Blake Steen suspected that most of the bigger schools he’d heard from were only recruiting him in hopes of landing his older brother from the transfer portal. But something felt different about the interest from Virginia.

Steen first sensed it when UVa offensive line coach Garett Tujague almost missed a flight to pay him a visit at home a few weeks ago. He got a better idea while spending last weekend in Charlottesville, a visit that was highlighted by a UVa offer.

Like other Power Five programs, UVa is admittedly also interested Tyler Steen, currently in the transfer portal after three seasons as a starter on the Vanderbilt offensive line, also visited last weekend. But Tujague made it clear that they wanted Blake regardless of where his older brother ended up.

“There weren’t too many schools looking at me,” Steen told CavsCorner, “but Virginia gave me a chance.”

Vanderbilt had offered Steen a walk-on spot in late December. He saw an up-tick in his recruiting as the February Signing Day approached, picking up mid-January offers from Jackson State, New Mexico State and Tennessee State. UVa first entered the picture around that same time.

Tujague was in Florida to visit with another St. Thomas Aquinas offensive lineman, Dawson Alters, when he paid Steen that last-minute visit before hustling to the airport. Alters, who had previously been committed to walk on at Vanderbilt, flipped to UVa last week after picking up an offer and visiting the school.

At STA, Steen and Alters lined up side-by-side (Alters at center and Steen at right guard) on an offensive line that helped pave the way for a 14-1 season that ended with the 7A state championship. Knowing of Tujague’s interest in Steen, Alters started working on his teammate with the idea of joining him in Charlottesville.

“He was recruiting me before he committed,” Steen said. “He didn’t need to recruit me that hard because at the time I had zero stars and three offers and was stressing over college. But he still went after me hard and I really appreciate him from that.”

The gesture of Tujague almost missing his flight resonated with Steen. So did the opportunity to play football at the Power Five level. By the time the official offer was extended on Sunday, his mind was already made up. He announced his commitment on Monday and signed with UVa on Wednesday.

“You can tell Virginia is a family oriented program and the O-line is a very close unit,” Steen said. “And [head coach Tony Elliott] is a coach who is about more than football, and cares about the type of men we grow up to be. And the coaching staff is the same.”

Steen was the final player to join the 2022 UVa recruiting class finalized by Elliott, the former Clemson offensive coordinator who was hired by the school just days before the December Signing Day. The Hoos failed to add any offensive linemen during the early signing period then lost their top six linemen from last year’s roster, with four departing via the transfer portal, another entering the NFL Draft and the sixth running out of eligibility.

Alters also signed with UVa, as did tackles McKale Boley and Houston Curry and guards Snoop Amaama and Noah DeMeritt. They also added a pair of grad transfers who each have two years of eligibility, with John Paul Flores (Dartmouth) and Mac Hollensteiner (Georgetown) both set to join the program this summer.

Tyler Steen, who spent 2019 as Vanderbilt’s starter at right tackle and the past two years as the starting left tackle, remains a target in the portal. He also has two years remaining, meaning he’d get to spend a pair of seasons in Charlottesville with his younger brother if he chose UVa.

“Playing with him would be a new experience and I think we would push each other too,” said Blake, “[but] I don’t know when he’s going to make his decision.”