Cavaliers Now

Virginia Football Commits Tweet Wave of Positive Messages

Several of UVA’s class of 2022 football recruits tweeted vaguely positive messages on Sunday night

Matt Newton

Photo courtesy of Mark Mahan/Lexington Herald Leader

One of the most difficult aspects of a coaching change in college football is that an entire recruiting class of high school football players are left in a rather uncomfortable position, as the head coach they committed to play for is no longer coaching at the school to which they committed.

Such is this case with the Virginia football recruiting class of 2022, who committed to Bronco Mendenhall and his coaching staff. When Mendenhall announced his surprising resignation last week, one of the ripple effects was that some of the incoming commits may rethink their decisions to come to the University of Virginia.

Multiple recruits have already made the decision to decommit from UVA. Joe Brown, a three-star offensive lineman from Utah, decommitted from Virginia and opted to stay close to home and commit to BYU. Andrew Gentry, a four-star offensive lineman from Colorado, who committed to Virginia back in 2019 before embarking on a two-year mission trip, flipped his commitment from UVA to Michigan on Wednesday.

Most of the commits in Virginia’s class of 2022 remain committed to the Cavaliers, but a lot certainly rides on new UVA head coach Tony Elliott’s ability to connect with the recruits and secure their commitments.

On Sunday night, there were notable signals on social media that Elliott may be on his way to doing just that. Several of Virginia’s commits tweeted positive, but vague, messages late on Sunday in the form of emojis. 

Xavier Brown - running back (Lexington, Kentucky)

Dakota Twitty - wide receiver (Mooresboro, North Carolina)

Karson Gay - tight end (Chattanooga, Tennessee)

Trey McDonald - linebacker (Chattanooga, Tennessee)

Sean Wilson - wide receiver (Brooklyn, New York)

Delaney Crawford - quarterback (Corona, California)

Additionally, Will Hardy retweeted Xavier Brown’s tweet and Davis Lane retweeted the message from the official Virginia football account announcing the hiring of Tony Elliott.

While these messages on social media are cryptic and unofficial, they certainly bode well for Tony Elliott as he works to stabilize the Virginia football program. 

More Virginia football news and storylines

Brennan Armstrong Wins 2021 Dudley Award

Lots of Work to Do for New UVA Head Coach Tony Elliott

Dabo Swinney on Tony Elliott: “I have no doubt he’s going to be successful”

Official: Virginia Names Tony Elliott Next Football Head Coach

Reports: Clemson OC Tony Elliott to Become Virginia Football Head Coach

UVA Board of Visitors Approves $10.3 Million Transfer to Virginia Athletics Department

Four-Star OL Andrew Gentry Decommits from Virginia, Commits to Michigan

Noah Taylor and Olusegun Oluwatimi Latest Cavaliers to Enter Transfer Portal

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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