Virginia officially started spring football practices this week. After the first practice on Monday night, Tony Elliott met with the media to discuss his team and he also provided status updates on several injured Cavaliers, who will either not participate or will be limited in spring practices due to injuries suffered during the 2024 season.
Starting with the secondary, Elliott reported that graduate safety Antonio Clary, sophomore safety Keke Adams, and junior safety Caleb Hardy will all miss spring practices with various injuries. Clary was expected to miss the spring as he played just one of Virginia’s final seven games after suffering a knee injury against Boston College. With another year of eligibility remaining, Clary decided to utilize that final year to come back to UVA for a seventh season of college football.
Junior defensive tackle Jason Hammond started the first four games of the 2024 season, but then suffered a shoulder injury in week 4 against Coastal Carolina that required season-ending surgery. Elliott reported that Hammond will be out this spring as he continues to rehab, as will sophomore defensive end Chase Morrison, who is recovering from a hip injury.
Three of Virginia’s primary returning linebackers are each dealing with significant injury rehabilitations, Kam Robinson, Trey McDonald, and James Jackson each had operations at the end of the season.
“Kam Robinson played all year, was a warrior with his shoulder; he got it fixed,” Tony Elliott said on Monday. “Trey McDonald, the same way, was playing on one shoulder. And then James Jackson had a back [injury], and while he was doing his back, he figured, might as well fix the shoulder too; he’s been playing with a bum shoulder.”
Elliott also reported that Daniel Sparks, who handled both punts and kickoffs for Virginia last season, is out with a shoulder injury. Senior tight end Karson Gay, who has played in four games in his career at UVA, is dealing with an injury, but Elliott is hopeful that Gay will be back sometime this spring to provide depth in a wide-open Virginia tight end room. Former Clemson transfer tight end Sage Ennis is still working back from a season-ending knee injury suffered against Coastal Carolina as well.
Former UCF and Stanford transfer offensive lineman Drake Metcalf missed the entire 2024 season with an Achilles injury and has still yet to make his UVA debut. On Metcalf’s status for the spring, Elliott said, “Metcalf is not fully cleared, but he’s out there running around. He was a non-contact guy for us today.”
Elsewhere on the offensive line, the three O-Line starters Virginia is bringing back next season – Noah Josey, McKale Boley, and Blake Steen – are all down for the spring, as are sophomore Grant Ellinger and senior Houston Curry. “We’ll try to be smart and not rush them back too soon,” Elliott said of those five injured UVA offensive linemen.
Virginia’s offensive line received an influx of experience and talent from the transfer portal and. especially with these injuries, those four newcomers will receive ample opportunities to get adjusted to UVA’s system and build chemistry with their new teammates. When asked how many combinations of offensive linemen Virginia will work on throughout the spring and summer, Elliott answered, “As many as it takes.”
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Not included in Elliott’s injury report were a few Cavaliers who missed either the entire 2024 season or big chunks of it due to injury, but who are now back in action for spring football. Senior linebacker Stevie Bracey, junior defensive end Mekhi Buchanan, and senior offensive lineman Noah Hartsoe are all back on the field after missing the entire 2024 campaign. Senior running back Xavier Brown is back after missing the regular season finale with a collarbone injury and senior wide receiver Trell Harris, who battled back to play in the Commonwealth Clash after missing the previous eight games with a knee injury, appears to be fully healthy for spring football.
Of the injured players Tony Elliott addressed on Monday, only Keke Adams and James Jackson are expected to have a long-term recovery timetable with a return to the field coming late in the summer. Elliott says almost everyone else should be back by late spring or early summer.
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This content is reposted from the source: https://www.si.com/college/virginia/virginia-football-injury-report-hoos-in-out-for-spring-football
