Is Virginia Football Trending For Top 2026 In-State Athlete?

Virginia missed out on 2026 IOL Edward Baker earlier today, but they might be on the verge of adding a prospect to their 2026 class. This week, Virginia insider Jacquie Franciulli put in a 247Sports Crystal Ball Prediction for the Cavaliers to land 2026 athlete DaMari Carter, who was on a visit to UVA earlier this month. Now, Crystal Ball predictions can be wrong, but this shows that the Cavaliers appear to be trending towards landing one of the top athletes in the state of Virginia.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Carter is the No. 807 player in the country, the No. 53 athlete in the country, and the No. 20 athlete in the state of Virginia. He holds offers from Maryland, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Duke, Indiana, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia, among others.

Wednesday, UVA picked up another commitment in its 2026 class

Tony Elliott Virginia — Nov 23, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott (center) looks on from the field during a stoppage in play in the first half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Three-star wide receiver Dylan Cope, a 6'2 170 LBS player who plays at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Alabama, announced he was going to be committing to Virginia, becoming the highest-rated commit in the class.

Cope took an official visit to UVA earlier this summer, as well as trips to Tulane and Memphis. He is ranked as the No. 643 player in the country, the No. 99 wide receiver in the country, and the No. 25 player in the state of Alabama. He is the second wide reciever to join the class.

Last week, they were able to add three-star linebacker Dallas Brannon to the 2026 class. Brannon plays his high school at Independence High School in Charlotte (NC) and was coming off an official visit to Charlottesville over the weekend. This is a good win for Virginia, as he was being pursued by other ACC programs and had taken an official visit to Duke earlier in the month.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Brannon is a three-star prospect and rated as the No. 856 prospect in the country, the No. 61 athlete in the country, and the No. 36 player in the state of North Carolina. He held other offers from Duke, Louisville, Boston College, Cincinnati, Indiana, Michigan, Miami, North Carolina, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, USC, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and West Virginia.

He is not the only recent commitment for UVA.

2026 wide receiver Josiah Teasley, who plays at The St. James High School in Springfield, VA announced on social media that he is committed to play for Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers.

Teasley is going to bring a lot of size to the Virginia wide receiver room. The 6'5 195 LBS playmaker is going to be intriguing to follow and with the right development, could become a real factor for the program sooner rather than later. He is the first wide receiver to join the 2026 class for Virginia. Per 247Sports, he is the No. 244 wide receiver in the country and No. 35 player in the state of Virginia. He was offered this month by Virginia, went on an official visit, and is now a part of the 2026 class. He and Cope are a nice start to the wide receiver room for UVA.

Tony Elliott and his staff were able to flip three-star linebacker Derek Uran from Cincinnati earlier this month.

Uran plays his high school football at Elder High School in Cincinnati, and while the Bearcats are not a recruiting powerhouse, being able to flip a local recruit is no small thing. Uran is ranked as the No. 1132 prospect in the country, No. 94 linebacker, and the No. 48 player in the state of Ohio. He held other offers from Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Liberty, Ohio, Toledo, and Central Michigan.

This class is starting to be pieced together and there are still targets on the board for Elliott and his staff.

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