The Virginia football program received a huge (pun intended) commitment on Tuesday afternoon, when Stephen Spanellis became the 16th member of the class of 2016.
Regarded as a top-40 offensive tackle for this recruiting cycle, Spanellis selected the Wahoos over offers from Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, and Virginia Tech among others.
UVa extended an offer to Spanellis and two other teammates in late May, and it took just over a month for the three-star tackle to jump on board.
Spanellis is a significant addition for a variety for reasons… Chief among them being, he is another offensive lineman. Virginia is looking to load up on the big uglies in this class, and the Wahoos have three on board so far. The Baltimore native joins Ben Knutson, and Dillon Reinkensmeyer, who jumped on board yesterday.
As seen in the film above, Spanellis is a man amongst boys at the high school level. The mammoth tackle has no issues shoving aside the competition in both run and pass-blocking situations. His 6-6, 290 pound frame makes him a nightmare matchup at the point of attack.
In addition to Spanellis playing a position of need, the big-time tackle comes from one of the Mid Atlantic's top football programs. The Gilman School in Baltimore has been quite the FBS football factory over the years, and head coach Mike London has made recruiting that school a priority since 2010. Gilman has produced former UVa receiver Darius Jennings and current middle linebacker Micah Kiser as well.
Now that Spanellis is on board, expect the rising senior to heavily recruit his high school teammates, 2016 defensive tackle Ellison Jordan, and 2017 quarterback Kasim Hill.