UVA football coach Bronco Mendenhall has landed his top-rated recruiting class since arriving on Grounds in 2015, ranking in the Top 30 classes in the nation with Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN.
The Class of 2021, announced on Wednesday, includes five players rated four-star recruits by at least one recruiting service – Life Christian Academy (South Chesterfield) defensive end Bryce Carter, Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.) offensive lineman Noah Josey, Archbishop Murphy (Mukilteo. Wash.) linebacker Josh McCarron, Rider (Wichita Falls, Texas) quarterback Jacob Rodriguez, and Episcopal (Alexandria) offensive lineman Logan Taylor.
Nine of the 24 signees are from Virginia, seven ranking among the 247Sports Top 50 recruits in the Commonwealth – Carter (4), Taylor (9), Lafayette (Williamsburg) wideout Michael Green (17), Benedictine (Richmond) quarterback Jay Woolfolk (20), James Monroe (Fredericksburg) safety Aidan Ryan (30), Covenant (Charlottesville) safety Jonas Sanker (34), and North Cross (Roanoke) outside linebacker James Jackson (39).
Capsules: The four stars
Bryce Carter
Carter, who reclassified from the Class of 2022 to the Class of 2021, may be able to contribute right away. The 6’3”, 250-pounder, rated the #92 recruit nationally by 247Sports, earned all-state honors at Thomas Dale in 2019, in a season in which he compiled 101 tackles, 23 tackles for losses and nine sacks.
He transferred to Life Christian Academy to play in the fall, and recorded 28 tackles, five tackles for loss and six sacks in the five games the Eagles played in 2020.
Carter also had offers from Florida, Michigan State, Duke and East Carolina.
Noah Josey
Josey was an all-region player in 2020 for a Brentwood Academy team that finished 11-1, and he earned an invite to play in the Under Armour All-America Game.
Josey also had offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn and Baylor.
Josh McCarron
McCarron played defensive end, outside linebacker, wide receiver and tight end at Archbishop Murphy, which he led to the state quarterfinals as a junior in 2019, posting 89 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 21 sacks and three forced fumbles on defense and caught 26 passes for 391 yards and three touchdowns on offense.
McCarron also had offers from Air Force, Boise State, Cal and Colorado.
Jacob Rodriguez
Rodriguez plans to enroll at UVA in the spring. As a junior, Rodriguez completed 199-of-344 pass attempts in 2019 for 3,003 yards and 33 touchdowns and rushed 149 times for 1,247 yards.
Rodriguez also had offers from Air Force, Baylor, Hawaii and Houston.
Logan Taylor
Taylor also plans to enroll at UVA for the spring semester. A top-25 offensive tackle prospect according to MaxPreps, the native of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, enrolled at Episcopal for his junior season in 2019, in which he earned first-team Division 1 all-state honors in the Virginia Independent Schools Football League.
Taylor also had offers from Arizona, Boston College, Buffalo and Duke.
Class of 2021
| Logan Taylor ** | OL | 6-7 | 295 | Bridgewater, N.S. | Episcopal HS (Va.) |
| Lorenz Terry | DL | 6-5 | 260 | Sandston, Va. | Varina HS/Fork Union Military Academy |
| Hugh Laughlin | DL | 6-5 | 280 | Athens, Ga. | Athens Academy |
| Amaad Foston ** | RB | 6-0 | 210 | Milledgeville, Ga. | John Milledgeville Academy |
| Malachi Fields | WR | 6-4 | 205 | Keswick, Va. | Monticello HS |
| Charlie Patterson | OL | 6-7 | 285 | Roswell, Ga. | Fellowship Christian |
| Bryce Carter | DL | 6-3 | 250 | South Chesterfield, Va. | Life Christian Academy |
| Mike Green | OLB | 6-4 | 215 | Williamsburg, Va. | Lafayette HS |
| William Simpkins III | DB | 6-1 | 170 | Gaithersburg, Md. | Quince Orchard HS |
| Aidan Ryan | DB | 6-1 | 185 | Fredericksburg, Va. | James Monroe HS |
| Ty Furnish | OL | 6-4 | 250 | Woodstock, Ga. | Blessed Trinity Catholic |
| Langston Long ** | ILB | 6-2 | 215 | Woodbridge, Va. | Christ School (N.C.) |
| Jack Witmer | TE | 6-6 | 225 | Cypress, Texas | Cy-Fair HS |
| Noah Josey | OL | 6-5 | 280 | Brentwood, Tenn. | Brentwood Academy |
| Jacob Rodriguez ** | QB | 6-1 | 200 | Wichita Falls, Texas | Rider HS |
| Micah Gaffney | DB | 6-0 | 170 | Spanish Fort, Ala. | Spanish Fort HS |
| Jesiah Davis | WR | 6-3 | 180 | Huntersville, N.C. | Hough HS |
| Michael Diatta | DL | 6-5 | 265 | Antioch, Tenn. | Cane Ridge HS |
| James Jackson ** | OLB | 6-3 | 200 | Pulaski Va. | North Cross HS |
| Jonas Sanker | DB | 6-0 | 185 | Charlottesville, Va. | The Covenant School |
| Josh McCarron | OLB | 6-4 | 215 | Mukilteo, Wash. | Archbishop Murphy HS |
| Jay Woolfolk | QB | 5-11 | 190 | Chesterfield, Va. | Benedictine |
| West Weeks | ILB | 6-2 | 205 | Watkinsville, Ga. | Oconee County HS |
| Javin Burke ** | DB | 6-0 | 195 | Cleveland, Tenn. | Bradley Central HS |
** January enrollee
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Chris Graham
