Louisville's Mekhi Becton, the one that got away, plays at UVA on Saturday

He had. They got to see it on replays.

And this was no flukey, fall-on-a-fumble type of fat-guy touchdown. The large-but-lean, 6-foot-7, 355-pound Becton had lined up in the backfield at fullback, taken the handoff and soared – okay, more like stretched – over the goalline for the score, part of the Cardinals’ 31-7 win over Indiana State.

Becton had wowed Louisville’s coaches – and college staffs across the country – with his athleticism in high school at Highland Springs, and he’s started for the Cardinals since his first game of his freshman year.

“One of the most impressive things with him is when we were recruiting him, seeing him do a reverse dunk,” Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino recalled this week. “He scored a lot of points playing basketball in high school.”

Becton had offer from scores of major programs. But he had spent so many weekends on Virginia’s campus, his parents were almost certain their son, a four-star prospect with a final five of Louisville, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Michigan and Oregon, would be joining the Cavaliers on signing day, Feb. 1, 2017.

But the night before, Becton told them he had other plans.

“From the beginning, it was U.Va. We were there almost every weekend,” Semone Becton, Mekhi’s mother, said. “Everyone just knew it was U.Va. So it was a big surprise. But he fell in love with Louisville when he went there.”

The city of Louisville reminded Becton of Richmond.

Geron Christian, now a rookie with the Washington Redskins, hosted Becton on his official visit and the two almost immediately hit it off. That friendship – the two still talk almost daily – helped sway Becton from Virginia, about an hour from his family’s Richmond area home, to Louisville, nearly 500 miles west.

“It was really hard,” Becton said of making his final decision. “I felt like Louisville was the best fit for me. And I also felt like Virginia might be the best fit for me. So it was really hard to decide.

“It is tough. But you have to do what’s best for you.”

Adding to the story, Christian – the player who immediately bonded with Becton and who gets some of the credit for bringing Becton to Louisville – didn’t usually get involved with hosting recruits. He has a young son, Geron Jr., and wanted to spend as much time as he could with him.

But the coaching staff asked him about making an exception for Becton’s visit.

“They said, ‘This is a guy we really want,’ so they had asked me to do it,” Christian said.

For Mendenhall, Becton is sort of like the one that got away. One of the first big-time recruits the new U.Va. staff was on in, Mendenhall thought for sure that Becton would sign with Virginia.

“We put more time and energy into Mekhi Becton than probably any recruit we had up to that point,” Mendenhall said. “I was certain he was coming to Virginia.”

Mendenhall has acknowledged recruiting in-state prospects has proved more difficult than he expected, taking far more effort and time than landing out of state players. Losing Becton to Louisville drove home that point.

“I was surprised, and it was just one more reality check as to what it will take to get the very best players in our own state to come to play at Virginia, at least under current circumstances,” Mendenhall said. “That perception is becoming better and easier, but still a challenge.”

So Saturday, the nearly three dozen fans in Becton’s cheering section will be rooting for the Cardinals instead of the Cavaliers. And Becton will be standing between U.Va. and a win in its ACC opener.

“Our evaluation was certainly correct,” Mendenhall said. “He would've helped our team a great deal.”

Instead, Becton has helped the Cardinals, who have won two straight since opening with a blowout loss to No. 1 Alabama.

When he made his final college decision, Becton weighed pros and cons of going to Louisville. One of the few drawbacks he saw was its distance from home.

Saturday, he’ll be playing in his home state, against a program he nearly joined.

Among the about 30 family members and friends Becton expects to have in the stands will be his grandfather, who hasn’t seen him play since high school.

“It is a big deal because I get to see all my family that doesn’t always get to come to my games,” Becton said. “I’m close to home so a lot of people will be there.”