Bronco Mendenhall 'amazed' by variety of recruiting choices at Virginia

Bronco Mendenhall completed his first National Signing Day with Virginia on Wednesday and perhaps the biggest takeaway for the former BYU coach was the recruiting possibilities at a non-faith-based program.

"We were amazed as a coaching staff at how many more choices there are, once you take out the faith-based component," admitted the Cavaliers coach. "That became our normal. And I used it as a strength because it was for that particular institution."

Mendenhall was able to land 24 recruits in a limited time frame for Virginia, but for a coach who took BYU to 11 bowls in 11 years, the freedom to recruit a wider variety of players is a refreshing change.

"If you look now at character and ability and academics, all of those are still very high standards, we're like kids in a candy store with just how many more choices there are," he said.

While the Cavaliers rank 60th in the nation in ESPN's team recruiting rankings, Mendenhall hopes the foundation has been set for years of success to follow.

"I would describe this class as a great starting point," he said.