UVa goes on the offensive in search of O-linemen

Garett Tujague didn’t have to worry about packing up his office. Instead, he’s been aggressive trying to reload Virginia’s offensive line room.

The university announced last week that Tujague, UVa’s offensive line coach for the past six seasons under Bronco Mendenhall, was one of three assistants retained by new head coach Tony Elliott, along with wide receivers coach Marques Hagans and defensive line coach Clint Sintim.

With his status in limbo for much of the month, Tujague could only watch as the hits kept coming to the Cavaliers’ offensive line depth. Five offensive linemen entered the transfer portal, including three multi-year starters and one of this season’s top reserves. A pair of 2022 recruiting commits flipped before Signing Day. Other recruiting targets went elsewhere.

But Tujague has spent the last few days on the offensive. Since Thursday, a dozen O-linemen have announced on social media that they’ve been offered by Virginia. Two are graduate transfers who entered the transfer portal last week. The others are a mix of high school seniors offered for the first time by UVa, or 2022 and 2023 recruits who have been re-offered with Elliott’s blessing.

Maryville (TN) center Cal Grubbs was one of those 2023 recruits who heard from Tujague. A UVa target since last spring who was originally offered by the school in September and attended both the Georgia Tech and Notre Dame games this season, Grubbs admitted that communication with the school had slowed in recent weeks amid the uncertainty with the coaching staff.

Grubbs and his family had been tracking the UVa coaching situation from afar. As the 3-star confessed to CavsCorner, “I was definitely a little anxious and antsy about it.”

That changed when the announcement came last Monday that Tujague would remain on staff. He and Grubbs spent all week texting back and forth. The message with the re-offer came on Thursday.

“He told me that Tony Elliott, the new head coach, really liked my film,” Grubbs recalled, “and that I still definitely have my full official offer to Virginia. It definitely was something that I was hoping to hear.”

Joe Crocker and Luke Brown, a pair of 2023 4-star tackles from Tennessee who were originally offered by UVa in May, also announced re-offers on Thursday. A pair of 2023 tackles from Connecticut, 4-star Olaus Alinen and 3-star Charlie Symonds, announced re-offers on Friday. UVa was originally the first school to offer Symonds, back in April; Alinen, a native of Finland, was originally offered in August 2020.

Also on Friday, UVa became the 18th school to offer JD DiRenzo, a two-time FCS All-American left tackle at Sacred Heart who entered the transfer portal on Wednesday. Dartmouth grad transfer John Paul Flores, a two-year starter at left tackle, announced his UVa offer on Saturday. Flores has two years of eligibility remaining; DiRenzo has one.

A trio of uncommitted 2022 linemen revealed on Saturday that they’ve been offered by Virginia: College Station (TX) tackle Cory Hendrix (who decommitted from SMU last month), Kingsland (GA) Camden County guard Noah DeMeritt and Tulsa (OK) Berryhill tackle Davis Dotson.

Tapuvae Amaama, a 3-star 2022 guard from Lehi (UT) Skyridge who was originally offered by UVa last summer and was at November’s Virginia Tech game, announced Sunday night that he’d been re-offered by the UVa staff. A few hours later, Hattiesburg (MS) Oak Grove 2-star tackle McKale Boley added his name to the list.

The offer caught Boley by surprise, he admitted to CavsCorner.

“We had only been in communication for like a day or two,” he said, “then we got on the phone for 25-30 minutes and we had a great conversation. [Tujague] was a great person to talk to and he had good vibes.”

Boley’s run blocking, athleticism and footwork—Boley’s been playing soccer since second grade—caught Tujague’s attention while watching film on Hudl. Tujague talked about the veteran offensive line he was able to recruit and develop in his first six seasons under Mendenhall.

“Not only did we talk about football,” Boley recalled, “but he explained to me how he is outside of football, and he seems to be a great person.”

In his time at Virginia, Tujague has built a reputation as an enthusiastic and passionate recruiter. That approach has stayed consistent with the Cavaliers' new (and renewed) targets.

“I definitely really like him,” said Grubbs. “Not only just as a coach, but he’s a really great person to talk to. I feel like he’d be a really good person to create some bonds with. Love his energy and his excitement.”

After being retained by Elliott, Tujague is now tasked with rebuilding an experienced offensive line that has helped generate three seasons of 5,000 yards of total offense over the past four years, and protected UVa quarterback Brennan Armstrong during his record-setting season this fall. That line has been stripped of its depth since the end of this season.

Longtime right guard Chris Glaser has exhausted his eligibility. Olu Oluwatimi, a three-year starter at center who was a finalist for this year’s Rimington Trophy, announced plans to transfer to Michigan for his final season. Left tackle Ryan Swoboda (USC) and guard Joe Bissinger (SMU) are also transferring. Ryan Swoboda, the starter at right tackle the last two seasons, also entered the transfer portal last month.

The Hoos didn’t sign a 2022 offensive lineman last month, and had two commits end up elsewhere. Following Bronco’s decision to step down, guard Joe Brown decommitted before signing with BYU, while 4-star tackle Brody Meadows flipped to Virginia Tech on Signing Day. Another UVa target, 4-star tackle Trent Ramsey, picked Cal over Virginia and Ole Miss on Signing Day; 3-star tackle Tyler Knaak, who also had UVa as a finalist, chose Utah a few days before Signing Day.

Andrew Gentry, a 4-star tackle who signed with UVa in 2020 but never enrolled at the school because of a two-year LDS mission, flipped to Michigan last month.

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