Newton-Short, state’s No. 2 WR prospect, picks Virginia over Hokies

By Jerry Ratcliffe

After hauling in an offer from Virginia Tech only eight days ago, Matoaca wide receiver Dillon Newton-Short decided life would be better in Charlottesville and committed to Virginia on Friday evening.

Newton-Short, considered the No. 2 wide receiver prospect in the state, chose Tony Elliott’s Cavaliers over the Hokies and a host of other schools, including Duke, Pitt, Maryland, Liberty, JMU, Appalachian State, Marshall, ECU, ODU, Temple and UMass. He is a 3-star prospect for the Class of 2025 and a First-Team, All-State performer.

Virginia was in attendance at Thursday’s “Richmond Showcase” at Highland Springs HS, and the Cavaliers’ coaching staff was impressed enough to make an offer to Newton-Short, who has visited Charlottesville on more than one occasion.

At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, he is a talented athlete who also plays defensive back for the Chesterfield school, and also plays basketball. He has 4.5 speed in the 40.

As a junior at Matoaca, Newton-Short hauled in an impressive 65 receptions for 1,095 yards and 22 touchdowns. He also posted 22 tackles and made 5 interceptions on the other side of the ball.

The 247Sports composite rankings have him as the No. 741 overall prospect nationally, No. 120 at his wide receiver position and No. 21 in the state of Virginia (all positions), while Rivals has him as the No. 72 receiver in the country and the No. 12 overall prospect in the state.