Virginia Football Recruiting: Three-Star Wide Receiver/Linebacker Commits To Cavaliers

Penn State's loss appears to be Virginia's gain.

After the Nittany Lions' football program was hit with unprecedented NCAA sanctions more than two weeks ago, including a four-year postsason ban in addition to a $60 million fine among a myriad of penalties, three-star wide receiver and linebacker Zach Bradshaw has de-committed from the school and committed to Virginia after a recent unofficial visit to Charlottesville, Va.

He originally committed to Penn State in June, over other schools such as Northwestern and South Carolina.

Damascus High WR-LB Zach Bradshaw de-commits from Penn State, pledges to #UVa instead. wapo.st/MruzFF

— Mark Giannotto (@CavsJournal) August 7, 2012

Bradshaw, who hails from nearby Damascus, Md., is ranked as the 19th best player in the state.

"Since we placed such a high value on relationships throughout the whole process, when he made the decision to de-commit, rather than opening his recruiting process, we really just went back to the schools he felt a bond with and one of those was, of course, Virginia," his father, Mike Bradshaw, told the Washington Post. "Even before he chose Penn State, he had Virginia very high on his list."

According to the Post, Bradshaw will begin his career with the Cavs as a linebacker, potentially moving to wide receiver or H-back at a later point.

For more on Virginia athletics, head over to Streaking The Lawn, SB Nation's UVa blog.