On Thursday morning, the Virginia football program stayed hot on the recruiting trail, and received a verbal commitment from 2016 safety Jordan Mack of Norcross Georgia.
Mack is the third defensive back prospect to commit to the Wahoos in as many days.
The three-star safety selected UVa over offers from Boston College, Northwestern, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, and Georgia Tech among others. Getting Mack away from the home-sate Yellow Jackets was a big-time win for the Cavaliers Mack's father, Charles Mack played for GT in the 1980s. Consider this payback for David Curry in the last cycle.
Mack is rated as the 16th best prospect in the state of Georgia, and the 28th best safety in the entire class of 2016 by Rivals.com. Rivals initially rated him as a four-star prospect, but recently took one of his stars away... Talk about motivation.
This past fall, Mack registered 70 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and two interceptions.
Mack brings a rare combination of size and speed to the safety position. At 6-3, 194 pounds, the Georgia native can lay the lumber in the defensive backfield, and is not afraid to come up and help out in run support. Heck, his physical stature alone is enough to intimidate opposing offenses. Imagine Mack standing next to Quin Blanding. Wow!
Speaking of height, the Cavaliers have added plenty of it to the secondary class. The cornerback commits from this past week Darius Bratton and Chris Moore stand six-foot-one and six-foot-two respectively, and both are extremely physical. Defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta has to be smiling ear to ear right now.
While Blanding may only be around for another two years, the Wahoos are in excellent shape at the safety position for years to come. Combine Mack's size with the speed and awareness of 2015 safety Juan Thornill, and Virginia will have quite the duo in the defensive backfield.