COMMITMENT! Joe Brown joins future of Virginia’s offensive line

While June has not been quite as busy as expected on the football recruiting front for the Virginia Cavaliers, it ended with a bang as 2022 offensive line prospect Joe Brown announced his commitment to UVA.

Rated three stars by 247, Brown chose UVA over offers from BYU, NC State, and Indiana. The 6-foot-3, 280-pound interior lineman from Lone Peak in Highland, Utah will take a two-year LDS mission and join the team in 2024.

Brown’s brothers Terence and Rhen both played for Bronco Mendenhall at BYU: Rhen as a wide receiver from 2009-2011, and Terence as an offensive lineman from 2008-2011. Terence was on the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy—awarded annually to the best offensive center in college football—prior to his senior season and signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2012.

Brown is a guy who thrives doing the dirty work as a guard. He doesn’t blow you away with quickness but just mauls folks when he gets his hands on them. The footwork and technique when he moves along the line—either on traps and pulls or hitting a double team and moving to the second level of the defense—suggests that Brown could play either guard side or even get some reps at center as he develops. His physical development when he returns from his mission will be the key question to his role with the Cavaliers long term. This is a solid starting point to build around for the Hoos’ class of 2024.