Recruiting Roundup: 5.6.22

UVa got some good news over the weekend when three-star offensive lineman Cole Surber announced his commitment to Virginia. Surber, who plays at Patriot High in Prince William County, chose the Cavaliers over offers from South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and others, and became the first 2023 commit for the new coaching staff.

Surber was a player that UVa pursued consistently, and Garett Tujague was able to get Surber to come down Route 29 several times for visits. He visited for UVa’s spring game and made the call for the Hoos just a few days later.

Surber is a great start to the 2023 class in a couple ways. First, the offensive line is still being rebuilt after quite a bit of attrition this offseason. The new staff backfilled the 2022 class and added transfers, but continued success in 2023 is going to be key to building a unit that can sustain success in the years to come.

Also, Surber is an in-state win for the Cavaliers on the trail and could help set the tone as Tony Elliott and Co. attempt to have a bigger presence, and more recruiting success, at home in the Commonwealth.

After Surber jumped onboard, UVa received another commitment this week, this time In the form of a transfer. Former Miami running back Cody Brown quietly visited Charlottesville this week and announced his commitment on Wednesday night. Brown is a Georgia native who was a four-star recruit, ranked 195th nationally and eighth among running backs, in the 2021 recruiting class.

A physical between-the-tackles runner at 6-feet, 211 pounds, he flashed breakaway speed in his high school tape. Brown chose the Hurricanes over offers from Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio State and others, after getting out of his LOI with Tennessee following a coaching change there. Brown then rushed 34 times for 139 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman with Miami, and jumped into the transfer portal a few weeks ago.

One of the state’s top players released his top five schools last weekend and the Wahoos were one of the five. Four-star defensive tackle Joel Starlings, currently ranked the 4th-best player in the Commonwealth, released a top five of UVa, UNC, Oklahoma, West Virginia and South Carolina. Virginia has done a nice job getting involved with Starlings since he decommitted from Michigan in January following some coaching turnover there. Since then, he has come to Charlottesville several times, including a trip to Grounds last month.

Rivals’ Adam Friedman caught up with Starlings a few days ago and the Richmond native had great things to say about the Cavalier staff.

"The new coaching staff seems better than the older one," Starlings told Friedman. "They're actually recruiting in Virginia so it felt good to be recruited by the in-state school. I've been up there a lot so I'm really familiar with that spot as well. The coaches are very genuine."

UVa is positioned to have staying power here, but don’t expect a decision anytime soon. Starlings has official visits scheduled for Oklahoma and WVU in June, and an in-season official to South Carolina is also on the books. Being the local option, UVa shouldn’t have a hard time getting him back up to Charlottesville for a game or two this fall, assuming the recruitment goes the distance. UVa seems like it has a real shot here, but there’s plenty of competition and there’s a long way to go.

Another defensive lineman put the Cavaliers in his top group this week as well. Three-star DT Rodney Lora dropped a final six of UVa, UNC, Michigan, Indiana, Rutgers and Virginia Tech on May 1st. Lora plays at Woodberry Forest but is a New Jersey native, which means that Rutgers may not just be a throw-in. He and his Woodberry teammates visited Charlottesville during spring ball, along with their new head coach and former UVa player and coach Jackson Matteo. UVa is also in the mix for Lora’s teammate, three-star defensive end Armel Mukam.

Virginia is certainly in the mix and the Hoos have done well with Woodberry Forest players in the past. But Rutgers could be in play, if there’s a draw to head back home and play for the Scarlet Knights. And Carolina shouldn't be overlooked either. Lora is set to decide in early July; we’ll see if the UVa staff can get him back to Charlottesville before he announces his choice.

Finally, speaking of the Garden State, UVa made the top four for yet another defensive lineman, four-star end James Heard Jr. The Philadelphia native included Virginia in his cut list, along with Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. Heard visited WVU recently and Tennessee in March. It feels like West Virginia (who recently landed one of his teammates) and maybe Tennessee will be the schools to beat for Heard.

When he spoke with Rivals after cutting his list, Heard said that he’s hoping to get to Charlottesville in May, and if the Cavaliers can get that visit, that should improve their chances. It’s going to be an uphill battle as he seems to have cultivated stronger relationships with other schools, particularly WVU, but Chris Slade and the new staff have done a nice job staying in the mix with a really talented player.

If you’ve taken a look at our 2023 recruiting board, you’ll notice that there aren’t many quarterbacks listed at this time. Virginia got a visit from Arch Manning, but until further notice, UVa doesn’t seem to truly be in the mix there, unless a lot of people close to the situation are reading it wrong.

Four-star dual-threat QB Avery Johnson is also listed, and UVa is certainly in pursuit. QB coach Taylor Lamb paid a visit to Johnson, who hails from the Wichita area, last week. Johnson recently visited Oregon and picked up an offer, and has plenty of other Power-5 suitors. Virginia will continue to pursue Johnson, and likely need to get him to Charlottesville soon to have a shot, but it’s also time to pursue other options.

Now that spring practice is over, UVa’s staff, and Lamb in particular, will have more time to watch film and evaluate quarterbacks. That should lead to offers and more high school check-ins from the coaching staff. Virginia got a QB offer out on Wednesday night, reaching out to three-star Memphis native Brock Glenn.

Glenn has made no mystery that he was awed by his recent offer from Auburn and subsequent visit. If UVa is going to truly make noise in this recruitment, the Hoos will have some catching up to do. But it’s also fair to expect new offers to go out soon, as the staff looks to get their first QB commitment. Quarterbacks commit earlier than other positions on average. In fact, UVa already had a 2023 QB commit in the fold before the coaching change, with LaNorris Sellers ultimately following Robert Anae and Jason Beck in committing to Syracuse. A few players UVa was monitoring, like three-star Dylan Rizk, have already committed elsewhere (in his case, UCF). So expect the Hoos to pick a few quarterbacks they like, get offers out, and then go all-out in pursuit to try and make sure they aren’t left out in the game of QB musical chairs.

It’s also worth noting that UVa is heavily in pursuit of 2024 four-star QB Dante Reno, who plays at Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut. Lamb was in Connecticut at Loomis Chaffee on Thursday.

UVa offered three-star 2023 center Blake Buchanan on April 26th, and immediately got him to Charlottesville for a visit. The 6-foot-9 Idaho native made his way on Grounds over the weekend after receiving his first offer from a major college program. He left UVa on Monday without committing, and it seems that his recruitment will continue for now. UVa may have caught Buchanan just before his recruitment took off, as he has been monitored lately by other major programs, after receiving mostly mid-major interest to this point.

We’ll see where things go from here; at this point UVa certainly should be in a good spot and getting Buchanan to come across the country on short notice is a good sign.

Virginia will roll out the carpet again this weekend, this time for another newly-offered 2023 prospect. Combo guard Freddie Dilione got offered by Virginia this week, and like Buchanan, scheduled a trip to Charlottesville in short order.

A Fayetteville (NC) native, he has offers from Tennessee, Houston, Virginia Tech and many others. Dilione caught up with CavsCorner following the offer, and expressed his excitement it as well as a desire to learn more about UVa’s brand of basketball.

“I know they won the national championship a few years ago and have had a lot of success in the NCAA Tournament,” he said. “I am excited to learn more about the program now that I have been offered by them. I am excited to do more research about the program.”

Dilione also has official visits slated for VCU, Alabama and Tennessee.

Virginia has also offered a foursome of other 2023 prospects who will have plenty of interest as their recruitments proceed.

UVa offered 6-foot-8 power forward Milan Momcilovic late last month. Momcilovic is another Wisconsin native, and we know that Tony Bennett has a good track record with players from his home state. Momcilovic holds offers from Creighton, Iowa State, Northwestern, Xavier and others.

UVa also jumped into the mix with wing Andrej Stojakovic. The son of former NBA guard Peja Stojakovic, Andrej plays in the LA area, and is seeing his recruitment take off. With recent offers from UConn and Florida in addition to UVa, Kentucky, Arizona and others are also reportedly circling. The competition will be fierce, but Stojakovic seems like a really strong fit for Virginia’s system, if they can make some headway in his recruitment.

Lastly, the Cavaliers also threw offers out over the last week on two other 2023 standouts, first with Taison Chatman and most recently with TJ Power. Chatman, a 6-foot-3 guard out of Minnesota, will be one to watch this spring and summer for sure. He's also got a host of high majors on his list. Power, meanwhile, is a 6-foot-7 wing from Worcester Academy who has a solid group of offers that continues to grow. Each will be interesting recruitments to watch and ones we do not expect to end anytime soon.