With just a few days until Virginia Cavaliers football is back, we’re rounding out our positional previews by looking at the special teams unit. The ’Hoos will have a lot of continuity in the kicking department heading into 2025, along with some much-needed new faces in the return game.
Let’s break down UVA’s third side of the ball:
The kicking game
Senior Will Bettridge is back once again for his fourth season as the Cavaliers’ place-kicker. The former five-star prospect out of Miami, Florida, has been nothing but
reliable during his first three seasons in Charlottesville. Bettridge was 18-for-21 overall on field goals last season (and a perfect 24-for-24 on PATs), bringing his career total up to 43-for-52 (and 67-69 on PATs).
Bettridge is nails from inside the 40-yard line where he converted on 16-of-17 attempts last season. Distance, however, is where things can get a little dicey — Bettridge went just 2-of-4 on 40+ yard attempts. Regardless, Bettridge is one of the steadiest legs in the conference heading into 2025 and certainly an asset for the ’Hoos.
Another seasoned vet, Daniel Sparks, is back as Virginia’s punter (and kick-off specialist). Now entering his sixth season of college football (fourth at UVA), Sparks earned Second Team All-ACC honors in 2022 and was an All-ACC honorable mention last season.
Though he deals with some inconsistency at times, Sparks has a big-time leg and pinned a career-high 14 punts inside the 20-yard line in 2024. The Gadsden, Alabama, native is also one of the premier athletes at the punter position in the country, earning him a spot on Bruce Feldman’s 2025 ‘College Football Freaks List.’
“One of the ACC’s best punters looks and moves like an ACC power forward. Sparks, who averaged 44.6 yards per punt and had 25 percent of his kicks pinned inside the opponent’s 20 last season, is 6-6 1/2, 223 pounds. This offseason, he broad jumped 10-5 ½ and vertical jumped 33 1/2 inches. Only four DBs at this year’s combine ran faster than his 4.25-second shuttle time.”
Bruce Feldman, ‘College football Freaks List 2025’
Sparks’ freak athleticism helped him sky a season-long 66-yard punt in UVA’s upset win at then No. 23 Pittsburgh last season, and his booming leg should be another reliable part of Virginia’s special teams unit this year.
The return game
Virginia struggled mightily in the return department last year, averaging just 17.1 yards per kickoff return (second-worst in the ACC) and 6.3 yards per punt return (fourth-worst in the ACC). Cam Ross is here to change that.
Ross, a grad transfer from James Madison, is an explosive veteran wide receiver who will start as both Virginia’s primary kickoff and punt returner. The Newark, Delaware, native has been earning a lot of praise in camp for his speed, a trait he consistently put on display in the return game for the Dukes in 2024.
Ross earned Third-Team All-Sun Belt honors as a return specialist for JMU last season, averaging 28.2 yards per kickoff return. Ross also made a 94-yard house call against Southern Miss on October 26th, earning him SBC Special Teams player of the week.
Ross’s potential to rejuvenate Virginia’s struggling return game has also earned him an Athlon Sports Preseason Second Team All-ACC nod.
Behind Ross, Suderian Harrison could easily earn some return opportunities. The junior wide receiver had eight punt return attempts as a true freshman in 2023 and housed a 90-yard punt return touchdown in the spring game. True freshman speedster Josiah Abdullah is another name to watch. After generating a lot of buzz in camp, the ’Hoos might try to manufacture some touches for him.
