By Jerry Ratcliffe
Virginia picked up two pass rushers and a long snapper through the transfer portal on Friday afternoon, gaining commitments from Yale edge Ezekiel Larry, UTSA edge rusher Nnanna Anyanwu and New Hampshire snapper Wyatt Rubinoff.
Larry, a third-team All-American for Yale, is a 6-2, 240 pass rusher who registered 10.5 sacks last season for the Bulldogs and earned the highest grade of any Ivy League pass rushers in 2025.
The former San Diego State player chose UVA over UNLV and Rice and told On3 Sports that the Cavaliers coaching staff was the deciding factor in his commitment.
“The character of the coaching staff was the biggest ting that made me and my family comfortable with the decision,” Larry told On3. “That’s the big thing that separated them from the other programs for me.”
Larry also said he was impressed with Virginia’s program-record, 11-win season and Gator Bowl win over SEC opponent Missouri, in addition to the fact he’ll be coached by UVA legend Chris Slade, the ACC’s all-time sacks leader and former NFL standout for the New England Patriots.
Larry, originally from California, said he expects a former Yale teammate to commit to Virginia in the very near future. The transfer portal closes on Jan. 16. Larry is expected to fill Daniel Rickert’s role at the “bandit” position. Larry has one year of eligibility remaining.
Nnanna Anyanwu was a late-night addition, committing from the University of Texas San Antonio (USTA). The 6-5, 240 redshirt sophomore has two years of eligibility remaining. Anyanwu visited UVA last weekend. After missing most of the 2024 and 2023 seasons with injuries, he played in 11 games in 2025 (two starts) and recorded 23 tackles, 5 sacks, 7 TFLs for the Road Runners. The Hampton, Ga., native played in three games in 2024 before a season-ending injury and played in only the first two games of the ’23 season before a season-ending injury.
Rubinoff is a 6-2, 225 snapper, originally out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., was a 5-star snapper in Kohl’s Kicking Camp. He appeared in all 11 games for Marist in 2024, then transferred to New Hampshire and played in all of that program’s games this past season. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
Meanwhile, even though quarterback DJ Lagway committed to Baylor on Thursday, he apparently is keeping his options open. Reports are that Lagway will continue to talk to other schools, including Ole Miss. Lagway visited Virginia and Florida State this past week.
A handful of former UVA players that entered the portal have found new football homes:
Cornerback Ja’son Prevard committed to Kansas State
Cornerback Emmanuel Karnley committed to Washington
Cornerback Dre Walker committed to Appalachian State
Defensive lineman Terrell Jones committed to South Florida.
This story will be updated with any more additions from the portal throughout the evening.
