The Virginia football team’s recruiting flurry continued this month as it secured its fourth commitment in the past seven days. This time, the news came from Independence High School linebacker Dallas Brannon, who made the call for the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

Brannon announced his decision on social media.

This pushes UVA’s current 2026 class up to 8 members, half of which committed in the past week. Linebacker Derek Uran, quarterback Jae’Oyn Williams, receiver Josiah Teasley, and Brannon made the call most recently. Quarterback Ely Hamrick, offensive lineman Michael Gildea, offensive lineman Dylan Biehl, and cornerback Alex Dunn committed earlier.

All 8 prospects have 3-star ratings in the recruiting services. Brannon checks in as a 3-star prospect on 247 Sports, Rivals, and On3. 247 has him as the No. 55 player in North Carolina and On3 has him 34th, while Rivals has him up to 19th in an update from early June.

Brannon earned offers from Duke, Boston College, North Carolina, Louisville, Virginia Tech, and more within the ACC as well as Indiana, Charlotte, Cincinnati, East Carolina, JMU, and others outside of the conference. UVA’s offer came last August. He watched spring practice in April and took an official visit to Charlottesville this past weekend. The commitment followed shortly.

That long offer list is a reflection of his play in high school. The 6’2”, 207-pound linebacker has been productive at Independence with 306 tackles (189 solo) the past three seasons across 34 games, per MaxPreps. That includes 18 tackles for loss with 6.5 sacks. He has 2 fumbles caused and 1 fumble recovery in that data.

Brannon was selected to the Southwestern 4A All-Conference Team and he was picked as Defensive Player of the Year. He landed on The Charlotte Observer’s All-Observer Team as well. He was named Charlotte Mecklenburg Football MVP and Men’s Fall Athlete of the Year at a recent All-Star Gala in the area.

For Virginia, this meets what could be a position of need in the 2026 recruiting class, pending future use of the transfer portal for linebackers. The Cavaliers’ roster includes James Jackson in his final year of eligibility along with other upperclassmen that could finish out their careers during Brannon’s true freshman season.

View Brannon’s highlights on his Hudl profile.

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