Virginia picks up another experienced DB in SMU’s Westfall

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia continued to help bolster its secondary on Sunday when former SMU starting cornerback Sam Westfall announced he has committed to the Cavaliers.

Westfall entered the portal on April 21 and made an official visit to UVA this past week, choosing the Cavaliers over Utah State, Coastal Carolina and ODU. It appears that Westfall has one year of eligibility remaining after first playing at Mesa Community College in 2018 (8 games, 27 tackles, 9 passes defended), redshirting at SMU in 2019, then playing in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Originally from St. George, Utah, he was a three-star player at Dixie High School. He measures 5-foot-10 and 188 pounds, and is the third defensive back to join Virginia through the transfer portal this spring, including Malcolm Greene of Clemson and Tayvonn Kyle of Iowa State.

Westfall brings UVA to the NCAA limit of 85 scholarship players.

Last season at SMU, he played in 13 games and started 11, posting 15 tackles (11 solo) and three passes broken up. In 2021 as a junior, he played in seven games for the Mustangs, had three tackles and one PBU. In ‘20, he played in six games, mostly on special teams.

Will extreme gratitude I’m excited to announce my commitment to @UVAFootball Let’s get to work! #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/0v4vrzZyBE

— Sam Westfall (@swestfall5) May 14, 2023