Charlottesville athlete Jonas Sanker flips commitment to Virginia from Boston College

The Virginia Cavaliers added another in-state prospect to their class of 2021 on Sunday, as Charlottesville standout Jonas Sanker announced he was flipping his commitment from Boston College to UVA.

Sanker is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound athlete who plays for The Covenant School in Charlottesville. Covenant switched to playing 8-man football in the Virginia Independent Schools Football League in 2018, and Sanker’s play at quarterback has helped propel the Eagles to two dominating seasons.

In addition to the offers from UVA and BC, Sanker holds FBS offers from Army, Air Force, Navy, ODU, and Temple. Other Division I offers for Sanker include FCS powerhouse JMU, and Ivy League heavyweights Harvard, Yale, Penn, Princeton, and Dartmouth. He is rated three stars by both Rivals and 247, holding a 247 Composite score of 84.44.

Despite running the show on offense for the Eagles, UVA offered Sanker as a defensive back. His athleticism shines through in every clip, especially his closing speed and the punishment he delivers on contact with the receiver or ball carrier. The transition from 8-man prep ball to 11-man Power Five may create a steep learning curve for Sanker, but his offer sheet suggests he has more than enough smarts to figure it out.

Sanker excels on the hardwood for Covenant as well, having scored over 1,000 career points. There are plenty of easy parallels to draw between Sanker and current Cavaliers. For instance, two-sport standout at a small school? Juan Thornhill. Quarterback turned defensive back starter? De’Vante Cross. Defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Nick Howell knows how to coach up guys like Sanker, and he should find his newest addition plenty of roles to fill on defense and/or special teams.

The commitment from Sanker gives UVA five commits from within the Commonwealth for 2021—as many in-state commits as the previous two classes combined.