Virginia football officially began spring practices on Monday. The first 20 minutes of the practice was open to the media, giving us a chance to see some of the program’s many newcomers suit up in the orange and blue for the first time. Watch the video below for a few minutes of footage from Virginia’s first spring football practice on Monday.
Much of the video is focused on the UVA quarterbacks working through some check-down passing drills with the running backs. We got our first look at UVA’s two new transfer quarterbacks, Chandler Morris from North Texas and Daniel Kaelin from Nebraska. Morris, who is expected to be Virginia’s starter this fall, was primarily throwing to another transfer in North Carolina Central running back transfer J’Mari Taylor, while Kaelin was throwing to Xavier Brown, who will likely be UVA’s primary running back to begin the season in 2025.
Virginia welcomed in 38 new players this offseason, split evenly between 19 transfers and 19 high school recruits. All 19 of the transfers enrolled in January and are participating in spring football practices, while six of the high school recruits graduated early and enrolled in January as well. That total of 25 mid-year enrollees is the most mid-year acquisitions in the history of the UVA football program. Of the 19 transfers Virginia brought in, eight are undergraduate transfers and 11 are graduate transfers.
Six transfers have garnered All-Conference honors during the course of their college careers: QB Chandler Morris (North Texas), safety Devin Neal (Louisville), offensive lineman Tyshawn Wyatt (JMU), wide receiver Cam Ross (JMU), running back J’Mari Taylor (NC Central), and cornerback Ja’son Prevard (Morgan State). UVA added three transfers who have played in the CFP National Championship Game: Chandler Morris (when he was at TCU), Mitchell Melton (Ohio State), and Jayden Thomas (Notre Dame).
Read more on Virginia’s 2025 signing class here: Virginia Football Officially Welcomes the 2025 Signing Class
A few weeks ago, we took a stab at projecting Virginia’s depth chart heading into spring football. Some of the predicted starters seem fairly obvious, like Chandler Morris at quarterback, Xavier Brown at running back, Kam Robinson and James Jackson at linebacker, and Antonio Clary at safety. But other spots, like the offensive and defensive lines, which experienced a great deal of roster turnover and an influx of talent from the transfer portal, are almost impossible to project right now. And there will likely be a lot of movement between now and the start of the season, but also between now and the end of spring practices. Tony Elliott and his staff will likely utilize the spring transfer portal window, which goes from April 16-25, to shore up at least a few positions, with the cornerback spot being the most likely area in need of reinforcement.
We will continue to provide updates and reports based on what we are seeing and hearing over the course of Virginia’s spring football practices here at Virginia Cavaliers On SI.
Virginia Football: Five Players to Watch in Spring Football
Looking at the Long-Term Future of Virginia’s Quarterback Room
UAB Transfer Center Brady Wilson Looks to Win With Virginia Football
UVA Football: Tyshawn Wyatt Brings Experience to the Offensive Line
UVA Football Depth Chart Projection Heading Into Spring Football
This content is reposted from the source: https://www.si.com/college/virginia/video-virginia-football-opens-spring-practices-first-look-at-newcomers
