Hughes talks UVA official

Rivals250 linebacker Travis Hughes took his fourth official visit this past weekend to Virginia. The 6-foot-1, 228-pounder came away impressed by the visit and the Cavaliers upset win over Miami.

"It was awesome," he said. "I had an awesome time. There were some boys down there with me, Trey Nicholson, Curtis Grant came up later on, David Dean, David Watford, Caleb Taylor, DaQuan Romero, the big guy from Cox."

Hughes made it to Charlottesville at around midnight following a game on Friday night.

"I got there and I was one of four players on my official along with Trey and two guys from Texas, a defensive end and a linebacker from Georgia," he said. "On Saturday before the game, I ate breakfast with the team and saw their pre-game warmup, walkthrough stuff. I got to see how they prepare for a game.

"Then, I had a quick meeting with the deans. They were great people to be around. They were good to talk to and I was impressed with them. Hopefully they were impressed with me also."

From there, Hughes headed over to the game.

"Oh my god, the defense came out strong from the beginning," he said. "The offense took awhile to develop, but it seemed like once they took out Jacory (Harris), they got a spark and that was clean, but a rough hit."

What about the linebacker play?

"Laroy Reynolds played an awesome game, he stood out to me," he said. "He was used everywhere, he was balling out, even on special teams. That was an awesome job. The linebacker did pretty well. I definitely paid attention to them, but the defensive line impressed me. They were putting good pressure on the quarterback consistently."

On Saturday night, the four-star prospect spent time with his host, Chesapeake native Perry Jones.

"I know Perry, he is an awesome guy," he said. "It wasn't just with Perry, I talked to almost every Virginia player they had, every player showed serious love. They were excited for us to be up there and I felt good up there with everybody.

"Coach Chip West told me I'd be surprised what I'd find and it was really awesome. Everybody wants Trey (Nicholson) and I to be part of their family now. They showed love in the locker room and took good care of us. I was impressed with everything."

Of course, on Sunday Hughes got more time with the coaches and a final pitch from Mike London.

"I couldn't imagine listening to speeches, he's preaching and he's fashioned about his thing, he's confident," he said. "He showed me that if he can get the personnel, the right personnel, that team would be something crazy. I know this 2011 class really could boost that up for them. Coach London is a great man, he tries hard and he had his son right in the middle of everything in the ecstatic locker room. I like that type of family background he brings to Virginia. I see why people put him as the man in charge, he's passionate about what he does."

Despite the good visit, Hughes maintains no favorites.

"Right now I've got a big bag full of great teams," he said. "I feel good at every one of these colleges.

"I'm going to Clemson this week. It'll be the first time seeing them play live. It's my official and I'm hearing rumors my boy Tajh Boyd may be playing. That may make it even better. One thing about Clemson is that the defensive line is awesome, they are just looking for linebackers to fit right behind them."

Meanwhile, what's the plan after the upcoming visit, which will be his fifth?

"After this weekend, my last official, I'll take some unofficial visits to make sure I'm making the right decision," he said. "I might go to the Virginia Tech-Virginia game. Maryland is looking really good too now, I've got a hard decision to make and I'm going to try to make the best decision for me."

Of note, Hughes added that he just received and plans to participate in the Offense-Defense Bowl in Myrtle Beach.