Virginia Cavaliers 2026 Season Preview

Beau Pribula, a Missouri transfer, is the likely starter and the centerpiece of the offseason. The 6-2, 212-pound senior spent four years mostly on the bench at Penn State before a breakout in the SEC, where he went 7-3 as a starter, threw for 1,941 yards at a 67 percent clip and added 297 rushing yards. He missed two games with injury and opted out of Missouri's bowl against Virginia, but he ranked among the league's most accurate passers. The knock is ball security; his 11-to-9 touchdown-to-interception mark has to improve, and he must prove he can carry the passing game rather than lean on his legs. A noted runner and short-area passer, he also figures to factor into the ground game. Pittsburgh transfer Eli Holstein, who went 7-1 across eight starts in 2024 before losing his job last fall, pushed him in the spring and gives the room a capable second option.

The passing game is the roster's biggest question. Virginia lost six of its top seven receivers by receptions, including its top three targets and its tight end, and rebuilt the group almost entirely through the portal. Rico Flores Jr., a UCLA transfer, is the headliner, a 6-2, 205-pound senior with 12 career starts who profiles as the closest thing to a proven go-to option. Jacquon Gibson (UMass) brings 616 receiving yards and will also return punts, while Kameron Courtney, the leading returnee at 9.4 yards per catch, provides continuity. Kent State transfer Da'Shawn Martin (15.4 yards per catch) and Central Michigan's Tyson Davis add outside size, and all four newcomers cleared 274 yards a year ago. Senior Dakota Twitty is the top tight end after four starts and a modest 129 yards.

Running back is among the deepest spots on the team even after the departure of first-team All-ACC back J'Mari Taylor, who led the way with 1,062 yards. Tennessee transfer Peyton Lewis brings the best blend of size and speed Elliott has had in the backfield and is the likely lead man after 629 yards with the Volunteers. Middle Tennessee transfer Jekail Middlebrook (752 yards, 5.4 per carry) will share the load, and UAB's Solomon Beebe (6.0 per carry) plus holdovers Xavier Brown and Noah Vaughn round out a rotation deep enough to invite two-back sets. The Cavaliers rushed for 2,502 yards last fall, their most since 2004, and want to run it again.

The line is the backbone. Virginia returns its entire projected front of McKale Boley, Noah Josey, Drake Metcalf, Makilan Thomas and Monroe Mills, a group Elliott calls his best and one that ranks as the most experienced in the nation with more than 160 combined career starts. Boley, a three-year starter at left tackle, and Josey both earned All-ACC recognition. Mills, a 6-7, 320-pound senior right tackle with 32 career starts across stops at Texas Tech and Louisville, sat out last season, and his return alongside Arkansas State transfer Thomas restores two more veteran starters to a room said to be 10-to-12 deep.

Virginia is stout up the middle. Fourth-year defensive tackles Jason Hammond and Anthony Britton give the interior size and experience at 295 and 308 pounds. On the edge, 6-7, 253-pound Fisher Camac is the team's premier pass rusher and the disruptive centerpiece of the front. Coordinator John Rudzinski reloads the rotation through the portal: Baylor's Matthew Fobbs-White and UTSA's Nnanna Anyanwu will line up opposite Camac, Yale's Tekai Kirby arrives as a first-team all-conference end with 10.5 sacks, and Darrion Henry-Young, a well-traveled lineman by way of Ohio State, Kentucky and Coastal Carolina, adds interior depth. The unit has to replace a productive nose tackle and pass-rushing end but should again be a strength.

The headliner of the entire defense is Kam Robinson. The 6-2, 235-pound senior became the first FBS player in two decades to block a punt, return an interception for a touchdown and recover a fumble in the same season, and he earned third-team All-ACC honors despite playing just eight games around a broken collarbone and a torn ACL. A top-three tackler as an underclassman with 135 tackles and six sacks over two years, he anchors the middle if he stays healthy. Maddox Marcellus filled in admirably in his absence and now starts beside him; the EKU transfer piled up 97 tackles in 2024 and added 49 more last fall. Caleb Hardy and Landon Danley provide veteran depth.

The secondary is the rebuild. Cornerback has been a revolving door under Elliott, and Virginia again leans on transfers. Jacobie Henderson, a 5-11 senior who logged 10 pass breakups and two interceptions in his last full season, is the most accomplished returning corner, joined by holdover Donavon Platt and Wisconsin transfer Omillio Agard. At safety, Michigan transfer Brandyn Hillman steps into a spot that has produced the team's leading tackler in each of the past three seasons, arriving with 49 tackles and an interception. Ethan Minter returns after 47 tackles and four pass breakups, sophomore Corey Costner adds a physical presence after starting as a true freshman, and New Mexico transfer Christian Ellis (158 tackles over two years) brings more experience.

The kicking game is a genuine edge. Placekicker Will Bettridge, a fifth-year starter, connected on 24 of 30 field goals with a long of 47 and is among the most trusted legs in the country. Punter Daniel Sparks, also a fifth-year man, averaged 47.2 yards and earned all-conference honors. Elijah Slibeck handles kickoffs, while Beebe and Gibson are slated to man the return jobs.