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Caleb Hardy didn't need much time to decide that UVA was the right place for him. 

The 6'3" safety from Eagle's Landing in McDonough, Georgia picked up an offer from Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers while on an a visit to Charlottesville at the end of October and made his choice just one week later, announcing his commitment to Virginia on Sunday afternoon. 

UVA was the first Power Five school to offer Hardy, who also held offers from Eastern Illinois, Kent State, and Morgan State, but there was some interest from several other notable football programs. Hardy took visits to Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida, and UCF this year. He also played in the National High School Showcase Junior Game back in January. 

And there is certainly evidence that Hardy has some serious upside. At 6'3", 182 pounds, he has the size and athleticism to develop into a ranging ball-hawk in the UVA secondary when he arrives on Grounds next summer, especially under the watchful eye of John Rudzinski and Curome Cox.

Virginia has picked up some impressive defensive back commitments this fall, no doubt a reflection of the strong performance by the UVA secondary this season. Hardy joins safety Landon Danley (Irmo, South Carolina), safety Trent Baker-Booker (Indianapolis, Indiana), and cornerback Keandre Walker (Denver, North Carolina) in UVA's 2023 recruiting class. 

Virginia now has 14 commitments in its recruiting class of 2023:

  • offensive lineman Cole Surber (committed April 29th)
  • running back Donte Hawthorne (committed May 29th)
  • defensive lineman Miles Greene (committed June 6th)
  • wide receiver Amare Thomas (committed June 17th)
  • tight end TeKai Kirby (committed June 24th)
  • running back Noah Vaughn (committed June 27th)
  • cornerback Keandre Walker (committed June 27th
  • linebacker Kamren Robinson (committed July 1st)
  • quarterback Anthony Colandrea (committed July 8th)
  • athlete TyLyric Coleman (committed July 30th)
  • offensive lineman Anthony Britton (committed August 16th)
  • defensive back Trent Baker-Booker (committed October 1st)
  • defensive back Landon Danley (committed October 13th)
  • defensive back Caleb Hardy (committed November 6th)

See more details on each of Virginia's class of 2023 football commits here.

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