Blanding, Brown on why they picked Virginia football

Daniel Uthman | USA TODAY Sports

BEAVERTON, Ore. - Out of 125 FBS teams, only one can claim verbal commitments from two of the top 10 players in the high school class of 2014.

It's not Alabama. It's not LSU. It's not USC, and it's not Michigan.

It's Virginia.

With his announced commitment Saturday, defensive lineman Andrew Brown joined safety Quin Blanding in the Cavaliers' 2014 recruiting class. The former youth football teammates are ranked No. 7 and No. 4, respectively, in the current Rivals 250.

"It just shows how you can say they don't have the winningest record or they don't have the top people there, but me and Andrew, we didn't look at that," Blanding said Monday during the first day of The Opening, an annual event training and competition for mor than 150 of the nation's top high school football players. "We really sat down and looked at the school. We feel like we're building a dynasty."

Cavaliers coach Mike London had some influence, too. Blanding, a rising senior at Bayside High in Virginia Beach, Va., said he appreciated that Virginia's coaches showed him "love" even when they were in the area to visit another player. And Brown, a rising senior at Oscar Smith High in Chesapeake, Va., said London was different from many coaches he's met in his life. "He just told me the real stuff; what's really real," Brown said. "Other colleges were just telling me, we won this amount of gold. I understand that, but how are you going to change me into a man, or how are you going to develop me as an individual? That's what Mike London told me."

In terms of football development, Brown said he has copied the workouts of Julius Peppers, his favorite NFL player. During one-on-one pass rush drills Monday, Brown may have been the quickest defensive lineman, even as he was lining up from an interior tackle position. Afterward he received some positive reinforcement from Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Blanding said his favorite pros are safeties Ed Reed and Brian Dawkins and that he's looking forward to the aggressive scheme employed by new Virginia defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta.

"I know Coach London is jumping up and out of his shoes," Brown said. "We're bringing in one of the best classes ever. It's a great feeling to be able to change a program."

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Daniel Uthman, USA TODAY Sports' senior editor, colleges, is on Twitter @DanUthman.