This has been an eventful offseason for Virginia football. Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers said goodbye to several key players through graduation or the transfer portal and brought in 19 transfers over the last two months to plug some significant holes on the roster.
Elliott has said that the Hoos will consider additional transfer targets in the spring window to further reinforce their roster, but for now, let’s make an attempt at projecting the UVA depth chart heading into spring football, which is scheduled to begin on March 3rd.
Virginia Football Projected 2025 Depth Chart: Offense
|
Position |
Starter |
Backup |
|---|---|---|
|
QB |
Chandler Morris |
Daniel Kaelin |
|
RB |
Xavier Brown |
J’Mari Taylor |
|
WR |
Trell Harris |
Andre Greene Jr. |
|
WR |
Jahmal Edrine |
Jayden Thomas |
|
WR |
Kam Courtney |
Suderian Harrison |
|
TE |
Dakota Twitty |
Sage Ennis |
|
LT |
McKale Boley |
Tyshawn Wyatt |
|
LG |
Noah Josey |
Grant Ellinger |
|
C |
Brady Wilson |
Drake Metcalf |
|
RG |
Blake Steen |
Kevin Wigenton II |
|
RT |
Monroe Mills |
Ben York |
Virginia Offense Notes
- Quarterbacks: North Texas transfer Chandler Morris is essentially a lock to start this season. Right now, we have redshirt freshman and Nebraska transfer Daniel Kaelin as the favorite to be the backup over former New Mexico State transfer Gavin Frakes and the incoming freshmen Bjorn Jurgensen and Cole Geer.
- Running Backs: Xavier Brown should be a lock as the top running back. We have NC Central transfer J’Mari Taylor as RB2 right now, but Jack Griese and Noah Vaughn are back in 2025 as well.
- Wide Receivers: Virginia loses a lot at the wide receiver position with Malachi Fields, JR Wilson, Chris Tyree, and others departing, but the Cavaliers also brought in three pass-catchers from the portal. Trell Harris is back and has a good shot at being WR1. Jahmal Edrine should be able to produce more in a better system than at Purdue and Kam Courtney seems poised to make the leap in year 2 in the slot. It should be a deep position group with Suderian Harrison and Andre Greene Jr. coming back and Notre Dame transfer Jayden Thomas coming in with an abundance of experience. Not listed: TyLyric Coleman, Eli Wood or any of the promising incoming freshmen.
- Tight Ends: With Tyler Neville gone, Dakota Twitty appears in line to be the top pass-catching tight end, while former Clemson transfer Sage Ennis will probably be the primary blocking tight end. Virginia could also go after another tight end in the spring window. Not listed: John Rogers, Karson Gay.
- Offensive Line: Big changes up front for Virginia. UAB transfer and two-time Rimington Trophy watch list selection Brady Wilson replaces Brian Stevens at center. Outside of that, Virginia has a plethora of options, as the Hoos return starting right tackle Blake Steen, starting left tackle McKale Boley, and starting left guard Noah Josey. The Cavaliers bring in the top-ranked offensive tackle in the portal (per On3) in Louisville’s Monroe Mills, who has experience at both tackle spots, as well as JMU’s Tyshawn Wyatt, who has experience at left guard and left tackle, and Illinois’ Kevin Wigenton II, who has experience at right guard. Drake Metcalf returns after missing the 2024 season with an injury and Virginia also brings back Jack Witmer and Ethan Sipe, but neither of them are listed on this version of the depth chart as we opted for a couple of rising sophomores, Ben York and Grant Ellinger, this time around.
Virginia Football Projected 2025 Depth Chart: Defense
|
Position |
Starter |
Backup |
|---|---|---|
|
DE |
Cazeem Moore |
Terrell Jones |
|
NT |
Jahmeer Carter |
Anthony Britton |
|
DT |
Jason Hammond |
Hunter Osborne |
|
Bandit DE |
Mitchell Melton |
Fisher Camac |
|
WILL LB |
James Jackson |
Maddox Marcellus |
|
MIKE LB |
Kam Robinson |
Trey McDonald |
|
SPUR |
Caleb Hardy |
Landon Danley |
|
LC |
Ja’son Prevard |
CJ Spence |
|
RC |
Jam Jackson |
Dre Walker |
|
FS |
Devin Neal |
Ethan Minter |
|
SS |
Antonio Clary |
Corey Costner |
Virginia Defense Notes
- Defensive Tackles: Jahmeer Carter is a lock to start and Jason Hammond looked really good at defensive tackle before going down with a season-ending injury in week 4. Anthony Britton had a nice 2024 season on the interior and Hunter Osborne has sky-high potential coming from Alabama.
- Defensive Ends: Mitchell Melton was listed as a linebacker at Ohio State, but comes to Virginia to be a defensive end. Fisher Camac had a breakout season in 2024 at UNLV. Cazeem Moore comes from Elon with a lot of productive experience. Terrell Jones seems poised for a big year after getting valuable experience last season. All four of those guys could easily start on the line in 2025. Not listed are Fresno State transfer Jacob Holmes or returning junior Mekhi Buchanan, who missed last season with an injury.
- Linebackers: There is a similar numbers issue at linebacker, with five quality candidates for four spots on the depth chart. Virginia returns James Jackson (39 career games, 25 career starts), Kam Robinson (23 games, 19 starts), and Trey McDonald (27 games, 5 starts) and brings in an impact transfer in Maddox Marcellus from Eastern Kentucky. UVA also returns Stevie Bracey, who missed the 2024 season with injury, and Landon Danley, who played all 12 games last season.
- Secondary: This is the area where Virginia will likely look for additional reinforcement in the spring transfer window. Safety is pretty solid with Antonio Clary coming back and Devin Neal transferring from Louisville; those two players combine for 11 years and 90 games of experience. Ethan Minter showed flashes as a freshman and the Hoos are hoping for something similar from a 2025 freshman like Corey Costner. We have Costner backing up Clary for now because we think Caleb Hardy could be an option at that versatile SPUR/nickel position, as is Landon Danley. At cornerback, Jam Jackson and Dre Walker are back and then we have two newcomers in Morgan State transfer Ja’son Prevard and CJ Spence. Depending on how spring practices go, UVA will probably look at bringing in another transfer or two at the cornerback spot during the spring window.
Virginia Football Projected 2025 Depth Chart: Special Teams
|
Position |
Starter |
Backup |
|---|---|---|
|
Punter |
Daniel Sparks |
Elijah Slibeck |
|
Kickoff |
Daniel Sparks |
Max Prozny |
|
Placekicker |
Will Bettridge |
Max Prozny |
|
Punt Return |
Suderian Harrison |
Cam Ross |
|
Kickoff Return |
Cam Ross |
Kam Courtney |
|
Long Snapper |
Bryce Robinson |
Hayden Rollison |
Virginia Special Teams Notes
- Virginia brings back all of its kickers and punters, including Daniel Sparks, Will Bettridge, Max Prozny, Elijah Slibeck, and Vadin Bruot, so we have that part of the depth chart the same as it was for UVA during the 2025 season.
- At long snapper, Virginia adds PFF All-American Bryce Robinson from Kennesaw State and he’ll likely be the starter with either Hayden Rollison or Stevie Bracey backing him up.
- Virginia loses its primary kick and punt returners in Chris Tyree and Ethan Davies, but brings in a guy with a lot of experience in both areas in JMU transfer Cam Ross, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown last season. We also like Suderian Harrison and Kam Courtney to get opportunities in the return game as well.
We will make updated versions of this projected depth chart throughout the course of Virginia’s spring practices.
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This content is reposted from the source: https://www.si.com/college/virginia/uva-football-depth-chart-projection-heading-into-spring-football
