Virginia Football 2025 Preview

Chandler Morris' first action in a UVA uniform in the Spring Game. Morris is a clear upgrade at the QB position (Photo: Benvin Lozada / The Cavalier Daily)

Virginia got off to a hot 4-1 start before they hit the meat of their schedule, finishing 1-6 to just miss out on a bowl. Tony Elliot, after having success as the Clemson OC, hasn’t found that success transfer to a head coaching role sitting at 11-23 through three seasons in Charlottesville. This would likely be his last if he doesn’t at least make a bowl. The good news is this is surely his best, deepest roster led by the best QB he’s had. The bad news is that depth is already going to be tested as this team has unfortunately been ravaged by fall camp injuries.

Offense

Anthony Colandrea regressed in just about every statistic possible after showing promise as a true freshman. He’s now gone, as is the underwhelming Tony Muskett. North Texas transfer Chandler Morris is a pretty significant upgrade in my opinion. After winning TCU’s starting job in back-to-back years, he finally stayed healthy and broke out for the Mean Green with 3,792 passing yds, 31 TD and 12 INT, which even included 40 dropped passes. Keep in mind that this is the same Chandler Morris that actually beat out Max Duggan at TCU in ’22, only to get hurt and be Wally pipped by Duggan on their way to the national championship game. The guy is talented and can play at this level. Daniel Kaelin redshirted as a true freshman at Nebraska and transfers in to be his back up.

Morris may have to be special as the RB position has been underwhelming for quite some time now, failing to have a back run for over 500 yards in a season since ’19. Last year’s top rusher did finish with 499, but he’s out of eligibility. Senior Xavier Brown was better on a per touch basis with 488 yds on 6.1 ypc, to go along with 127 rec yds on 14.1 yds/rec. Multiple grad transfers could keep him from a 500+ yard season though. J’Mari Taylor transfers in from NC Central where he was a 1st Tm All-MEAC selection and Walter Payton Award finalist (FCS Heisman). Harrison Waylee only played four games a year ago due to injury but has had some nice moments in his lengthy career, topped in ’23 with 947 yds (5.8 ypc) and 5 TDs. All three have averaged over 5.0 ypc in their careers, which is much needed for an offense that ranked 93rd in rush explosiveness.

Malachi Fields is a big loss at receiver after back-to-back productive seasons, without anybody coming close to his 808 yards last year. Trell Harris is the top candidate to step into his role after getting off to a hot start in their first three games before missing the rest of the season sans the finale against Va Tech. Andre Greene started 8 games but wasn’t productive, and both Suderian Harrison and Kameron Courtney are back in the slot after combining for 23 catches.

Trell Harris (11) was on his way to a big season before 8 consecutive games (Photo: VirginiaSports)

Unless one of Courtney or Harrison takes a big step, I’d expect JMU transfer Cam Ross to take that starting position. The 6th year senior had 36 rec, 436 yds and 3 TD last year after even better numbers at UConn before that. Purdue transfer Jahmal Edrine (23 rec, 365 yds, 15.9 yd/rec) is the biggest body of the group and should have a sizeable role after starting 10 games a year ago. Don’t sleep on Notre Dame transfer Jayden Thomas, who saw his overall role decrease last year after 20+ catches and 300+ yards in both ’22-23. The second leading receiver behind Fields was TE Tyler Neville (394 yds) but he’s gone as well. Veterans Dakota Twitty and Sage Ennis will take those snaps but I’m not expecting similar numbers in the passing game from them.

This was shaping up to be Tony Elliot’s best O-line at Virginia with depth and 182 career FBS starts, but offseason injuries have taken a bite out of that with two projected transfer starters out for extended time, one confirmed for the entire season. Starting LG Noah Josey and LT McKale Boley return to anchor the left side of the line for a third straight year, and Josey made huge strides in pass pro last year. C Brady Wilson (UAB) instantly becomes one of the best centers in the conference as the 3rd highest graded nationally per PFF. Kevin Wigenton only appeared in 3 games as a reserve at Illinois last year after starting at RG the prior season for Michigan State, which is where I projected him to be this year. The initial depth chart release revealed a surprise starter at RG in Drake Metcalf, who missed last year after starting four games for UCF in ’23.

Noah Josey (77) is back for a third and final season as Virginia's starting LG (Photo: VirginiaSports)

Both linemen lost to injury were potential starters at RT, which now could eventually fall to either Wallace Unamba (New Mexico) or Tyshawn Wyatt (JMU). Unamba made 10 starts a year ago, allowing 0 sacks in 395 PBLK snaps. Wyatt missed all of ’24 due to injury but made 33 starts from ’21-23 with over 2,000 snaps played. Converted TE Jack Witmer also started 5 games (4 LT, 1 RT) a year ago and appeared in all 12 playing 476 snaps. David Wohlabaugh (6 starts in 4 yrs at Syracuse) will provide depth across the line as well.

Defense

The Virginia defense really wore down late in the season, surrendering 33+ points in 5 of the last 6 games to finish 94th in scoring defense with a lot of advanced metrics in the same range. Overall they return 6 of their top 9 tacklers plus add a plethora of intriguing transfers making this defense one to watch for big improvement.

Both starters at DT are back with longtime Cavalier Jahmeer Carter (career 134 tkl, 8 TFL, 2.5 sk) and Anthony Britton (39 tkl, 3 TFL, 1.5 sk in ‘24). Last year’s season opening starter Jason Hammond is back from injury after starting the first four games. Former 4-star Alabama transfer Hunter Osborne and Fresno State two year contributor Jacob Holmes (41 tkl, 8.5 sk) will help to beef up the line and make up a solid rotation in the middle.

On the contrary, both starting DEs departed leaving a void, but Tony Elliot hit this position hard in the portal. Fisher Camac is an immediate starter after putting up huge numbers at UNLV, appearing in all 14 games but only starting 8 totaling 46 tkl, 7.5 sk, 15 TFL and 5 PBU. Mitchell Melton comes from national champion Ohio State where he graded out well as a backup (77.2 PFF) in 150 snaps across 13 games with 12 tkl, 2 sk and 4 TFL. He’s a major breakout candidate with a starting role. Daniel Rickert (Tennessee Tech) and Cazeem Moore (Elon) are both older guys with tons of productive starting experience at the FCS level.

LB James Jackson has made 25 starts in his career and becomes even more important with Kam Robinson expected to miss the first month or so (Photo: Hannah Pajewski / USA TODAY Sports)

In this 4-2-5 defense Virginia is a legit two-deep with four guys that have starting experience. Kam Robinson is the best of the bunch as the team’s leading returning tackler, battling through injury for an All-ACC HM nod. Unfortunately, the injury bug already bit him again as he’s expected to miss at least the first few weeks of the season with a collarbone injury. This will put pressure on returners James Jackson and Trey McDonald to be even better early on. Jackson is a three year starter while McDonald entered the starting lineup in the back half of ’24, finishing 3rd on the team with 58 tkl. Maddox Marcellus (108 tkl in 2 years at EKU) could be the X-factor with Robinson out. Sophomore Landon Danley has allegedly had a good fall camp and will factor in early. I like the group here but the defense probably can’t reach their potential until Robinson gets back.

The pass defense fell off in ’24 after losing a ton of production. Leading tackler FS Jonas Sanker is now gone as well, but just like DE they’re attempting to reload through the portal. Before getting to the transfers, another 6th year senior safety Antonio Clary returns from injury. That being said he was dinged up in fall camp and left off today’s depth chart, implying a possibly more serious injury. Clary was on his way to a career year as Virginia’s leading tackler before getting hurt in Week 6, so this would be just as big a loss as Robinson if he were to miss extended time. Instead, Ethan Minter will start in his place after appearing in 130 snaps as a true freshman with 18 tkl and 1 INT.

Antonio Clary is expected to be one of the leaders on the defense, but will likely miss the opener. His injury timeline will be one to watch as well (Photo: The Virginian Pilot)

They’ll be joined in the back end by Devin Neal, a 2nd Tm All-ACC selection in ’23 for Louisville before falling out of favor with the staff last year. It’s hard to say how the CB position plays out with six portal additions, but the hope is that the cream will rise to the top. Emmanuel Karnley (Arizona/Miami) and Jordan Robinson (Cincinnati) will get the first crack with Ja’Son Prevard (2 yr starter Morgan State) playing the SPUR position. Others newcomers to watch in the secondary are Donavon Platt (Army), Da’Marcus Crosby II (NMSU) and Christian Charles (Tennessee).

Special Teams

The Virginia special teams unit was one of the worst in the country for three years running but finally made decent improvements last year, even ranking 45th by PFF grade. Will Bettridge returns after going 18/21 in back-to-back years without missing any extra points in either. Veteran P Daniel Sparks is back for his 5th season as a starter (4th at UVA) and is coming off by far his career-best net average at 41.8. The return game will have fresh faces, although it was underwhelming last year. Cam Ross almost assuredly will get the first crack on kickoffs after averaging 29.9 per return with a 94-yarder for a TD. He also has some experience returning punts, but if he does indeed start at WR it’s rare you see a starter handle both kicks and punts. J’Mari Taylor is listed as the other returner.

Schedule

Aside from bringing in a good portal class, this schedule is a huge reason for optimism and higher expectations this year. It’s one of the easiest schedules in the country, ranked 89th in difficulty by Phil Steele. A non-conference slate of Coastal Carolina, at NC State, William & Mary and a G5 level Washington State should be a 3-1 record at worst, with that Week 2 game in Raleigh being very telling for both teams. In conference play they avoid Clemson, Miami and SMU while drawing all three of Stanford, Wake Forest and Cal. Getting Florida State and Virginia Tech at home makes both a lot more winnable. If Tony Elliot can’t at the very least make a bowl game with this schedule, he’ll 100% be looking for a new gig in ’26.

Overall Outlook

Winning the schedule lottery is a big deal and something that has to be paid attention to year in and year out. Just look at the last two years; Louisville in ’23 and SMU in ’24. Neither was necessarily a top 2 team in the conference, but both were identified in the preseason as having one of the easiest schedules, and both took advantage making it to Charlotte. Virginia is nowhere near on the same talent level as those two, but I look at this roster year over year and I don’t see anywhere that they got worse, except possibly the pass catchers. Chandler Morris is a sure fire upgrade at QB. The RB room has proven experience and more potential pop. Both lines are bigger and deeper, while the linebackers and DBs are two-deep at just about every position as well. They’ll need to get Kam Robinson back sooner rather than later and have better injury luck than they’ve had over the past 12 months, but I think 7-5 should be the baseline goal to show some progress.