Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

It was a hot, busy weekend on Grounds for Virginia athletics. The basketball class of 2020 moved in and the football program hosted both camp and official visitors.

The football players also returned for the start of offseason strength training.

Here were the top stories from the recruiting side of things.

Hits

  • Jamari Peacock: The 6’1, 220 pound running back from Yulee, Florida, picked UVA over an impressive list of suitors. There hasn’t been an official announcement from Peacock yet, but he is expected to announce later this year.
  • Zachariah Burton: The two-way athlete from Delaware committed to UVA just three weeks after receiving an offer. His older brother, Frank, is a defensive end for Ball State.

Misses

  • Luiji Vilain: The four-star stud defensive end from Episcopal in Alexandria committed to Michigan on Sunday. Regarded as one of the top two or three prospects in the Commonwealth for 2017, he would have been a perfect fit at DE under Mike London’s 4-3 scheme. At only 240 pounds, he would have most likely needed to move to OLB or bulk up significantly under Mendenhall.
  • Cole Bentley: A late offer from Louisville upended Bentley’s recruitment, as he went from Virginia lean to Louisville commit over the weekend. Bentley is a potentially underrated offensive lineman but is one of the top prospects in Kentucky.
  • Chris Lykes: On the hardwood side of things, one of the top hoops targets for Tony Bennett’s staff ended his recruitment early and committed to Miami. The 5’7 (yes, that’s correct, five foot seven) point guard from Gonzaga in D.C. is one of the top 50 prospects nationwide and would have brought a unique skill set to the Cavaliers’ roster.

New offers

Emil Ekiyor: A 6’2, 349 pound offensive guard from Indiana, Ekiyor is one of the top offensive lineman in the class of 2018. (Making him a 350-pound high school sophomore. Goodness.) He tweeted news of his offer from UVA this morning.

Michigan also offered over the weekend, and Ekiyor already holds offers from Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Tennessee—basically name a Power Five program and Ekiyor is on their board.

Condolences

PK Kier is a three-star running back from Winchester, Virginia, currently committed to JMU but getting the full-court press from UVA. Kier was scheduled to visit Grounds over the weekend, but on Friday tweeted that his three-year-old cousin, Brayden, passed away from cancer.

Losing a loved one is never easy, but the pain is infinitely greater for a life so young. Our condolences and best wishes to PK and his family.