After Saturday, Tech rivalry now personal for UVa's 2022 recruits
Brody Meadows knew it was coming.
Graham High School isn’t quite in the shadow of Lane Stadium, but it’s not a far trip to Blacksburg. But Meadows, a senior offensive lineman at Graham, plans to sign with Virginia in two weeks and head to Charlottesville next month as an early enrollee.
So when the Wahoos lost to arch-rival Virginia Tech on Saturday evening at Scott Stadium, Meadows figured he’d hear it from classmates. Sure enough, the good-natured ribbing began as soon as he arrived at school Monday morning.
“I’m surrounded by Tech fans all the time. Down here it’s ‘Tech, Tech, Tech,’” Meadows told CavsCorner this week. “Everybody thought I would go to Tech; 30 minutes away, close to home. But I felt the love at UVa.”
Meadows wasn’t able to be in Charlottesville on Saturday. The four-star offensive tackle was busy helping Graham overcome a slow start to roll past Ridgeview 49-21 in the Region D championship of the VHSL Class 2 playoffs. With that win, the unbeaten G-Men will host Appomattox County this Saturday in the state semifinals.
While Meadows was watching the second half of the Hoos and Hokies from home, more than a half-dozen of his fellow members of Virginia’s class of 2022—quarterback Davis Lane, running back Xavier Brown, receiver Dak Twitty, offensive lineman Joe Brown, defensive end Keyshawn Burgos, and linebackers Trey McDonald and Stevie Bracey—were at Scott Stadium, gaining a greater appreciation for the Commonwealth Cup rivalry by experiencing it in-person.
“Rivalry games are something different,” Twitty told CavsCorner this week. “When you come into a rivalry, no matter what your record is or how you performed in the past, in that game you get everybody’s best.”
“We had a loud Hokie fan sitting behind all the players,” recalled McDonald, “and to hear him, his passion and the dislike for the other team. Hearing the whole stadium boo Tech when they ran out, it was pretty cool to see. This is a high-intensity rivalry.”
The 16 players committed to the Cavaliers’ 2022 class stay in close contact via a group text thread. Leading up to the Tech game, the recruits from in-state tried their best to convey to their classmates how contentious Tech/UVa can get.
“Davis is always talking about how much he hates Tech. And that kind of sat with me,” said McDonald. “I grew up in Wisconsin and I hate Ohio State. I hate Minnesota. And now I hate Tech. You kind of build it.”
UVa was favored by a touchdown heading into Saturday’s game, and took a four-point lead into the second half. The Hokies moved in front for good in the fourth quarter, and after Tech kept the Hoos out of the end zone in the final minute to preserve a 29-24 win, their fans stormed the field at Scott Stadium to celebrate the victory.
By that moment, the rivalry had become personal for the UVa commits watching from the stands.
“I was talking to some of the ‘22s, and it’s a done deal. It’s a done deal,” said Twitty, his voice elevating. “When we get up there, it’s shutting down. None of that.”
“Them storming the field and planting the flag,” said McDonald, "we were texting afterward and we were like, ‘We’re not letting that happen once.’”
The class of 2022 commits on-hand didn’t allow the outcome of the game to completely put a damper on their weekend in Charlottesville. They got to check out the basketball team’s win against Lehigh on Friday night and show family members around the Grounds they will soon call home. The recruits also got to meet with various UVa coaches and connect in-person with one another.
“It was kind of crazy. It felt like we had been friends for a lot longer than we have,” explained McDonald. “We gelled really well.”
The soon-to-be Hoos also spent the weekend working on adding more players to their recruiting class. Defensive end Samuel Okunlola and offensive lineman Trent Ramsey, a pair of four-star recruits, and three-stars Snoop Amaama and Gavin Gibson were among the uncommitted 2022 prospects at Saturday’s game.
Twitty gave those targets the full-court press all weekend, sharing the story of how because of the pandemic, he had only communicated with UVa coaches virtually and hadn’t visited the school prior to committing in May.
“The thing I like to preach is,” the three-star receiver shared, “the things the coaches have shown you and told you, over the phone and through the calls and all these videos, is what you get in person.”
Twitty and McDonald had their senior seasons end in their respective playoffs over the past few weeks. Twitty has turned his attention to his final season of high school basketball, which tipped off last week; McDonald has begun preseason lacrosse workouts in anticipation of his senior season in the spring.
Like their fellow 2022s, they’ve also been following the workout and meal plans from UVa as they prepare to get “ACC strong and ACC fast” in anticipation of arriving in Charlottesville. Again, that text thread among the Cavaliers’ commitments has provided near-constant motivation to the group.
“At least once an hour, something goes into the group chat,” said McDonald, a three-star linebacker. “Like, somebody will get a new squat PR and they’ll send it in there and we’re like, ‘Well, now we’ve got to catch up.’ It’s competition but it’s a good competition.
Meadows is hoping to end his high school career with his second state championship before heading to Virginia next month. He’d always been personally invested in the Tech/UVa rivalry, especially since committing to the Hoos in June. Like his classmates who were in the stands on Saturday, watching how that game unfolded just hardened his resolve.
“It’s big time now,” said Meadows. “My goal is to change everybody down here from Tech fans to UVa fans.”
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