Last summer, Virginia coach Mike London cruised down the highway, already preparing for the 2011 football season. While the 2010 season lurked just around the corner, London shouldered the additional task of assembling his first recruiting class, a group of young men he hoped would help build the foundation of his program. His hopes materialized in impressive fashion on National Signing Day last Wednesday, as London's staff locked down ESPN's 19th-ranked recruiting class.
Virginia signed 24 players to National Letters of Intent Wednesday for the 2011-12 academic school year. Two additional recruits - quarterback David Watford and defensive end Daquan Romero - enrolled at the University in January, bringing the recruiting total to 26, the maximum number allowed by the NCAA. The Cavaliers' 19th-ranked class stands 14 spots ahead of Virginia Tech, and also ranks ahead of schools such as Stanford, TCU, South Carolina, Penn State and Michigan State.
"I think this class will represent young men that have the ability to play and make some impact for us," London said. "What I wanted to address was speed and athleticism. And I think when you look at the skill, whether at wide receiver, DB, athlete, that you see guys that have the ability to play on both sides of the ball."
London's effort to draw in-state talent paid significant dividends, as 17 of his 26 recruits hail from the commonwealth. By comparison, former Virginia coach Al Groh lured only 29 Virginia natives out of 62 total recruits from 2008-10. London's roots in Hampton, Va. helped him sign nine recruits from the Tidewater region, a talent-rich area largely controlled by Virginia Tech in recent years. This year, only one of the Hokies' eight in-state recruits represent the Tidewater area.
This group also boasts one of the highest collective GPAs by a Virginia recruiting class in several years.
"They're high achievers on the field, high achievers in the classroom, and that's one of the things we want to continue to do," London said. "We want to bring young men to the University of Virginia, guys that when they get here, are high achievers in the community as well."
Demetrious "Trey" Nicholson, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound cornerback and wide receiver from Virginia Beach, headlines London's 2011 class after being named an Under Armour All-American and the 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia. The four-star recruit and nation's fourth-rated corner led his team to its second straight district title en route to being named the Beach District Defensive Player of the Year.
Joining Nicholson in the defensive backfield will be Brandon Phelps, another four-star cornerback with the potential to immediately receive plenty of playing time. Ranked as the country's seventh best prospect at corner, the Damascus, Md. native will look to inject fresh blood into a Virginia secondary reeling from the loss of Ras-I Dowling. Dominique Terrell, a four-star recruit from Manassas, Va., also could contribute to the team's defensive backfield, but appears destined to serve as a wide receiver.
In an attempt to restore a run defense that ranked second-to-last in the conference last season, Virginia made a conscious effort to recruit players on the defensive line. David Dean - a powerful defensive tackler rated the ninth best recruit from the state of Maryland - will compete with five other recruits on the defensive line, including Thompson Brown, a Richmond, Va. native who Virginia coaches believe could make an immediate impact.
"We were interested in getting some height, some athletic ability, kids that can rush the passer and some good character kids, tough character kids," Virginia defensive line coach Jeff Hanson said. "There's four guys that we're probably going to put outside because we've got some interior guys coming back another year, so we need some edge guys."
David Watford, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound player from Hampton High School, is listed as the class' only true quarterback. In the wake of Marc Verica's graduation, Watford will compete with rising sophomores Ross Metheny, Michael Rocco, Michael Strauss and Miles Gooch for the starting job.
"Since [Watford] has been on campus, every single person that's touched him - the trainers, the academic people, the secretaries - has come to us with unbelievable things to say about the personality, the leadership, the maturity level he has," Virginia offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. "I think he's a winner. He showed leadership on his team and I think he has a solid mix of passing ability and athletic ability."
London also picked up a pair of gems in running back Clifton Richardson and wide receiver Darius Jennings. Richardson is a four-star recruit from Newport News, Va., and ranks as the nation's 20th best tailback prospect according to Rivals.com. Jennings, meanwhile, is an extremely versatile athlete and was selected as the 2010 Gatorade State Player of the Year in Maryland. The speedy Baltimore native projects for the wide receiver position, where Dontrelle Inman's and Jared Greens' departures will open two spots for competition.
Although most everything went smoothly, Signing Day was not without drama. Twenty-four hours before coaches began receiving commitments, London was still involved with four uncommitted prospects: Jennings, Terrell, linebacker Curtis Grant and cornerback A.J. Hendy. While Jennings and Terrell signed with the Cavaliers, Grant - the country's No. 2 overall prospect - committed to Ohio State, and Hendy signed with Maryland.
"If you can put yourself in a position like that where of the four we went 50/50, I think those odds, talking high-caliber players like that, are pretty good," London said. "Hopefully for a while we'll continue to attract high-caliber players in signing days."
Virginia ultimately signed five four-star recruits, 17 three-star recruits and four two-star recruits. It ranks as the ACC's fourth-best class, behind Florida State's top-ranked class, No. 10 Clemson
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