Three Star WR Prospect Tajeh Watson is Virginia's latest 2027 football commitment

Deep coaching ties to South Carolina help Cavaliers land talented South Carolina receiver

Belton-Honea Path High junior Tajeh Watson-Martin (5) runs for a touchdown near Westside High senior Jacob Lewis (11) during the second quarter at Belton-Honea Path High in Honea Path, S.C. Friday September 12, 2025. Belton-Honea Path High won 42-6, improving to 4-0. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Virginia's deep coaching ties to the state of South Carolina helped the Cavaliers add their latest football commitment.

Tajeh Watson, a three-star receiver from Anderson. S,C., on Thursday became the 12th player to join the Cavaliers' Class of 2027. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound rising senior will play at Westside High School this fall after transferring from neighboring Belton-Honea Path for the previous three seasons.

Tajeh Watson-Martin makes a big catch from Noah Thomas and then uses some great footwork to score the touchdown at the 2025 South Carolina 3A State Championship!#football #touchdown @SCHSL @BHP_Football @Noah_Thomas7 @tajehwatson pic.twitter.com/MqTsLUJQTU

— Sinclair's High School Sports (@FriNightRivals) June 15, 2026

Virginia's offensive coaching staff knows the Palmetto State well. Head coach Tony Elliott spent more than a decade as an assistant at Clemson, most of it as co-offensive coordinator, helping the Tigers win two national championships. Virginia offensive coordinator Des Kitchings and wide receivers coach Adam Mims are graduates of Furman, which is less than an hour away from Anderson.

In three varsity seasons at Belton-Honea Path, Watson scored 35 touchdowns. As a senior, he caught 58 passes for 1,101 yards and 11 TDs, and also returned two punts and a kickoff for scores for the Class 3 state runners-up. He was credited with four interceptions as a defensive back.

Watson, who visited Charlottesville on June 5, was rated the No. 18 player in the state of South Carolina by 247Sports. He had 23 official offers and also visited ACC rivals Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Stanford.

Watson is the second receiver to join Virginia's Class of 2027, joining Landon Hicks of Trinity Episcopal High School in Richmond.

Updated Rankings (as of 6/18, rankings courtesy of 247Sports)

1. Miami (No. 2 nationally)
2. Virginia Tech (No. 8)
3. Clemson (No. 11)
4. California (No. 21)
5. Georgia Tech (No. 26)
6. Louisville (No. 28)
7. Pittsburgh (No. 29)
8. Duke (No. 32)
9. NC State (No. 34)
10. Wake Forest (No. 39)
11. Syracuse (No. 41)
12. Boston College (No. 42)
13. North Carolina (No. 47)
14. Stanford (No. 54)
15. Virginia (No. 59)
16. Florida State (No. 60)
17. SMU (No. 72)

As you can see, UVA's class is still not among the ACC's best and they are probably not going to finish with a top 25 class at this rate. The challenging thing for the Hoos is going to be continuing to have on the field success and hoping that it translates more to the recruiting trail. While nobody expects UVA to be a recruiting powerhouse like Miami, they should hope to see better results, especially since they just had one of the most successful seasons in program history.

This has a chance to be another impactful addition to UVA's roster with the right coaching and right development.