Dartmouth transfer Flores latest to join crowded Virginia O-Line room

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Garett Tujague is due for a well-deserved vacation. Virginia’s offensive line coach has done a yeoman’s job in restocking the Cavaliers’ O-Line by gaining seven commitments in the past week.

The latest is John Paul Flores, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound left tackle, a two-year transfer starter from Dartmouth. Flores, a second-team All-Ivy League lineman, has two years of eligibility remaining.

Flores held a ton of offers, including SMU, Temple, UMass, ECU, Bowling Green, Akron, Buffalo, JMU, UConn, Miami-Ohio and more.

He visited UVA on Jan. 16 and announced his commitment after an in-home visit on Thursday. He also visited SMU.

Next Chapter 📖 pic.twitter.com/OvfvxJXmw4

— John Paul Flores (@76_jpflores) January 27, 2022

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers also offered another Ivy Leaguer, Paul Akere, a 6-4, 250 defensive end/outside linebacker from Columbia.

Akere is a second-team All-Ivy player with two years of eligibility remaining. He was also offered by Buffalo, Rice, UAB, North Texas and Miami-Ohio.

There’s no question that Tujague was looking for size. Here are the seven recent O-Line commitments and their size:

• Mac Hollensteiner 6-6, 310
• McKale Boley 6-6, 295
• Snoop Amaraama 6-5, 330
• Houston Curry 6-7, 265
• Noah DeMerritt 6-5, 340
• Dawson Alters 6-2, 265
• John Paul Flores 6-5, 300