Four Transfers and Seven Freshmen Set to Join Virginia Football in January
Of the 18 players who officially signed with the Virginia football program on Early National Signing Day on Wednesday, a group that included 13 incoming freshmen from the high school class of 2024 and five transfers, a total of 11 of these newest Cavaliers will enroll at UVA in January and participate in spring practice, Tony Elliott confirmed.
Four of the five transfers Virginia has signed thus far will be on Grounds starting in January, including Central Florida offensive lineman Drake Metcalf, Penn defensive back Kendren Smith, Akron defensive back Corey Thomas, and Notre Dame wide receiver Chris Tyree. The assumption is that Harvard tight end Tyler Neville still has to complete academic requirements at Harvard and will come to Virginia in June after he graduates.
Of the 13 freshmen Virginia signed on Wednesday, seven of them will leave high school early and enroll at UVA in January: defensive back Keshawn Adams (Hartford, CT), linebacker Myles Brown (Columbia, SC), wide receiver Kameron Courtney (Manassas, VA), offensive lineman Grant Ellinger (Naperville, IL), defensive end Jewett Hayes (Loveland, OH), athlete Ethan Minter (Chester, VA), and defensive end Chase Morrison (Roswell, GA). That's a staggering number of early enrollees among freshmen.
Just two freshmen enrolled at Virginia early last year, but those two players profited greatly from the experience and went on to provide significant contributions in their first seasons. Wide receiver Jaden Gibson appeared in eight games, including two starts, and recorded five receptions for 54 yards. And of course, Anthony Colandrea enrolled early, burst onto the scene in the spring game, and ended up starting half of Virginia's games as a true freshman quarterback. Colandrea appeared in eight games, starting six of them, and passed for 1,958 yards and 13 touchdowns. Virginia is certainly hopeful that the seven freshmen who are enrolling in January will follow those footsteps and make an impact next fall.
For both freshmen and transfers, enrolling early holds myriad benefits, says UVA head coach Tony Elliott.
"It allows them to get acclimated academically," Elliott said on Wednesday. "When you're talking about from the player perspective, they get acclimated in the spring, they get a chance to go through 15 practices, they get the winter workouts. It's huge. And so by the time you actually hit the grass in the fall, it's almost like they've had a year under their belt. So that transition doesn't take as much time. And then also it gives us an opportunity to evaluate and kind of see where they are and if they're going to be able to contribute early. You have a better idea of that."
Keep track of all of Virginia's activity in the college football transfer portal here: Virginia Football Transfer Portal Updates
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