Croce pulls the trigger

Olney (Md.) Our Lady of Good Counsel defensive tackle Vincent Croce made his decision earlier today. The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder committed while on an unofficial visit.

"I committed around four or 4:30 to Virginia at their Blue Chip Junior Day," he said. "It was great. I loved it.

"At the closing part of the day, Coach London was talking to everybody and giving his final presentation about what he believes and what he's trying to do. I was next to Marco Jones and we talked about going to Virginia together. I texted him and said are you ready to make a move. He was sitting there texting his mom and I was texting my parents down the row. At the conclusion, everyone made their way out and Marco stood up and told Coach London he was committing. Coach London shook his hand and then I came up and told him, 'Coach you got the second one of the day.'"

How did London react to the news?

"He was excited," he said. "The look on his face, he was ecstatic.

"He talked to both of us and talked about how happy he was and excited to have us on board. He talked to my dad for awhile and our moms were emotional."

Croce broke down what made him decide to head to Charlottesville.

"It was my third time down there and it was the school that kept coming up in conversation at home," he said. "It's well-rounded and they have a good balance of social life, academics and athletics. The people down there are great and everything Coach London is saying his coaching staff is working towards, I believe in. I'm behind the program 100%. I didn't feel the need to string it out any longer.

"I like Coach London. He instills his values and morals into his guys. He's looking for good character guys and that's something I appreciate. He's talked about the 2011 class being the class to turn everything around and I want to be apart of that. It's not like Virginia is at the very bottom of everything. They are a solid program and have a lot of room for growth and I can be part of that growth back to the top of the ACC."

Croce will get a chance to earn playing time upon his arrival.

"I sat down with the coaches on my visit prior to this one," he said. "They went over the depth chart and during my freshman year their whole front will be all seniors. I'll get a chance to compete for playing time and if I'm only going to be in for a few plays, I can redshirt and then potentially get a chance to start four years in a row."

Overall the Maryland lineman is thrilled with his decision.

"I'm really excited about it," he said. "Coach London was talking to us at the end and I got that feeling that came over me. I think it'll be a really good thing. I really like the atmosphere down there and I'm ready to go."

Croce pulled over 20 scholarships including the latest from Purdue and UCF.