Reinforcements!

A quick wide-lens view of the 2012 recruiting class, which isn't likely to change between now and National Signing Day tomorrow...

Quarterbacks

Matt Johns

Greyson Lambert, 6-5 / 195, 3-star, Jesup, GA
Matt Johns, 6-5 / 200, 3-star, Warrington , PA
Lambert chose the Hoos over offers from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Miami, and a few other big-time football schools.  Landing his golden arm was a coup for the program.  Johns (who committed before Lambert) didn't blink when we landed the surprise commitment from Lambert -- I like Johns is unafraid of long-term competition from a more highly-regarded fellow recruit.  I'm guessing that Lambert is on the trajectory to take over for Mike Rocco after Rock exhausts his eligibility in 2013, which would make Lambert the starter in 2014, 2015, and 2016... unless David Watford hangs in there and ends up starting during his senior season in 2014.  Johns seems like a career backup, but that was the plan for Matt Schaub also, and we all know how that shook out.  In any case, with this pair of incoming recruits (actually, Lambert enrolled for the spring semester this January and is already taking classes at UVA), our depth chart and succession plan at the quarterback position is finally repaired from the gross mismanagement of the late stages of the Al Groh regime.


Running Backs
Kye Morgan, 5-10 / 165, 3-star, Somerset, NJ

Kye Morgan

We pursued a number of power backs in this class - Imani Cross, Chris Mangus, and Nathan Staub namely - but came up short in those recruitments.  Morgan is a fine consolation prize, chipped from the same block of chutzpah-marbled granite as Perry Jones.  Morgan is not a between-the-tackles grinder, so that bellcow type back becomes an elevated need in the 2013 class.  However, Morgan's versatility and receiving ability should be a very good fit in Lazor's offense, so don't sleep on this kid.  He has quick feet, great cutting ability, and plus level instincts and timing.  A good running back who emerged later in the recruiting process, we're lucky to have him.  It's hard to say if he'll be more Perry Jones or Khalek Shepherd, but it's always good to have a full deck of aces in the backfield.


Wide Receivers
Canaan Severin, 6-3 / 215, 4-star, Worcester, MA
Anthony Cooper, 6-0 / 187, 3-star, Virginia Beach, VA
Mario Nixon, 6-4 / 216, 3-star, Norfolk, VA
Adrian Gamble, 6-2 / 175, 3-star, Fork Union, VA
Kyle Dockins, 6-4 / 200, 2-star, Virginia Beach, VA
Jamall Brown, 6-0 / 178, 2-star, Hampton, VA

Adrian Gamble

This year was the motherload of wide receiver recruits.  Severin is the headliner, and he's an elite-level athlete; a big receiver who is really more of a WR/TE hybrid.  The same can be said for Nixon (a basketball player turned wideout, sound familiar NFL fans?) and Dockins (an undersized tight end recruit moved to wide receiver).  It seems to me like Lazor is sort of phasing out the true prototypical "6th offensive lineman" blocking-savvy tight end in favor of more Gronk/Graham type athletes.  It's an interesting transition, and I can see how it could make our offense more explosive in the long run.  In any case, it seemed like finding a few big receivers was a priority in this class.  Mission accomplished.  We are following the trail blazed by the Alshon Jefferys and Juron Criners of the world.  Meanwhile, Cooper is a Kris Burd-type all-around receiver, Gamble is a wildcard after his prep year at FUMA, and Jamall Brown is the lightly-recruited darkhorse.  This is a big haul of receiving talent, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how these guys fit with Darius Jennings, Dominique Terrell, Miles Gooch, and E.J. Scott over the next few seasons.  The cupboard is now very well-stocked at wide receiver... I bet we're about to see a lot more 3- and 4-wide spread-like tendencies from our offense.  Lazor wants the ball in the air, and now we're getting close to having enough studs to catch it.


Tight Ends
No Recruits
Kyle Dockins was technically a tight end recruit, but the staff already told him he'll be getting his first look as a wide receiver.  Max Valles might also get a look here, but my thought is he'll end up on defense.  So this is another year where the tight end position is lightly recruited, further proof that Lazor is moving away from the prototypical TE in his base offense.


Offensive Line
Andre Miles-Redmond, 6-4 / 260, 3-star, Richmond, VA
Mike Mooney, 6-5 / 265, 3-star, Malvern, PA
Sean Karl, 6-6 / 284, 3-star, Manorville, NY
Ryan Doull, 6-3 / 305, 2-star, Fork Union, VA
Jackson Matteo (recruited walk-on / blueshirt), 6-5 / 276, 2-star, Ashburn, VA
Just like at the quarterback position, the o-line had an alarming lack of numbers after Al Groh razed the depth chart on his way out the door.  Recruiting the big uglies has definitely been a focus for Mike London, and he landed four OL recruits in the 2011 class, and now five more in 2012.  Consider the line re-stocked and the pipeline flowing again.  This year's haul is slanted a little bit toward the interior of the line, so finding legit tackle prospects could be a key to next year's recruiting class.  In any case, this is a talented, athletic group of linemen that will help the Virginia offensive line continue its solid play in the future.


Defensive Ends
Eli Harold, 6-4 / 215, 4-star, Virginia Beach, VA
Mike Moore, 6-4 / 255, 4-star, Hyattsville, MD
Courtnye Wynn, 6-6 / 240, 3-star, Norfolk, VA

Eli Harold

Any 4-3 defense worth its salt has the ability to put two good edge rushers on the field at the same time, in the two defensive end spots.  The big, run-stopping pluggers are also important, but it's the juice around the edge that really elevates this base defense into something special... and it's edge rush talent that our team has been lacking since Mike London took the reins and switched things over from Al Groh's 5-2 base... sorry... 3-4 base.  Anyway, with Cam Johnson gone and Bill Schautz working to return from a gruesome broken leg, it's important that we find some edge rush talent from our incoming freshman class.  Enter Eli Harold.  He's a little on the skinny side and will need to add some weight, but there's no way he redshirts.  Dude's the top recruit in our class, and the top recruit in the state of Virginia this year.  He's a terror around the edge, and I'm sure there's a niche role Jim Reid can carve out for a guy like that, despite his lack of beef.  Moore and Wynn are also good pass rushers, but they are more all-around talents that could play LDE, or in the case of Moore, bulk up a little and slide inside to tackle.  This is a top-notch trio of d-end recruits, and I am very excited about these guys joining the team.


Defensive Tackles
Tyrell Chavis, 6-3 / 300, 3-star, Richmond, VA
Chavis is a wide-body zero-technique or one-technique nose tackle; the type of recruit that is really hard to find.  He would have been a great fit as a nose in Groh's 5-2... er... 3-4.  Under tackles (the smaller / lighter DT in the two-DT formation) are much easier to find, and in many cases defensive ends grow up into unders (see also: Matt Conrath).  Therefore, it's less important to find those under tackles in recruiting.  But the big baby behomth nose tackles... you gotta recruit those as is, and they are rare.  Chavis moonlights along the offensive line, but he's a nose tackle recruit for us, all the way.  He's a bit unheralded, but Boston College and Vanderbilt were on him hard, and he's a well-regarded recruit in coaching circles.  Good enough for me.


Linebackers
Kwontie Moore, 6-2 / 243, 4-star, Norfolk, VA
Mark Hall, 6-4 / 225, 3-star, Virginia Beach, VA

Max Valles, 6-5 / 210, 2-star, Hammonton, NJ

Kwontie Moore

If Eli Harold is the recruit I'm most excited about in this class, Kwontie Moore is a close second.  THIS is what I wrote when he first committed, and nothing has happened in the eight months since to make me change this opinion: "Mike London is a defensive coach, and he now has his defensive centerpiece.  I don't want to overstate it, but imagine the day the Baltimore Ravens drafted Ray Lewis."  Yep, just dropped the Ray Lewis bomb.  Again.  Boom.  Meanwhile, HERE is what Mike had to say about Mark Hall, a guy who projects to be a very good player at either outside linebacker position.  Valles is a raw athlete who could end up at tight end or defensive end, but my guess is outside linebacker.  Make no mistake, he's a project who could really land anywhere on the roster once his physical development trajectory is set.  Linebacker is one of our more thin positions in terms of the overall depth chart, so I am surprised we aren't seeing more recruits at this position in this class.  That said, Moore and Hall are two big-time recruits that should solidify our defense as future starters.


Safeties
Demeitre Brim, 6-3 / 215, 3-star, Lakeland, FL

Demeitre Brim

Brim's recruitment was a bit of a roller-coaster, as he emerged from darkhorse status amid offers from Miami, Florida, and a full-court press from UCF.  He broke his jaw and missed a big chunk of action on the field, but his stock continued to rise.  It's a bit of a miracle that we were able to hang on to his commitment.  Beating Miami at Miami and then Florida State at Florida State with Brim in attendance for both games definitely helped.  Is this late bloomer a future star at safety?  Who knows.  Heck, he might not even end up at the safety position, as he's already almost too big for that spot... he could easily bulk up to linebacker (think LaRoy Reynolds.)  I'm listing him at safety here, mostly because we desperately need safeties on the roster, and partly because safety is the position Brim played in high school.


Cornerbacks
C.J. Moore, 5-10 / 165, 3-star, Buford, GA
Maurice Canady, 6-0 / 160, 3-star, Richmond, VA
Kelvin Rainey, 6-1 / 174, 3-star, Houston, TX
Divante Walker, 5-10 / 157, 2-star, Virginia Beach, VA
Wil Wahee, 5-11 / 179, 2-star, Norfolk, VA

Divante Walker

Along with wide receiver and offensive line, this is the most exciting numbers haul in the 2012 class.  This class of corners includes a bunch of athletes slotted at cornerback -- Canady, Walker, and Wahee all fit that description.  Moore and Rainey are more traditional cornerback recruits, though both saw mysteriously light pursuit from schools in their home state (GT didn't recruit Moore, and Georgia never offered; only Rice delivered an in-state offer to Rainey.).  I'll admit, this group feels a bit like "throw something against the wall to see what sticks," which I am totally fine with.  One or two of these guys (Canady, specifically) might be able to move to safety, one might land at running back, and those that don't stick on defense will at the very least be plus-level contributors on special teams.  The hope is that we find two serviceable cornerbacks from this group of five, and I think that's a lock.  Canady, Walker, and Wahee are all Virginia guys who have earned a lot of accolades as underrated prospects, so I'm excited about that.  It will be interesting to see what comes of this group of recruits as their UVA careers progress.  (Note: for some strange reason, I have a very good gut feeling about Maurice Canady.  Not sure why.  Just some of the comments I've read about him have made me feel especially optimistic.  I felt the same way about Perry Jones when he was an incoming recruit.)


Specialists
Dylan Sims (recruited walk-on / blueshirt) -- Kicker, Lynchburg, VA
James Coleman (recruited walk-on / blueshirt) -- Punter, Martinsville, VA
Hallelujah!  Two specialists, zero scholarships out of the chute.  Gone are the days when Al Groh would toss around all-important grants-in-aid to lure kicking prospects.  Gone are the days when good in-state kickers went to other schools over UVA.  Gone are the days I'll need to hate our kickers just because.  Sims has a booming leg and might handle kickoffs as a true freshman.  Coleman will compete for the starting punter job as a freshman.  Bring 'em on!