Part of a commitment blitz, three-star OL Weisz talks UVa decision

He had no way of knowing he'd be part of what ended up being an eight-commitment spree for Virginia but three-star offensive lineman Martin Weisz knew UVa was special. And he knew going into his visit late last week that he was on the verge of making his college decision.

After seeing the school and working out during camp, the Sunshine State native made a call he know was the right one.

"I went on my visit Friday and I enjoyed every single second of it," Weisz told CavsCorner. "Then I did the camp and I saw how Coach (Garett) Tujague and Coach (Bronco) Mendenhall coached their players and I really enjoyed how tough they are on their kids. So, I committed after the camp.

"I met with Coach Mendenhall and made it official that night and I'm just still very excited to be a Cavalier," he added.

A 6-foot-6, 295-pound tackle from Palm Beach Gardens (FL) Benjamin School, Weisz ultimately chose UVa over offers from most of the Ivy League as well as Kentucky, Marshall, and UAB as well as interest from Arkansas, Pitt, and UCF.

One of the big takeaways from his time competing during camp was the way Virginia's coaches pushed the recruits.

"It's a tough love," he explained. "They are tough on you when you're on the field but when you're off of the field, they love you even harder."

With plans to visit Charlottesville, Weisz was fully aware of how things were trending in his recruitment and what was on the horizon.

"I knew that, going into this visit, that UVa was one of my top schools," he explained. "And I knew going in that if I enjoyed it as much as everyone I talked to says I would that I was probably going to commit. I had heard so much about how beautiful it is at the University of Virginia and how great the staff was and I knew if I liked it as much as I thought I might, if I could see myself being a student-athlete at that university, that I am going to commit and make that decision. And that's exactly what I did."

His time on Grounds, both in terms of touring the school as well as getting to know the players and other recruits, was hugely beneficial.

"I interacted with other football players from the university, I had an amazing time meeting all of the coaches, I saw how they truly care about their players and how they want to better them not only as football players but as men, and that all was something that I wanted to be a part of," he said. "So that's why I made the decision to commit to the University of Virginia."

Seeing the school for the first time was a moment he won't soon forget.

"It was my first time there so I was just really looking to experience anything and everything," Weisz said. "We had a great tour, my mom and I rode around and we learned about the traditions, like walking the Lawn when you sign your honor code and walking it back at graduation, all of those things really stood out. The brotherhood of the football team did too.

"I just learned and saw so much on my visit and it kept reinforcing how much I wanted to be a part of this prestigious university and how much I wanted to play football for them," he added. "My visit was easily the best one I've taken. All of the coaches knew what they were doing and how to handle it and treat me well. I'm very fortunate that the coaching staff treated me that way and I'm very happy to have taken that visit and found my future home."

Being coach by Tujague also gave him a firm understanding of the work that's ahead once he arrives next summer.

"I learned a lot from him at the camp," Weisz said. "He's an excellent offensive line coach and an excellent man. It was more of a workout than an instruction session so we were doing drills constantly, pushing sleds and bags. Seeing him constantly get on me if I did something wrong, he knew I was visiting and that I really wanted to come here, so that was important to me and the other offensive linemen who also committed that day, Derek Devine. He got on us because he wants us to perform to a higher standard.

"It was great to see that Coach Tujague can not only be a great friend and recruiter," he said, "and somebody I can talk to but also an excellent coach that I can learn from and thrive under his direction."

His mother also left Charlottesville more than impressed by Mendenhall and Co. even if she wishes Virginia was much closer to Florida.

"That was the one thing that she wasn't fond of, the distance," Weisz said with a laugh. "But ya know, moms always want you to be close to home but there are are a number of ways to travel to the University of Virginia so we're going to figure out what suits us best. But she fell in love with it just like I did. She loved the traditions and how comfortable she felt leaving me in the hands of these coaches.

"She felt that at the University of Virginia, the coaching staff is the right group to look after me and teach me and prepare me on and off the field," he added. "It was very reassuring to her because she obviously loves how impressive a university it is, top five public school in the country every single year. She just enjoyed seeing the sights and the football aspect of it too. Me and her were on the same page for sure about the university."

Making the actual commitment in Mendenhall's office that evening, he was also excited to open the door and be met by a celebration.

"I think my mom's favorite part of the entire visit may have been when we came out of the office after that and all of the coaches were standing outside looking like they had been listening through the door," he recalled. "And then they asked, 'Did we get 'em?' and Coach Tujague said, 'Yeah we did' and then the clapping and cheering began. It was so reassuring to see how excited the coaching staff is about me to get another Cavalier in their program."

With the decision made, Weisz is still getting used to the idea that he's now done with the recruiting process and all that comes with it.

"I'm very happy that I made my decision right now because I know that if I waited a little bit longer, the spot could've easily been filled," he said. "I'm glad that I've shut down my recruiting process because the college I shut it down with is the one that I want to be spending these next four years at.

"I'm very glad that I found the University of Virginia," Weisz added. "They did the best job of recruiting me out of all of them and it was just the perfect fit for me."

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