Elliott's energy drew Stanford transfer Fox to UVa
Andres Fox is eager to get to work at Virginia. He just has some unfinished business to tend to at Stanford first.
Three weeks remain in the current academic quarter at Stanford. The spring quarter begins the final week in March and runs through early June. Once that academic workload is complete, Fox will head to UVa as a graduate transfer linebacker with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Fox confirmed this weekend that he’d be joining the revamped UVa defense for next season. But first, as he told CavsCorner after discussing that decision, “I’m about to go in here and study.”
It was the school’s academic reputation that drew Fox to Stanford as a three-star edge rusher coming out of Mobile (AL) Christian in 2018. Alabama, Auburn and LSU were among the more than two dozen schools who offered Fox. He picked Stanford on Signing Day in December 2017.
Four years later, Fox found himself overwhelmed by the recruiting process for a second time. He entered the transfer portal in early December after appearing in 23 games in his time at Stanford. When asked what he was looking for at his next school, Fox replied bluntly, “a better relationship with my coaches.”
One of the coaches he heard from in the portal was newly-hired UVa head coach Tony Elliott, who pitched the idea of adding a graduate degree from Virginia to his soon-completed psychology degree from Stanford. Fox hadn’t been recruited by the previous UVa coaching staff in high school; nor was he offered by Clemson, where Elliott had been the offensive coordinator. But the coach’s energy resonated.
UVa offered in late December. Fox visited the school a few weeks later. It was the only visit he made during his time in the portal.
“I told Coach Elliott that they were No. 1 when I went into his office,” Fox recalled.
Fox met with most of the Hoos’ new defensive staff while on that visit, though John Rudzinski, who’d just been hired as defensive coordinator a few days earlier, was not yet in town. He has remained in communication with those coaches since that weekend, including Rudzinski, who is taking over the UVa defense after four seasons as DC at Air Force.
“I talked to him a bunch,” Fox said. “I trust his plan. He’s got a good resume.”
The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Fox was unable to carve out a big role in Stanford’s multiple-look defense. He finished his four-year career with 13 tackles, including 3.0 for a loss and 1.5 sacks. He appeared in seven games as a true freshman in 2018 and Stanford’s first four the following season before redshirting. According to PFF College, Fox played a career-high 107 defensive snaps in six games this past fall, fifth-most among Stanford edge rushers.
UVa coaches have told Fox they envision him as a hybrid linebacker used to get after the quarterback.
“My ability to get off the ball and my pass rush ability, I could help the guys around me,” he said. “And just be a positive influence. It could take the defense a long way. It’s very simple.”
UVa has added four grad transfer pass rushers in an effort to bolster a defense that was among the worst in the country last fall. Former Michigan State defensive end Jack Camper enrolled last month. Paul Akere will join the program after finishing this semester at Columbia. Kam Butler, a three-time All-MAC defensive end at Miami (OH), committed on Friday.
Fox says he welcome the competition. He feels a strong connection with the entire UVa staff and its vision for both the program and his future, having caught up with Elliott as recently as last Friday. His new UVa playbook should arrive in a few weeks, around the same time he’s finishing the current academic quarter at Stanford.
Just one more thing for Fox to study.
“I’m very motivated,” he said. “It’s like starting from scratch. Now I’m trying to work as hard as I can.”
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