldn't be surprised if Davis gets on the field in some redzone situations this year, even though UVA has a crowded WR room.

Early Contributor: Jonathan Horton, EDGE, Baton Rouge LA (0.8983)
One of the three aforementioned Bayou recruits, Horton has the freakish athleticism and size to make any football coach feel a little giddy. At 6'5" 215lbs, he looks more like a basketball player than a football player. That's because he kind of is. His senior season was his first ever time on a football field.

While that may scare some away, Horton showed great aggressiveness and speed last season. He'll need to add some weight to be able to withstand ACC football, but all the tools are there.

Horton has versatility at the edge spot as a pass rusher and coverage guy in the flats. UVA like to implement a 3-4-4 defense, and Horton's skillset fits that perfectly. His versatility will get him on the field early, but Horton has the natural talent to hear his name called on draft night one day.

Transfer Portal:
UVA got a really nice addition to the offense this spring when they bagged former Hopewell HS star RB Ronnie Walker. Walker, brother of current Hopewell star RB TreVeyon Henderson, will add an instant spark to the offense that will so desperately need to replace playmakers. He will add a veteran presence to an offense that will be missing 4 star players. At Indiana, Walker showed flashes, but never really became the feature back.

Writer's Note:
Andrew Gentry will be on his 2-year Mormon mission before he attends UVA. So see ya soon, big fella!

Sam's Grade: B-
For UVA's recent standards, this is a good class. It has some splashes with some freak athletes mixed in. That's about what we've come to expect.

But going into his 5th year, shouldn't we start to expect more from Bronco Mendenhall? 48th in the country is in the bottom third of Power 5 teams, with only one player in the top 300. You don't expect UVA to crack the top third or even half of Power 5 recruiting, but this is just a little disappointing coming off all the hype from last season. Also, take into consideration that it will be at least 2 years before stud lineman Andrew Gentry gets on the field, and it's looking like a very bleh class. At the end of the day, UVA is too good of a school with too many resources in too good of a recruiting location to be a bottom third recruiter.

ACC Grades:
Syracuse – C
Boston College – B
Pittsburgh – B+
Louisville – B-
Virginia – B-