Virginia football adds four mid-year enrollees

National Signing Day is still two weeks away, but Virginia football added some of its top recruits early thanks to mid-year enrollment.

Left to right, that’s running back Jamari Peacock, running back Lamont Atkins, cornerback Riah Burton, and cornerback Germane Crowell.

Crowell—the son of the UVA wide receiving legend by the same name, and nephew of linebacker Angelo Crowell—is the highest rated of the foursome. He was one of the top 20 prospects in the state of North Carolina for 2017. UVA beat out a host of Power Five schools for his commitment, including Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, and VPISU.

Lamont Atkins was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia for 2017 after putting up eye-popping numbers at Lake Braddock. He’s just as much a stud in the classroom as he was on the field, holding offers from Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Navy.

Peacock comes to the Hoos from Yulee, Florida, and will definitely fit the “big back” model in the Anae offense. He’ll likely drop some weight from his listed 245, but he is a downhill, power runner. He reportedly decided on Virginia back in June, then made things official around Thanksgiving. Peacock chose Charlottesville over offers from home-state powers Florida and Florida State, as well as Nebraska and Stanford.

Riah (short for Zachariah) Burton is the least heralded of the newcomers, rated as a 2-star by 247 and holding a slimmer offer sheet. He played both ways for William Penn High School in New Castle, Delaware, but UVA landed him as a corner.

We hope all four will have productive careers for Virginia. The coaching staff wasted no time putting them to work and getting them ready for the rigors of ACC play.