3-star CB Sa Rex commits to Virginia, spurns Penn State and Northwestern

UVA gains a commitment from one of it's top in-state targets for 2027.

Sep 13, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott looks on from the field prior to the game against the William & Mary Tribe at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Virginia football just received some excellent news from a player that they've been recruiting incredibly hard for the past month. 3-star CB Sa Rex from Varina High School in Richmond has officially committed to UVA over programs like Penn State, Northwestern, and Pittsburgh.

The 5'11", 185-pound cornerback was one of the top defensive backs in the state of Virginia as a junior in 2025, breaking up 24 passes and recording 7 interceptions. Rex also runs track for Varina, finishing 9th in the state in the 400 meter dash with a time of 50.3 seconds in 2025.

UVA is getting an incredibly smart defensive back in Sa Rex

One of his most impressive attributes is his post-snap processing speed. He's able to recognize what's happening before anyone else does on defense, which allows him to be in advantageous positions more often than not in the passing game.

🚨 COMMITMENT ALERT 🚨

Virginia keeps another top in-state talent home.

Varina DB Sa Rex has committed to the Cavaliers.

"After the conversation I had with Coach Elliott at dinner, it was a no-brainer."

More from the newest member of UVA's class ⬇️https://t.co/r6cXSH3IIK pic.twitter.com/nq64BcXVd8

— Jacquie Franciulli (@JacquieFran_) June 19, 2026

Rex also does a great job of staying on his track when dropping back into his coverage bubble in zone defense, and his experience playing wide receiver has undoubtedly helped him anticipate routes in man coverage.

Being able to mirror a receiver step for step on a fairly consistent basis will lead to lots of attention from college coaches, which is exactly what happened with Sa Rex over the past 4-5 months. His recruitment exploded after his junior season, and Virginia's defensive staff is undoubtedly relieved that they were able to land him.

He was highly sought after by Virginia CB Coach ShaDon Brown in the 2027 class due to his potential to play right away for the Cavaliers' defense. His body is already more developed than most true freshman defensive backs, and he's shown multiple times over the past two high school seasons that he has a pretty advanced feel for the game.

Adding Sa Rex to the 2027 class gives the team a solid group of young defensive backs to work with in the future , as they already have Zayvon Miller, Derek Fisher, and Semajay Robinson committed, who they just flipped from Penn State.

The Cavaliers have been on a roll lately when it comes to recruiting, and hopefully they'll be able to keep it up as they're still very much in the running for quite a few other intriguing prospects.

Rex is officially the 5th-highest ranked recruit in Virginia's 2027 class, and there's a chance that he could help convince his Varina teammate, WR Markus Lee, to commit to UVA soon as well.