Three-star OL Maikkula breaks down UVa OV, talks timeline
Three-star offensive lineman Jake Maikkula had one of the busiest months not just of his life but also of any recruit in the class of 2022. And now, with a whole bunch of miles behind him, he’s moving into the next phases of his recruitment.
“It was a really fun experience,” Maikkula told CavsCorner. “It was really cool to get to do that with my family and especially my parents. But it definitely was crazy. It was an incredible experience overall and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was really important to me to see the places and get a feel for all of my top schools.”
The 6-foot-6, 265 pounder from Highlands Ranch (CO) Valor Christian broke down his travel schedule and how hectic it was between trips.
“So I did an unofficial to Mizzou on the 2nd and then I did an official out to Cal that weekend,” he recalled. “Then on the 9th I did an unofficial to K-State then spent that weekend at UVa. After that I did an unofficial to Minnesota, that was the 16th, then I spent that weekend at Colorado. And then the 21st through the 23rd I took a mid-week visit to Nebraska and then last Thursday through Saturday I was at Duke.”
Given the complexity of the schedule, there wasn’t a whole lot of down time.
“It was definitely busy,” Maikkula said with a laugh. “I wasn’t in Colorado much. It was great to get to do. My parents were really, really helpful in planning it all out and being there to support me and help me figure out where I want to be.”
The process can be stressful for anyone but given the amount of travel and trying to make everything fit together, that was especially true for Maikkula and his family.
“You kind of just keep thinking about why you’re doing it,” he explained. “It’s an incredible process and I’m really fortunate to be in this position to be able to do this.”
As far as favorites, he admitted this week to have a smaller group of schools that really stand out.
“Maybe a little bit,” he said of having a smaller group of favorites among his final list. “But all of the top eight schools are still in contention for now.”
The time he spent in Charlottesville last month certainly helped give him a deeper appreciation for what Garett Tujague and the Cavaliers are really all about.
“It was an incredible trip,” Maikkula said. “I mean, that staff is just full of amazing people. They really care about their players but they push them to be their best at the same time. It’s exactly what you want from a coaching staff.
“I’m really close with Coach Tujague,” he added. “He’s a super high energy guy, always making me laugh. The sort of guy that you’d want to play for for sure. An incredible guy.”
While he and his family enjoyed the various elements of the official visit, the Hoos left a lasting impression too.
“What stood out a lot on the trip was just how close the coaching staff seems, how much they seem to care about the people around them,” Maikkula said. “I thought that was really incredible.”
He wasn’t the only offensive lineman in town that weekend, as UVa also hosted Zach Rice and Fisher Anderson.
“Fisher and Zach are both great guys,” Maikkula said. “They’re obviously both very talented players but more than that, they’re the type of guys you’d want to be teammates with. Really great people. My host, Joe Bissinger, was a really great guy. Super hard worker, really driven. The type of person you want to be your teammate for sure.”
The fact that he already had such a rapport with Tujague and that they didn’t have to spend so much time breaking down the football aspect of things really made the visit unique compared to some of the others he’s taken.
“We actually had done so much stuff on Zoom regarding the offense and what not that we didn’t go over that too much on my visit just because of how much we’d knocked out lot of that stuff on Zoom,” he said. “It was actually kind of interesting because a lot of the time we were just hanging out, talking about whatever. We went on a hike, we just kind of did different things and talking about anything and everything. I thought that was really cool and different from a lot of the other schools where it was like ‘Hey let me show you all this stuff.’ It was cool that we had already kind of knocked that out so it gave us more time to really develop that relationship.”
But as far as fit, Maikkula is very clear on how he’d factor into the equation at Virginia.
“I think he’d start me off at tackle but be open to playing anywhere,” he said. “That’s something I’m totally cool with. In high school, I play both right and left tackle but I am honestly open to playing anywhere as long as I can get on the field and help contribute. That’s my ultimate goal, for sure.”
One benefit that he he’s had throughout the process has been being able to lean on players from his high school who have gone through this themselves. And that includes Dillon Reinkensmeyer, a former UVa standout who finished his career as one of the most experienced players to ever play in the uniform.
“I mean, it’s great,” Maikkula said of his Reinkensmeyer. “I’ve talked to both him and his dad a lot. He’s been really helpful as well, talking to my family about his experience as a family in regards to UVa too. But Dillon has been great. That’s a very valuable resource when you think about it because you can hear from the coaches and players and all that but to hear it from someone who has come from a very similar situation to you and who has experienced it, you can’t beat that in terms of taking advice.”
So now as the process begins to wind down, Maikkula is already thinking about what that will feel like, when he’s got his decision made and out there.
“I think it’ll be a relief,” he said. “I’m really excited to get fully on board with a school and then just go into my senior year and help develop my team and help the younger guys on our O-line and go win a state championship. That’s what I want to focus on for my senior year. I kind of want to get this done and get that pressure off and focus on having a great time and winning a lot of football games.”
To get this far and be as comfortable as he is with it is somewhat unique. No matter what, he’s ready for what’s next.
“I’m feeling very comfortable,” Maikkula said. “I got a lot of great information. There are a few things here and there that I still want to get from a few of the schools. Overall, I feel like every question I had got nailed and I really liked a lot of the responses I got. I’m closing down for sure.
“I’d say that it could be as soon as the next couple of days,” he added, “but it might take the next couple of weeks.”
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