Summer time means recruiting time for coaches all around the country, with the Virginia Cavaliers being no exception. The ‘Hoos have now secured 11 commitments and counting in the class of 2026, helping build on what was a successful recruiting effort in the transfer portal this past spring.
As most fans know nowadays, nothing is ever official in the world of recruiting until pen hits paper and players officially arrive on campus ahead of a new season. There are plenty of stories each year where last
minute efforts by schools have successfully flipped big-name talent, with UVA having been left in the cold its fair share of times by recruits who went on to become stars at their respective schools.
A look back at three prospects who initially committed to the Cavaliers, but never went on to wear the orange and blue.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Hailing from the Hampton Roads area, Owusu-Koramoah was a promising in-state recruit in the 2017 class. The Bethel High School attendee was ranked as the 40th overall outside linebacker in the class, sitting squarely in the middle of the class as a three-star prospect. The ‘Hoos saw him as a great fit to plug in at linebacker alongside Jordan Mack, as well as fellow linebackers Zane Zandier and Charles Snowden, who both signed in the same recruiting 2017 cycle and were impact players on UVA’s nine-win squad in 2019.
Owusu-Koramoah wound up committing to UVA in late October of 2016, but chose to take a visit to Michigan State the following January to further solidify his comfort level with his decision. It was later that month that Notre Dame entered the fold, offering Owusu-Koramoah on Jan. 19, nudging him to decommit from the ‘Hoos on the 23rd. Ironically, that same day, he reopened his recruitment while Irish head coach Brian Kelly was in Virginia to meet with the star linebacker.
What seemed inevitable as time continued to pass became reality, as he committed to Kelly and the Irish on National Signing Day—later proving to be one of the best defensive players in the country.
Owusu-Koramoah went on to become a first-team all-American, in addition to winning the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in 2020. The Virginia-native went on to make the leap to the NFL as a second-round draft choice by the Cleveland Browns in 2021.
Bud Clark
If you aren’t familiar with Clark already, you’ll likely hear plenty about him once the 2025 season kicks off. Clark returns as one of the best safeties in the country and a game changer in TCU’s secondary. He originally entered the collegiate ranks as the 31st-ranked safety in the 2020 class, per 247 Sports. Multiple notable programs, alongside the ‘Hoos, were high on his talent as a tackler and a ballhawk throughout the recruiting process.
UVA began recruiting the Louisiana-product early in 2019, well after Clark had already received offers from big-time programs like LSU, Ole Miss, and TCU.
Nearly two weeks after taking an official visit to Charlottesville in April of 2019, Bronco Mendenhall and his staff beat out both of those SEC powers, as well as Kansas, Colorado, and Arizona State to gain a commitment from the coveted four-star defensive back.
One of the biggest UVA recruiting ‘what-ifs’ in recent memory. https://t.co/Sfap8NiTcn pic.twitter.com/K4UvjBmHbJ
— Garrett Keogh (@garrett_keogh01) July 1, 2025
Unfortunately, TCU never gave up in its efforts to poach Clark away from the ‘Hoos, breaking the hearts of UVA coaches and fans by flipping him on signing day that December. Similarly to Owusu-Koramoah, Clark’s decision to go elsewhere was not much of a surprise after rumors—that later proved to be true—emerged that Clark had been silently committed to the Horned Frogs for weeks leading up to decision day.
LaNorris Sellers
If you still have any harsh feelings toward Mendenhall and his abrupt departure as head coach, Sellers’ recruitment story likely won’t make you feel any better.
The ‘Hoos were in on the Sellers early on, offering him in May of 2021, which at the time, was just his third power-conference offer. Mendenhall’s vision for the future was enough to secure a commitment from Sellers that July over efforts from Virginia Tech, Washington State, and Appalachian State as a then-unranked quarterback prospect that had all of the physical tools at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds as a high school junior. Sellers’ decision also came at a time when guys like Bryce Perkins and Brennan Armstrong had demonstrated the quarterback position to be widely versatile under the current staff. It isn’t a stretch by any means to say Sellers’ skillset and physicality truly made him tailor-made for how UVA ran its offense back then.
His stint as the first commitment of the 2023 class lasted just six months, as he decommitted in January 2022, as a result of Mendenhall’s sudden departure, picking up an offer from South Carolina months later where he eventually signed and has since owned the starting quarterback position.
Sellers had a promising year in 2024, and ahead of his redshirt sophomore season, is a trendy pick to win the Heisman Trophy, boasting the fifth-best odds nationally at +1600. He’ll also have the opportunity to do what the ‘Hoos have failed to since 2019—beat Virginia Tech—as the Gamecocks are set to face the Hokies to open the season on Labor Day weekend down in Atlanta.
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