By Jerry Ratcliffe
Fresh from being voted ACC Coach of the Year on Thursday, Virginia’s Tony Elliott’s day got even better when 4-star wide receiver DeMarcus Brown announced his commitment to the Cavaliers.
Brown, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound target from Roanoke’s North Cross School, is ranked the No. 1 wide receiver in the state in the recruiting class of 2027 by 247Sports.
With more than 20 offers from Division I schools, Brown chose Virginia over four other runners-up: Oklahoma, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.
Some of the other schools that offered, included: Virginia Tech, Cal, Louisville, Pitt, Wisconsin, Maryland, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Memphis.
Brown, who was offered by UVA in May, built a solid relationship with Cavaliers wide receivers coach Adam Mims, the rest of the program’s offensive coaches and with Elliott. It was a long, two-hour phone conversation with Elliott during Virginia’s most recent bye week that finally tipped the scales in the Wahoos’ favor, Brown said.
The wide receiver, who has great leaping ability, said that conversation touched him to the point that he prayed about all the options before him. Brown loved UVA’s family culture and that the team was built on faith and Christianity.
He is ranked No. 42 among national wide receivers for his ‘27 class by both 247 and Rivals, and among the top 10 prospects at any position in the state in his class.
