Cavaliers Now

Virginia Lands Commitment From Three-Star Edge Rusher DJ Jones

Jones announced his commitment to UVA following an official visit this weekend

Matt Newton

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While the transfer portal rages in college football, Virginia has locked up a big-time commitment on the high school recruiting front as edge rusher DJ Jones announced his commitment to UVA on Monday afternoon after completing an official visit this weekend. 

A 6'5", 240-pound defensive lineman from Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida, Jones chose Virginia over offers from almost a dozen schools, including three Power Five programs. His offers included Kansas, Iowa State, West Virginia, South Florida, Temple, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, and Howard. 

Virginia swooped in late in Jones' recruiting process, as Jones had already released a top five of Iowa State, Kansas, South Florida, Howard, and Temple back in October. Jones was originally planning to take an official visit to South Florida this past weekend, but changed course after UVA defensive ends coach Chris Slade extended a scholarship offer to Jones on December 8th. Jones took an official visit to Virginia this past weekend and informed the UVA coaching staff of his intention to commit to the Cavaliers during a dinner on Saturday night. He made it official with his commitment announcement on Monday afternoon. 

Rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports, Jones is the No. 72-ranked edge rusher in the country in the class of 2023 and the No. 119 overall prospect from the state of Florida. 

Jones is the fourth player to commit to Virginia in the last 24 hours, as the Cavaliers received transfer portal commitments from offensive lineman Daijon Parker, quarterback Tony Muskett, and wide receiver Malik Washington, all since Sunday afternoon. 

Virginia now has 16 verbal commits in the recruiting class of 2023, the first class to be entirely recruited by Tony Elliott and his staff at UVA: 

  • 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)

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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