Virginia adds to in-state recruiting haul

For Laroy Reynolds, the fact that the phone rang with an ACC coach on the line was special enough.
The message conveyed on the other end, however, made Memorial Day resemble Christmas morning for the versatile safety and wide receiver from Maury High in Norfolk.
Earlier this year on the last Monday in May, Virginia coach Al Groh did something somewhat out of the norm. That conversation eventually paved the way for Saturday’s verbal commitment from Reynolds, the Cavaliers’ 19th recruit for the Class of 2009. He is also the 11th in-state commitment for the program.
“I talked to Al Groh and he doesn’t offer players over the phone very often without seeing them first, but he did it for me because he felt that I was the right player and the right fit for the program,” Reynolds said. “That really was a step ahead of the other programs.”
The other programs that have offered Reynolds include N.C. State, Connecticut and Syracuse, and the 6-foot-1 1/2, 207-pound agile athlete said he received interest from East Carolina, Louisville, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
Reynolds’ visit to Charlottesville, which concluded Saturday after his verbal to the staff, was his second visit to the university and the first, he said, since he took in the Cavaliers’ contest last year against Virginia Tech.
“I was just coming on a recruiting trip that day,” he said. “It kind of slipped through my mind that maybe I could be playing [at Scott Stadium].”
The position that Reynolds will man in that stadium remains a mystery — and he is comfortable with that.
“I feel that just widens the opportunity — it helps out the decision making of the coaches and myself,” Reynolds pointed out. “We will both make the decision at the right time, whether it is wide receiver or safety.”
While he does not have a preference, Reynolds does feel a tad more comfortable catching passes on offense at this point. Last season, he caught 18 passes for just over 500 yards and four touchdowns, and had over 70 tackles and an interception.
“I’d say I am better at receiver,” he said. “I am good at both, but I just think I am better at receiver.”
Hailing from a recruiting hotbed for Virginia Tech, Reynolds said bucking the trend was a non-factor and said he developed a comfortable relationship with lead recruiter Bob Pruett, Virginia’s first-year defensive coordinator.
“I know a lot of players do go to Tech, but a lot of people go to Virginia as well. It is about the same thing — Virginia or Virginia Tech,” Reynolds said. “And when I was younger, I just played football. I didn’t know too much about the teams.”
As odd as it may sound among many Cavalier fans based on some past recruiting patterns, credit for part of Reynolds’ early development and passion for football came from an unlikely source. That encouragement came from an eventual graduate of Phoebus High, a school that produced Xavier Adibi, Elan Lewis and other former Hokies.
When Reynolds was 8 years old, the future Phoebus football player pleaded for his friend to join his youth league football team.
“I wasn’t really sure about playing at first, but after he asked me to play for his team, I just started football,” Reynolds said. “And I have never stopped.”
Reynolds, who said he has a 3.6 grade point average, hopes to pursue an engineering degree at UVa.