LCA's Rocco talks UVa recruitment of Rice, Lane
Liberty Christian athletic director and football coach Frank Rocco is a name that should be no stranger to Virginia football fans.
His brother, Danny, coached linebackers for the Cavaliers from 2001-2005 before eventually becoming the big whistle at Richmond and ultimately serving as Delaware’s head coach since 2017. Frank’s son Michael played quarterback for three seasons at UVa before transferring to UR to play for his uncle.
Now, the head man at LCA has at least one significant player from his program headed to Charlottesville with the possibility that more could also make the trip north on 29.
Back on June 5th, UVa received a commitment from Liberty Christian dual-threat quarterback Davis Lane. Yet in many ways, he and some other talented prospects at LCA play in the vast shadow–understandably so–of Zach Rice, a 6-foot-6, 305-pound offensive tackle who is no ordinary recruit.
Rated No. 19 overall nationally by Rivals and a five-star prospect, Rice accumulated upwards of 35 offers with a list seemingly down to the quintet of Alabama, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State and UVa–all places he’s visited in the past several months.
“I love Zach Rice," Rocco recently told CavsCorner. "Not necessarily because he is a superstar, but because he’s a good, hard-working kid that wants to get better.
“He still has a lot of improvement to make, which is crazy to say as a five-star," LCA's coach continued. "The beauty about him is he wants to be good and wants to be coached. He could easily sit back and say I’m a five-star and don’t mess with me. We walk off the field doing conditioning at the end of our practice and he’s leading all the gassers. He simply works.”
Rocco, who played at Penn State and has led LCA to six state titles, was there to provide some advice to the talented tackle as the dedication to his craft was in its infant stages, well before Rice’s recruitment became super hectic.
“Early on in the process, I sat down with him and his mom and we charted out a plan," Rocco recalled. "Quite honestly, I gave them the same matrix I used with my son, Mike, when he was being recruited. Basically, listing school, things that are important to you, and come up with some kind of grading scale where you would list each of those characteristics of the school and hopefully it will give you some short of tangible accounting for what you think about different schools. It was really helpful for us when Mike was being recruited and I shared that with Zach.
“From the get-go, this thing became bigger and a monster pretty quick, so Zach had to get down to a manageable number and even now he’s keeping it alive a little longer than what he anticipated I think," he added. "I want him to be totally secure in the decision he makes. So, it’s just him and his mom right no making the decisions. I’m just there for a resource, but it’s up to them because they’re the ones who have to go live with it obviously.”
For the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Lane, there was an initial adjustment when he got to Liberty Christian after previously playing at Jefferson Forest, which ran a wishbone style offense.
“He as well has much more improvement to make," Rocco said of his quarterback. "Last year he was literally in our school for a year and a half and never even played a football game because they pushed the season back on us with COVID. We never really saw what he could do on the football field, and then when we played our spring season, he was starting to show that this guy had some ability.
“Trying to get him coached up in a pro-style, dual-threat kind of system was really new to him," he continued. "I really believe his senior year now, going through his junior year, he will make some major improvements from a really good junior year that was all kind of a first-year experience. We really hope this year he will be able to do something special with a little bit more understanding of what we are doing.”
Lane, who chose the Cavaliers over Old Dominion, completed 60 of 102 passes for 834 yards and 11 touchdowns along with 49 rushes for 219 yards and six more scores as a junior for a Bulldogs team that won the Region 3C crown. He’s already drawn some comparisons to current UVa starting QB Brennan Armstrong.
Rocco can also see those similarities.
“Davis might not have the thickness that Armstrong has," he explained, "but I think he can develop that because he’s a very strong weight-room guy. He is more of a racehorse stallion type of build. But Davis will get there with maturity.”
Nine of the top 20 rated prospects according to Rivals in the class of 2022 have yet to decide on where they will play in college. That includes Rice, a player that hasn’t even maxed out on his full potential in Rocco’s eyes.
“From Day 1, he’s just been bigger, stronger, and more athletic than the guy across from him," Rocco noted. "As much as he wants to be coached and get better, I think there’s more to gain just in the football savviness of understanding the game and the nuances of offensive line play.
“He will definitely get that when he gets to the next level," the LCA coach added, "because he’s going to have coaches who are working with him 24/7 on that kind of stuff, so that will come and I think he will be off the charts once that happens.”
Will those coaches working with him be wearing orange and blue? To do so, they’ll have to beat out some heavy hitters, three of which played in the College Football Playoff last January as well as a neighboring ACC rival that continues to invade the Commonwealth for highly ranked talent.
UVa’s last five-star recruits came in the class of 2014 with the 757 duo of DB Quin Blanding (now a regional scout at Virginia) and DT Andrew Brown. That was before the arrival of current head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who along with offensive line coach Garett Tujague and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck, continue to build the relationships at one of the state’s premier private schools.
“They love them," Rocco said of UVa's coaches. "I know Zach and Coach Tujague have a tremendous relationship. When Davis has been up there on his couple of visits, he’s gotten to know Coach Beck. Coach Bronco has been very influential in his decision.
“The thing about Davis is his uncle went to school there and he’s got some family connections that made that a comfortable decision," Rocco elaborated. "Davis has been a UVa fan for a long time, too, so it really was his dream school and worked out that way for him.”
Winning always helps. UVa’s run to the Coastal Division title in 2019 didn’t hurt matters as they try to build off that momentum, interacting with players and coaches to gain more victories on the recruiting front.
“Speaking for myself as a coach, I love what they’re doing there," Rocco said. "When my son Mike was there, he had some good years there. Certainly, he transferred, but we loved his experience there. We got to know Coach Bronco and Coach Tujague, plus some of the coaches who are recruiting in this area. If our kids like Davis, who’s already committed, would ever choose UVA as an option, I’m 100 percent on board with that.
“The UVa staff," he added, "they are great guys, good men and we would be very pleased to have any of our guys continue their education and their football careers under their leadership.”
Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is now a contributor to CavsCorner. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him from 10 AM to Noon on 757 Saturday Sports Talk on ESPN Radio 94.1.
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