With Virginia’s Aug. 29 opener against NC State creeping closer, camp has shifted from the early getting-acquainted phase into the part where real jobs start to sort themselves out. The first 10 days were mostly about Tony Elliott and his staff getting their arms around a roster with roughly 50 newcomers, checking on injury recoveries and sizing up athletic talent.
The early workouts came without pads. That’s over now.
Week three is where the temperature rises.
For one thing, the Cavaliers need answers at receiver, where there’s no shortage of options for Beau Pribula. Offensive coordinator Des Kitchings is looking for clarity on who belongs in the starting mix and who can earn meaningful snaps once the season begins.
UMass transfer Jacquon Gibson has drawn the most consistent praise from the staff and appears to have the early inside track at slot receiver. But he’s hardly the only name in the race.
Transfers Rico Flores Jr., Da'Shawn Martin and Tyson Davis are in the mix, along with returning junior Kam Courtney and freshmen DaMari Carter and Dylan Cope.
Kitchings wants at least a six-man rotation, so there’s room for several of those players to matter. Still, the biggest priority is simple: the starters need to build timing and trust with Pribula. This week should also reveal which receivers can win against Virginia’s veteran secondary and create separation from both defenders and their fellow contenders.
The pads are on now, and that changes everything.
These practices should give a much clearer picture of how Virginia’s offseason weight and conditioning work translated once the contact started. One of the most interesting matchups of the week will be the Cavaliers’ experienced offensive line against a defensive front that is both deep and talented. The receiver-defensive back battles should be just as revealing, with plenty of hand-to-hand combat on pass routes.
There’s also the matter of senior linebacker Robinson, who remains in a careful rehab process after the season-ending ACL tear he suffered last November. Virginia has been cautious with him, and rightly so; there’s no reason to hurry him back and risk a setback that could wipe out more of the 2026 season.
Elliott said last month he believed Robinson would be ready for the opener, and if he is, he could be a major help in slowing NC State quarterback CJ Bailey. Bailey ran for two touchdowns and threw a scoring pass against Virginia last year.
ACL recoveries don’t run on a tidy timetable, and the mental side can linger even after the knee is physically ready. Robinson may not be all the way back this season, but even at less than full strength he can still give Virginia something valuable.
The key now is getting enough solid practice work to put him in position for Aug. 29.
Up front on defense, John Rudzinski sounded upbeat last week about the depth and upside of his line group even before Jacob Holmes and Cazeem Moore were added back into the program by a court ruling that granted them an extra year of eligibility. Whether either one suits up this fall remains uncertain. They’ve already missed spring practice, summer workouts and the first 10 days of camp, so they’re starting from behind the rest of the room.
Still, both have shown they can produce. Each had three quarterback sacks and four hurries in 2025, and if they return to form, they could fit into a rotation built to keep fresh legs moving through the game. This week should tell Rudzinski a lot about how quickly they can shake off the rust.
The backfield race is unsettled, too. Jekail Middlebrook appears to have a slight edge over fellow transfer Peyton Lewis, while Xavier Brown is still pushing for a role of his own.
The staff will be watching more than just carries during 11-on-11 work. Kitchings and position coach Keith Gaither want to see how the backs handle blitz pickup and whether they can catch the ball cleanly out of the backfield.
There should be enough touches to keep everyone involved, but the biggest snaps are still up for grabs. Short-yardage work, goal-line packages and third-down roles all remain unresolved, and this week figures to move those decisions a lot closer to the finish line.
In Other News...
Virginia May Be Better Equipped For Duke Than Fans Realize
Virginias path back into the ACC elite may look a lot sturdier than it did a year ago, and the coming matchup picture with Duke is a big reason why. The article takes a close look at projected starting lineups for the 2026-27 season, weighing who is likely to return, who could step into bigger roles and how last seasons production shapes the conversation. For Cavaliers fans, the encouraging part is that this is not just a story about keeping pace with the leagues blue bloods, but about having enough on hand to make the matchup interesting from the opening tip.
Duke still carries the usual heavyweight expectations, and both programs are forecast to be among the ACCs top contenders, but the personnel comparison suggests Virginia may have more answers than many would assume. The real intrigue lies in the individual battles and how the Cavaliers blend of returning experience and emerging options stacks up against Dukes own projected lineup. It is the kind of early-look conversation that does not settle anything, but it does make clear why Virginias ceiling in that season feels more consequential than the broader preseason chatter might suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Special Teams Have One Big Chance To Change Games
Special teams may end up carrying an outsized share of Virginias identity this fall, and there is a real reason to keep an eye on the return game. The Cavaliers bring back kicker Will Bettridge and punter Daniel Sparks, both of whom landed on preseason watch lists, while the search continues for a new kickoff returner after Cam Ross. In that mix sits Solomon Beebe, the junior transfer from UAB who is on the Paul Hornung Award preseason watch list and arrives with the kind of versatility that usually gives a staff options it has not had before.
Coach Keith Gaither has made it clear Virginia wants to spread the load across several players, especially with newer NCAA rules opening the door for freshmen to help in those roles. Beebe is expected to be part of that rotation in more than one way, and the staffs willingness to mix and match could turn a routine hidden-yardage phase into one of the more interesting parts of the season. The challenge, as always, is turning preseason promise into a return unit that actually changes games when the margins get thin. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Defense Is Entering A Conversation Fans Rarely Get To Have
Virginias defense gave the program something it does not often get to enjoy: a legitimate place near the top of the ACC discussion. Even with star linebacker Kam Robinson missing six games, the Cavaliers finished as the leagues No. 2 scoring defense in 2025, allowing 19.6 points per game. That kind of steady work changes the tone around a team, especially when it comes with plenty of familiar pieces set to return for 2026.
There is also reason to think the group can keep rising. Virginia brings back many of its key defensive players and has added new contributors Jacob Holmes and Cazeem Moore, both of whom were responsible for a significant share of last seasons sack production elsewhere. And with a schedule that looks friendlier than what some of the other top ACC defenses will face, the Cavaliers have a real chance to turn last years breakthrough into something even more durable. [Read more 🡒]