Cavaliers Now

Virginia Football Lands Commitment From Three-Star Defensive Lineman

A talented defensive lineman chose UVA over offers from nearly a dozen other Power Five programs

Matt Newton

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Virginia earned another big win on the recruiting trail on Saturday, as three-star defensive lineman Jason Hammond II announced his commitment to UVA in a live video on social media. 

A 6'3", 285-pound defensive lineman from Fort Lauderdale, Hammond chose Virginia over offers from nearly a dozen Power Five football programs. Hammond initially committed to Iowa State back in March, but reopened his recruitment following an official visit to UVA in early December. 

Ultimately, Hammond committed to Virginia, choosing the Cavaliers over Iowa State, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Maryland, Arizona State, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Coastal Carolina, UCF and others. 

Hammond is teammates with fellow UVA commit TeKai Kirby at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale. Virginia now has three verbal commits in its 2023 recruiting class who hail from Fort Lauderdale, as Hammond joins tight end TeKai Kirby and quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who both committed to UVA over the summer. 

Virginia now has 17 verbal commits in the recruiting class of 2023, the first class to be entirely recruited by Tony Elliott and his staff:

  • offensive lineman Cole Surber (committed April 29th)
  • running back Donte Hawthorne (committed May 29th)
  • defensive lineman Miles Greene (committed June 6th)
  • 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)
  • defensive back Caleb Hardy (committed November 6th)
  • wide receiver Jaden Gibson (committed December 5th)
  • wide receiver Titus Ivy (committed December 6th)
  • Edge DJ Jones (committed December 12th)
  • defensive lineman Jason Hammond II (committed December 17th)

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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