Virginia Football and Basketball Recruiting Roundup! UVa Makes the Top Five for a 2015 Defensive end

Welcome to another edition of Recruiting Roundup! It was a light seven days in recruiting with the Cavalier football team playing their first road game of the season, but we are still here to recap that week that was.

Let's go!

Making the Cut:

Three-star defensive end Kengra Daniel released his top five schools on twitter on Monday night, and the Wahoos were included. Daniel's top group featured UVa, along with Alabama, Kentucky, Louisville, and NC State in no particular order. With the recent decommitment of four-star DE Darius Fullwood, we expect Daniel to become an even bigger target for the Wildcats going forward. The Cavaliers extended an offer to the North Carolina native back in April. No word yet on if Daniel is planning to take an official visit to grounds for a game this fall. Keep it right here for the latest.

Off the Board:

2015 wide receiver target A.J. Alexander has committed to Ohio State. This is no real surprise, as the three-star wideout was leaning towards the Big 10 for awhile now, and the Cavaliers were not really a factor late. Last Friday night was a tough one for the future Buckeye, as Alexander tore his ACL in Lake Braddock's win over Westfield. It has been a brutal fall for the top kids in the Commonwealth, with top stars Garrett Taylor, Clelin Ferrell, and Chance Hall suffering season-ending injuries. In addition five-star defensive end Josh Sweat was carted off the field last Friday night as well, although it is unclear if his injury will cost him the season.

Going back to wide receiver recruiting, UVa is still in the mix with Bethlehem Pa. native Freddie Simmons, but the three star wideout has gone underground since postponing his decision back in August.

Keeping Tabs:

While UVa was not able to welcome in any visitors last weekend, some of its top targets travelled to other schools to take in some gridiron action. Pa, native John Petrishen made the VERY short trip to Heinz Field for Pittsburgh's game against Iowa. Though the Panthers came up short, they are still very much a threat to the Cavaliers in this one. Look for a decision announcement date to pop up at any time.

Elsewhere, four-star defensive tackle Tim Settle was in Morgantown this past weekend for West Virginia's huge game with Oklahoma. Settle has had a busy fall so far, visiting Virginia Tech on August 30th, UVa on September 13th, and more recently, WVU. The four-star will be in Blacksburg once again this coming Saturday, as the Hokies will battle Western Michigan. As of right now, Settle plans on deciding on December 20th.

Meanwhile, four-star linebacker Ricky DeBerry took a rare weekend off, but the Atlee standout will be on the road again soon enough. DeBerry will be in Knoxville on October 4th for UT's game against Florida. We've said it time and time again, but the best thing the Cavaliers can do to stay in the race for DeBerry is win games and erase any doubt about London's job security.

Thursday Night Lights:

This week's edition of Friday Night Lights moved up a day to accommodate Phoebus' 50-0 win over Denbigh last Thursday night. 2016 cornerback target Robbie Robinson returned a punt 25 yards for a touchdown, and on the very next series, the top-flight junior caused and recovered a fumble to set up another touchdown for the Phantoms. Robinson was last in Charlottesville for UVa's 28-20 loss to UCLA back on August 30th.

Successful Visit:

Switching over to the hardwood, we told you last week that head coach Tony Bennett was scheduled to make the trek up to New Jersey to pay a visit to five-star guard Tyrus Battle last Wednesday. Despite hosting almost every other big name coach in the country as well, Battle’s visit with Bennett went down. ZagsBlog was the first to report the story about Bennett’s visit, and Battle’s father told the esteemed basketball recruiting site that the Virginia head coach sold his vision of the UVa program and how it was on the rise nationally.

Offer Extended:

According to reports, Bennett extended an offer to 2017 guard Alex Barcello last week. Even though he’s only a sophomore, many who know the area view Barcello as one of top combo guards in the state of Arizona. The 6-1, 165 pound Barcello also picked up an offer from New Mexico over the weekend. The fact that UVa is already done with its 2015 class allows Bennett and company to focus on 2016 and beyond.

That will do it for this edition of Recruiting Roundup! Have a great week everybody!