Cavaliers Now

Virginia Football Lands Five Recruits From Class of 2025 in One Week

Matt Newton

Tony Elliott does the Wahoo Walk before the Virginia Football Blue-White Game at Scott Stadium.
Tony Elliott does the Wahoo Walk before the Virginia Football Blue-White Game at Scott Stadium. / Virginia Athletics

Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers nearly doubled their recruiting class of 2025 in one week, as Virginia football landed commitments from five players in a seven-day span from April 19-26. Let's take a look at the latest additions to UVA's 2025 recruiting class, which now features 11 recruits and ranks 23rd in the country and 6th in the ACC, per 247Sports.

The first commit of the recruiting spree came from Donovan Robinson, a 6'3", 210-pound defensive playmaker out of Loyola Academy in Illinois. A safety/linebacker hybrid, Robinson is a three-star prospect according to 247Sports, which also ranks him as the No. 79 linebacker in the country in the class of 2025 and the No. 23 prospect in the state of Illinois. Robinson has offers from Washington, Iowa State, Arizona, Missouri, Army and others, but chose to commit to Virginia.

Click here to watch Donovan Robinson's highlights on Hudl.

The day after the annual Virginia football Blue-White game, the Cavaliers reeled in another recruit as three-star linebacker Isaiah Reese announced his commitment to UVA. A 6'3", 206-pound linebacker from Phillips Exeter Academy, Reese is the No. 1-ranked prospect in the state of New Hampshire and the No. 84-ranked linebacker in the class of 2025. Reese had offers from South Carolina, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Army, and UMass, but Virginia won the recruiting battle.

Click here to watch Isaiah Reese's highlights on Hudl.

The next day, Virginia added another recruit as three-star tight end Willem Thurber pledged to the Cavaliers. A 6'5", 235-pound tight end out of Deerfield Academy, Thurber is currently teammates with fellow 2025 UVA commit and three-star quarterback Cole Geer. Thurber is the No. 64-ranked tight end in the country per 247 Sports and the No. 6-ranked prospect in Massachusetts. Duke, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Rutgers, and JMU all offered Thurber, but he chose the Cavaliers.

Click here to watch Willem Thurber's highlights on Hudl.

Three-star linebacker Justin Rowe out of Asheville School in North Carolina became Virginia's fourth-commit of the week on April 25th, announcing his commitment to the Cavaliers over an impressive list of offers that included Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, South Carolina, Wake Forest, NC State, Syracuse, Missouri, Duke, Boston College, and SMU. A 6'2", 215-pound linebacker who also plays defensive back and wide receiver, Rowe is the No. 109-ranked linebacker in the class of 2025 and the No. 22-ranked prospect in the state of North Carolina.

Click here to watch Justin Rowe's highlights on Hudl.

Finally, Virginia rounded out its successful week on the recruiting trail by securing an in-state commitment from Xay Davis, a 6'0", 185-pound running back out of Collegiate School in Richmond. Davis had offers from Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion, William & Mary, and several Ivy League schools, but committed to UVA.

Click here to watch Xay Davis's highlights on Hudl.

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Matt Newton

MATT NEWTON

Managing Editor and Publisher, CavaliersNow Email: mattnewton@virginia.eduTwitter: @mattynewtssWebsite | LinkedIn | Instagram Matt Newton is the managing editor and publisher at CavaliersNow. He has been covering UVA athletics since 2019 and has been the managing editor at CavaliersNow since launching the site in August 2021. Matt covers all things UVA sports, including Virginia basketball and football news and recruiting, former Wahoos in the pros, and coverage of all 23 of the NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. A native of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Matt grew up a huge Philadelphia sports fan, but has also been a UVA sports fanatic his entire life thanks to his parents, who are alums of the University of Virginia. Matt followed in his parents' footsteps and attended UVA from 2017-2021, graduating with a degree in Media Studies and a minor in Economics in May of 2021.