Virginia’s bye week arrived with the football program riding a wave on the field, and the hope in Charlottesville is that the same energy can spill over into recruiting.
That was the focus of the latest episode of the Good Ole Podcast, where 247Sports national recruiting analyst Brian Dohn joined Wahoos247’s Jacquie Franciulli to dig into what has changed under Tony Elliott, how Virginia is building momentum, and where the Cavaliers stand moving forward.
The biggest immediate flashpoint was Virginia’s recruiting weekend around the win over NC State. Nearly 100 prospects were on Grounds for what was the largest recruiting event of the Elliott era, and Dohn said UVA handled the moment about as well as it could have.
The game itself helped. Virginia controlled the line of scrimmage, and the setting in Charlottesville gave recruits a chance to see the program in a different light.
"The recruits that were there - and I know I dealt with dozens of them afterward - they raved about the atmosphere," Dohn said.
But the conversation went well beyond one Saturday.
Virginia has clearly pushed its recruiting efforts earlier, especially with younger prospects. After the NC State weekend, the Cavaliers extended their first offers in the 2029 class, with in-state quarterback Lord Malik Heru becoming an early name to watch. Dohn and Franciulli talked through why programs like Virginia have had to speed up their timelines as the recruiting calendar keeps moving forward.
They also looked at why Virginia’s 11-win season could end up mattering more for the 2028 and 2029 classes than for 2027.
"This is when UVA will make its marks with these kids," Dohn said. "It won't be during that January Junior Day. It's now."
Another major piece of the discussion was Virginia’s stronger position with prospects across the Commonwealth. Dohn and Franciulli also touched on why high school recruiting still matters so much in the transfer portal era, and how the relationships built now can pay off years down the line, even if a recruit initially goes elsewhere.
Dohn also weighed in on the changing rules in college football and what those changes could mean for roster building and high school recruiting moving forward.
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