Virginia Loses Commitment Of Former Kent State EDGE Jamond Mathis After He Chooses Big 12 School

In a stunning development, Virginia loses the commitment of former Kent State edge rusher Jamond Mathis, who flipped his pledge to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Mathis was a big part of the transfer portal class the Hoos brought in for the 2026 cycle, being rated as an 84 overall prospect. He was a three-star prospect in the portal.

BREAKING: Kent State transfer EDGE Jamond Mathis has flipped his commitment from Virginia to Texas Tech, source tells @On3

He totaled 28 tackles, 6 sacks, and 3 PD in 2025https://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/KEJYcismPZ
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 19, 2026

As we have been seeing with the portal, the most important thing is to get players to sign on the dotted line insitead of the commiment. We saw another big flip when former NC State RB Hollywood Smother committed to Alabama, but flipped and signed with Texas.

Mathis was a massive win for the Hoos as they got one of the better players at the position, and one who produced at a high level at his last stop. Texas Tech has been no stranger to using the portal to acquire talent and spending money to get some of the best players available

Here is more on Mathis when I wrote about him last week.

“Mathis had a productive season with Kent State, finishing with 28 tackles, six sacks, and three passes defensed. Mathis also added eight tackles for loss and was an All-MAC second-team selection after a stellar season. He had his best game against Ball State, where he finished with four tackles, 1.5 sacks and a pass defensed. Mathis recorded a tackle in every game he played in this past season for the Golden Flashes.

When you take a look at his numbers on Pro Football Focus (PFF), you can’t help but be impressed. Mathis finished with an 85.3 defensive grade, 82.9 pass rush grade, and a 78.5 run defense grade. Mathis had 35 pressures, 25 QB hurries, and 17 stops.”

Fortunately for the Cavaliers, they still have Matthew Fobbs-White, Devon Baxter, Nnanna Anyanwu, and Ezekiel Larry. The Hoos were very aggressive in getting contributors at the edge. They also return 6’7 and 248 pound Fisher Camac, who had 4.5 sacks a season ago. Yes, it is a loss, but the Cavaliers did a good job of getting depth and impact players. Virginia has a top transfer portal class in the ACC and has done a good job of retooling its roster after a lot of players graduated, and some decided to enter the portal. The aggression and decisiveness should help the Cavaliers reach a new level next level. At the end of the day, they should be just fine with the talent they have in the room.

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