With a heat wave surging across the East Coast, the Virginia football team stayed hot on the recruiting trail Friday. The Hoos picked up their fourth commitment in July with JaySean Richardson, a defensive tackle out of Varina in Richmond.

Richardson announced his decision on social media.


 


 


 

 



 

 


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A post shared by Riley Alberts (@cfbralb)

Richardson is the second commitment from Varina in this cycle. He joins teammate DaMari Carter, who announced for the Cavaliers earlier this month. Varina reached the Virginia Class 4 State Championship Game last fall.

Overall, the program has 13 commitments in the fold for the Class of 2026. In addition to the Varina duo, Dylan Biehl (Georgia), Dallas Brannon (North Carolina), Dylan Cope (Alabama), Jayden Covil (Virginia), Alex Dunn (Virginia), Michael Gildea (New Jersey), Ely Hamrick (North Carolina), Jack Rhodes (Georgia), Josiah Teasley (Maryland/Virginia), Derek Uran (Ohio), and Jae'Oyn Williams (Maryland) have committed to UVA.

The majority of this class to date carries a 3-star rating from the national recruiting services. 247 Sports rates Richardson as a 3-star and the No. 24 prospect in the state. In those rankings, the Hoos now have commitments from the No. 17 (Dunn), No. 24 (Richardson), No. 25 (Covil), No. 27 (Carter), and No. 37 (Teasley) recruits in the state of Virginia in 2026. No other school has more in the top 40 currently with fellow ACC schools Syracuse and Virginia Tech close with four each.

Richardson held offers from both UVA and VT. He also reported offers from Indiana, JMU, Maryland, ODU, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, and West Virginia among others. He took official visits to both Virginia and Virginia Tech in June before setting a decision date for Friday.

The 6'0", 290-pound defensive lineman is the first commitment at that position in this class. The Hoos brought in Sichan John as a DL recruit from the high school ranks in 2025. Virginia filled out a lot of its current defensive line room with transfers for the upcoming season, but will need to replace several departing players like Jahmeer Carter and Jacob Holmes on the interior once the 2025 campaign is complete.

You can watch Richardson highlights on his Hudl profile.

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