2021 OT Luis Chavarria on picking up his first offer from Vandy

HOUSTON, Tex. -- Ironically, a minor injury Luis Chavarria picked up playing basketball for Episcopal has kept him sidelined a bit during spring football. Not what one would typically expect to hear about a 2021 offensive lineman that measured in at 6-3, and 302-pounds at the Houston Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas earlier this spring.

Still, with just one season in the starting lineup under his belt, he’s out at practice helping his teammates understand their assignments and getting as much work in as he can. Fortunately for Chavarria, that hasn’t been what has defined his spring, as he opened his recruitment last week with an offer from Vanderbilt.

“That was a real surprise,” he said. “That would be an amazing place to go. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Vanderbilt - that it’s a beautiful campus, that it’s just a real good school - and I would love to go there.”

Vandy didn’t take long to decide to offer Chavarria, who said that he is looking to make a visit to the campus in early June if he can get it worked out. He won’t have to wait long before more offers come in, but the Commodores will always be his first one, and that made for a special moment when he got the news.

“That day they had a coach come by,” he said. “Later that day [Episcopal head football] Coach (Steven) Leisz came up to me and told me that my first offer was Vanderbilt and so many emotions went through my body. I was happy, felt like crying - but I couldn’t because I was at school.”

The next program that could be in line to offer Chavarria is Baylor, who he said he has had some degree of regular contact with. Chavarria plans on making a visit to Waco for a camp this summer, but feels as though the staff already has him pegged as a player to watch closely for the future.

“Baylor has seemed very interested in me, and I talk to them a lot,” he said. “Every time I talk to them, they’re constantly telling me that they’re keeping an eye on me and they’re looking out for me.”

Chavarria part of an offensive line that by this time next year could be one of the most dominant in the state, regardless of class. After Donovan Jackson transferred in this spring, Chavarria and fellow 2021 prospect Cullen Montgomery make for a formidable unit. Even if he only ends this spring with Vandy as his lone offer, he’s sure to be holding quite a few more by this time next year.