Recruiting Notes: 7/31

Stroman's Decision Looms

Manassas athlete Greg Stroman will announce his college choice at Stonewall Jackson High on Saturday. Streaking the Lawn will be there to cover it live. Usually, that's a pretty good sign for where we expect things to go. Stroman will choose either Virginia or Virginia Tech this weekend, and the prevalent thought among those close to the situation is that the Hoos are the frontrunner. Stroman visited both schools this summer, making a recent trip to Charlottesville with his parents. The 3-star prospect also holds offers from Duke, Wisconsin and ODU, but none of those three seem poised to pull a shocker at this late stage. There's still a chance Stroman could pick the Hokies saturday, but UVa fans should feel pretty confident that Stroman's will go with the Hoos.

Stroman has a great relationship with current Cavalier wideout and fellow Manassas native Dominique Terrell, and that has been a positive factor for Virginia in Stroman's recruitment of late. UVa is also hoping that landing Stroman, whose stock has soared in recent months, will help them re-open recruiting pipelines to the "703", where commits have been few and far between in the past few recruiting cycles. The Hoos are the leaders at this very early stage for Stroman's teammate, 5-star 2015 defensive tackle Tim Settle. Settle has picked up a ton of big-time offers from national programs, but the Virginia staff has done a great job with the Stonewall Jackson star so far. If Stroman picks the Cavs on Saturday, that will be another big step towards landing another blue-chip defender in 2015.

Farrar Visits, Leaves Impressed

California athlete Jeffrey Farrar took a trip to Charlottesville over the weekend, and it sounds like he had a great experience. Farrar was quick to point out some of the major differences between the Commonwealth and the Golden State, mentioning Virginia's insect diversity specifically. Regardless, the UVa staff has done a nice job doing legwork in Farrar's recruitment, going up against several Pac-12 programs for the 3-star prospect. Farrar has mentioned several times that he's intrigued by the idea of playing alongside two 5-star players (Quin Blanding and Andrew Brown) on the Cavalier defense down the road.

Farrar has said previously that he wants to get his commitment out of the way, to focus on his senior season. Right now, the common perception is that the Hoos, along with Cal and Miami, are out front for Farrar's services. Right now, the sooner Farrar decides, the better for Mike London and Virginia.

Hoos Look to Close on Two Wide Receivers

Heading into the late summer, UVa's top two 2014 wide receiver targets, Jamil Kamara and Cameron Phillips, are still on the board. Virginia has been in a great position all along for Kamara, and not much has changed there. Pitt, Vanderbilt and a few other schools are making a hard push for the Virginia Beach star, but if he doesn't end up picking Virginia, it would come as a pretty big shock. Kamara is close with Quin Blanding and Andrew Brown in the Hoos 2014 class, and this has only further solidified UVa's already strong position with the Bishop Sullivan 4-star.

As for Phillips, he has zeroed in on a few schools, including UVa, Virginia Tech, West Virginia. At this point, the Hoos and the Hokies seem to be at the top for the DeMatha Catholic receiver. He has visited both schools and the rivals both left good impressions. Phillips doesn't do a ton of interviews, and seems to keep his leanings under wraps for the most part. Phillips' decision could come at any time, and if it does, one of the two programs from the Old Dominion would probably land him, but right now, we don't have enough information to make a prediction with any sort of confidence.