When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
Rodney Lora was a top in-state target for Virginia even for the previous staff. When coach Tony Elliott took over, the Woodberry Forest, Va., standout remained a key target for the Cavaliers’ recruiting class.
He’s a talented in-state defensive tackle. Lora goes to Woodberry Forest School which matches up well with Virginia’s academic standards. Everything seemed to make sense.
So when Lora committed in June it was a big recruiting victory for Elliott and his staff as they look to build the program with in-state prospects being a major focus.
But three months later, Lora has now backed off his pledge to Virginia as Penn State, Michigan, Rutgers and Tennessee have emerged as the programs to watch in his recruitment.
With Lora back on the market, Virginia’s class sits second-to-last in the ACC recruiting rankings behind only Syracuse, and the Cavaliers are No. 76 nationally.
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LOCAL REACTION
This is a really, really tough beat for the Hoos. Lora was a guy that had been on the radar well before the new staff had been assembled this past winter and they were able to get him locked in early. Losing him not only opens up a spot the staff must fill but it chips away at Tony Elliott’s stated goal in this class of getting more in-state results.
Woodberry Forest is a school with an academic profile that translates well to UVa so losing a guy there is also a brutal development for a program that certainly doesn’t need bad news on the recruiting front. - Brad Franklin, CavsCorner
Sting factor: 8
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NATIONAL REACTION
Virginia wants to make in-state recruiting a priority as it’s the lifeblood of most good recruiting classes. But Elliott has been challenged in that goal so far. Penn State has landed three of the top five players in the state of Virginia this recruiting cycle; North Carolina has gotten four of the top 11; and the Cavaliers have landed just one of the top 27.
Lora is just one player but he’s also an example of a bigger problem Virginia has had so far in getting local players to come play in Charlottesville. Plus, he seemed like a perfect fit there so the calling of Penn State and others remains significant in the region.
Keeping players like Lora is crucial but Elliott needs more time to really build his program, build its identity and have players buy in. This is a big loss but not one that the Cavaliers cannot rebound from in the coming months. - Adam Gorney, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 6
