The goal for Virginia football this spring is to make their exceptional 2025 season the standard in Charlottesville. This past season saw head coach Tony Elliott’s vision for Virginia football come into fruition: a program record win total, a sweep of Virginia Tech and North Carolina, and a bowl victory. With rivals reloading for the 2026 season and national publicity throughout the 2025 season, the Virginia Cavaliers enter spring practice with high expectations and a significantly larger profile
in the college football world.
Spring football will provide the first glimpse of what the 2026 Cavaliers will look like, with returning players advancing up the depth chart and new transfers taking the field for the first time for Virginia. While general manager Tyler Jones and assistant general manager Justin Speros performed a roster retention masterclass, especially in the trenches, graduations, injuries, NFL aspirations, and eligibility exhaustion open up positions on every college football team.
Virginia football enters the spring with five key position groups with key competitions and the players that win those battles will be critical for the ‘Hoos as the 2026 season draws closer.
Center
The Virginia offensive line arguably saw the greatest improvement of any position group on the 2025 team. A key part of that improvement was the addition of center Brady Wilson, who transferred to UVA in 2025 after four seasons at UAB. Wilson provided steady leadership on the line and was critical to Virginia’s success on the ground and through the air. With Wilson having exhausted his NCAA eligibility, UVA will be looking to finish spring football with clarity at one of the most important positions on the field.
Arguably the leading candidate for starting center, Drake Metcalf, moved from right guard to center for a critical three game stretch against Florida State, Louisville, and Washington State while Wilson was sidelined by injury. Virginia’s 3-0 record and Metcalf’s quality play at center showed that he is more than capable of making the switch over to center full-time. All signs point towards Metcalf spending significant time at the position this spring.
Should Metcalf remain at guard, Virginia would likely see 2025 reserve Noah Hartsoe and South Carolina transfer Ryan Brubaker compete for the job. Hartsoe saw limited game action in 2025, however he brings multiple years of experience within Des Kitchings’ offense at Virginia. Brubaker saw limited playing time with the Gamecocks, with injuries sidelining him in 2023 and 2025. Health is the biggest question mark for Brubaker, if he can remain healthy, he should have a good chance to see time at center this year.
Whether Metcalf moves to center full-time by the end of spring practice will give significant clarity on newly promoted offensive line coach Joey Orck’s starting lineup heading into 2026. Metcalf, Hartsoe, and Brubaker all provide quality play at center and Metcalf’s versatility will allow Orck to find the best five players for his unit.
Edge Rusher
Virginia’s defense was much improved in 2025, with defensive coordinator John Rudzinski’s unit shutting down some of the most dynamic offenses and quarterbacks in college football. Virginia’s edge rushers played a huge part in this, with transfers Daniel Rickert and Mitchell Melton leading the charge off the edge and getting after quarterbacks. With Rickert and Melton graduating, defensive ends coach Chris Slade will be charged with following up their dominant 2025 season with a new group of returning players and transfers.
Fisher Camac returns with the most production in orange and blue, with 4.5 sacks and 45 tackles in 2025. The 6-foot-7 edge rusher who came to Virginia from UNLV is likely to emerge in a larger role with the 2026 Cavaliers after his productive season. Along with Camac, Virginia returns edge rushers Jewett Hayes, Gavin Johnson, Billy Koudelka, Chase Morrison, Gabe Sneed, and Evan Ward.
In the transfer portal, Virginia added four edge rushers: UTSA transfer Nnanna Anyanwu, Baylor transfer Matthew Fobbs-White, Yale transfer Ezekiel Larry, and Michigan transfer Devon Baxter.
Anyanwu’s career at UTSA was significantly hampered by injuries in the 2023 and 2024 season, however he saw significant playing time and production with the Roadrunners in 2025 getting five sacks and 23 tackles. UTSA has become one of the strongest talent factories in the entire Group of 6. Anyanwu is hoping for another healthy, productive season.
Ezekiel Larry led the Ivy League in sacks in 2025, with the Yale Bulldogs edge totaling 10.5 sacks. Yale’s defense was one of the strongest in all of FCS football, and Larry was a critical piece of Yale’s first FCS Playoff squad.
Devon Baxter rounds out Virginia’s transfer class at defensive end. Baxter, a highly-recruited edge prospect out of Maryland, returns to the east coast hoping to provide impact snaps for the ‘Hoos defense. Baylor transfer Matthew Fobbs-White is listed as a linebacker on Virginia’s roster. However it is likely that Fobbs-White will see some time on the edge as a stand-up linebacker or even as a pure edge on passing downs.
With at least two edge rushers on the field for any given play, Slade will be looking to find his best rotation and combination of edge rushers for each scenario. Expect the ‘Hoos to have two main starting defensive ends, who rotate out for substitutes geared for run or pass defense. Most positions on this Virginia team either have an entrenched returning starter or multiple transfers likely to take up a high percentage of snaps. Edge rusher is unique in that it will likely see the highest amount of joint production between transfers and returning players.
Quarterback
Without getting into the lawsuit-sized elephant in the Virginia quarterback room, the quarterback position will host one the the truest position battles of the spring. Like any football team, the quarterback group will be the most focused on as the Cavaliers return to the field with two highly regarded transfers competing for the starting job, Beau Pribula and Eli Holstein.
Pribula began his college career at Penn State, where he saw the field as a reserve behind starter Drew Allar. When Allar returned to Penn State instead of declaring for the draft in 2025, Pribula transferred to Missouri and won the starting job. Beau had a very productive season that was hampered towards the end by injury. Pribula helmed an explosive offense at Missouri which was very similar to Virginia’s, utilizing pistol formations, multiple tight ends, and explosive RPO/play action concepts through the air.
Holstein began his career at Alabama and transferred to Pitt, where he started games in 2024 and 2025. Holstein was replaced at Pitt by Mason Heintschel during the 2025 season and entered the transfer portal before arriving at UVA. Holstein is strongest from the pocket, with great feel for avoiding sacks and keeping his eyes downfield. Holstein brings two years of experience in the ACC against common opponents. Although his benching was not encouraging, a change of scenery could unlock a new gear for Holstein.
Virginia returns two quarterbacks from the 2025 season, reserve quarterbacks Cole Geer and Boone Lourd. Geer saw playing time against William & Mary as well as on a gadget package in the Gator Bowl against Missouri, with Lourd seeing the field in reserve against Coastal Carolina. Geer and Lourd both will look to grow within the offense and climb the depth chart this string.
Two first-years will join the Virginia quarterback room this spring as well. Eli Hamrick joins the Cavaliers out of North Carolina, who largely flew under the radar in high school recruiting due to Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic flash flooding forcing a transfer midway through his junior year. Hamrick excelled his senior year of high school, throwing 30 touchdowns with almost 2,500 yards through the air.
Virginia’s biggest potential wild card at quarterback is first-year athlete Jae’Oyn Williams, who excelled at quarterback for Maryland high school powerhouse Saint Frances Academy. Williams signed with UVA as an athlete and has been projected to running back or potentially receiver in the future.
This spring will tell us quite a bit about how Tony Elliott and Des Kitchings plan on using Williams in their offense. An interesting historic comparison for Williams is Vic Hall, who was a similarly gifted athlete coming out of high school and was a difference-maker for the ‘Hoos at quarterback, corner, returner, and wide receiver.
Safety
Virginia’s safeties were some of the most experienced players on the 2025 Virginia Cavaliers roster. Free safety Antonio Clary was one of the few players who entered the 2025 Commonwealth Clash with experience winning against the Hokies in 2019, and was one of the key leaders for the Cavaliers. Devin Neal brought significant experience to strong safety and made the game winning play in the Gator Bowl, breaking up what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass.
Safeties coach and defensive pass game coordinator Curome Cox will have no shortage of quality options both returning from the 2025 Cavaliers and from the transfer portal.
Ethan Minter leads the returning safeties with 47 total tackles from free safety. He emerged as a physical defender who can assist the run fit along with defending the pass. Corey Costner emerged during the back half of the 2025 season, with key interceptions against California and Duke in the ACC Championship game. Virginia also returns 2025 contributors Caleb Hardy, Montino Williams, Keke Adams.
Virginia added significant production through the transfer portal at safety, with four safeties joining the 2026 ‘Hoos. Portsmouth, Virginia’s Brandon Hillman returns to the Commonwealth from Michigan. Hillman was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten safety for the Wolverines and will add significant physicality along with experience playing some of the best competition in the country in the Big 10.
Transfer addition Christian Ellis makes the rare move between Commonwealth Clash schools, joining the ‘Hoos from the Hokies. Prior to Virginia Tech, Ellis played for former Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall at New Mexico, starting 12 games and leading the Lobos in tackles. Ellis only played in five games for the Hokies before entering the transfer portal, and Ellis will be looking to earn an expanded role in the Cavalier secondary.
GM Tyler Jones has found great value in the transfer portal by recruiting productive, experienced players from the Group of 5 to Virginia’s roster. This transfer portal window was no different, with two G5 safety transfers added to the team. Buffalo transfer Jalen McNair was prolific for the Bulls, starting for in both the 2024 and 2025 season with significant production in both years. Georgia State Transfer Jaylen Jones broke out with Georgia State in 2025, providing significant value defending the run and the pass in one of the best conferences in the G5.
A necessary caveat for defensive back positions is that there is a low barrier of movement between corner, safety, and nickel, and we may see players at every defensive back position this spring. The Virginia secondary set the bar high in 2025, with multiple players providing defensive value throughout the season in various capacities. Spring football is equal parts development and experimentation, so expect the Virginia coaching staff to test out a multitude of groupings before the season kicks off this fall.
Tight End
Virginia offensive coordinator Des Kitchings utilized two tight end formations a great deal in the first half of the 2025 season. Sage Ennis and Dakota Twitty formed a thunder and lightning combination which worked to great effect in the Cavalier offense. Virginia’s offense needed to adjust significantly after Twitty suffered an awful season-ending injury against Louisville. While still successful, the offense lacked the versatility that having Ennis and Twitty provided.
With Ennis now preparing for the NFL draft and Twitty working his way back from injury, there will be significant opportunities for Virginia’s tight ends this spring to earn playing time. Along with Twitty, Virginia returns tight ends John Rogers, TeKai Kirby, Hayden Rollison, Henry Omohundro, Justin Zames, and Willem Thurber. Virginia added to the tight end room through the transfer portal with Connor Cox coming from North Carolina and Lukas Ungar from New Mexico State.
Considering how often Virginia has more than one tight end on the field, the goal of this spring will likely not be to determine it’s No. 1 tight end. It will be to find the best tight ends for each role and situation. In terms of prior performance, Twitty was vital early in the 2025 season, especially in the passing game, and John Rogers became increasingly involved in the offense towards the back half of the season working with Ennis. Outside of the aforementioned Twitty and Rogers, this spring will be our first look at many of these tight ends in extended action.
Overview
Spring practice will give Tony Elliott’s staff their first extended look at many of the new players that have been brought into the program. With fall camps typically focusing on game preparation and refining schemes with the players who are likely to see the field in a given year, spring football allows teams to give significant playing time to first-years, transfers, and players adapting to new positions. Expect to see some of Virginia’s more experienced stars to have a pitch count throughout the spring to balance training and injury prevention.
A successful spring for Virginia would include exiting with minimal injuries, identifying young players ready for increased playing time, and finding clarity at these five positions. The countdown to North Carolina State on August 29th in Rio De Janiero begins Tuesday, March 17th, when Virginia football hits the field again.
