Cavaliers Now

Virginia Football Lands Commitment From Talented SC Safety

UVA offered Landon Danley on Saturday and he announced his commitment to the Cavaliers on Thursday

Matt Newton

Landon Danley/Tw
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It didn't take long for Landon Danley to choose the Cavaliers. 

The 6'2" safety took an unofficial visit to Virginia on Saturday, during which Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers extended him a scholarship offer. Five days later, Danley is officially a Wahoo. 

Landon Danley, a talented and athletic defensive back from Irmo, South Carolina, announced his commitment to Virginia on Thursday morning. 

Unrated by the major recruiting services, Virginia was the first Power Five program to offer Danley, who held offers from Charlotte, Georgia State, and Miami (Ohio). Don't let the lack of major offers or recruiting ratings fool you, though. There are plenty of indicators that the Cavaliers may have found a diamond in the rough in Landon Danley. 

At 6'2", 190 pounds, Danley already has the measurements to be a capable defensive back in the college game and he has the athleticism and instincts to match. Looking at his tape (see Hudl video below), Danley is a ball hawk from the safety position. He uses tremendous technique and reads the quarterback very well and then his speed and size allows him to close on passes very quickly to break up the throws, or in many many cases, intercept them. Danley exhibits a high IQ that, when matched with his elite athleticism, makes opposing quarterbacks think twice about trying to throw the ball downfield with him in the area. 

Danley plays both safety and running back for Dutch Fork in Irmo. Through seven games played this season, Danley has recorded 18 tackles and two interceptions and has also totaled 276 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries. 

Earlier this week, Danley was selected to the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, the nation's oldest high school all-star game featuring the top players from North Carolina and South Carolina. 

A First-Team All-State performer in 2021, Landon Danley has the potential to be an extremely solid find for Tony Elliott and company, who have been placing an emphasis on defensive backs recently on the recruiting trail with each of UVA's last two commitments coming from safeties. Strong play from the Virginia secondary has been one of the bright spots of the 2022 season so far and Tony Elliott evidently wants that to be constant in his UVA football program moving forward. 

With the commitment of Landon Danley, Virginia is up to 13 verbal commits in its recruiting class of 2023: 

  • offensive lineman Cole Surber (committed April 29th)
  • running back Donte Hawthorne (committed May 29th)
  • defensive lineman Miles Greene (committed June 6th)
  • wide receiver Amare Thomas (committed June 17th)
  • tight end TeKai Kirby (committed June 24th)
  • running back Noah Vaughn (committed June 27th)
  • cornerback Keandre Walker (committed June 27th
  • linebacker Kamren Robinson (committed July 1st)
  • quarterback Anthony Colandrea (committed July 8th)
  • athlete TyLyric Coleman (committed July 30th)
  • offensive lineman Anthony Britton (committed August 16th)
  • defensive back Trent Baker-Booker (committed October 1st)
  • defensive back Landon Danley (committed October 13th)

See more details on each of Virginia's class of 2023 football commits here.

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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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