If Virginia is going to stay near the top of the ACC in 2026, the work up front has to hold. The Cavaliers were one of the league’s best defenses a year ago, giving up 19.6 points per game and 310.1 yards per game, but the front four is taking on a very different look after a wave of departures.
Five of the 11 listed defensive starters from the Gator Bowl win over Missouri were graduate students, and that group included three linemen: edge rushers Mitchell Melton and Daniel Rickart and tackle Jahmeer Carter. Cazeem Moore, another important part of the edge rotation, also used up his eligibility. That leaves position coaches Chris Slade and Kevin Downing with talent to work with, but also a lot of moving parts to sort out.
The biggest issue is pressure. Virginia finished with 31 sacks in 2026, more than two per game, but only one of those came in the Cavaliers’ three losses: Rickert’s sack in the ACC title game against Duke. Getting opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable on a regular basis has to be a priority, because sometimes a hurry does nearly as much damage as a sack.
Fisher Camac is the only returning starter among the edge rushers. The 6-foot-7 defender had 4.5 sacks last season, and he could have help from a pair of transfers who arrive with real production: Ezekiel Larry, who led the Ivy League with 10.5 sacks at Yale, and Nnanna Anyanwu, who posted 5.5 at UTSA. Virginia also brought in Devon Baxter from Michigan and Matthew Fobbs-White from Baylor, while junior Billy Koudelka, listed at 6-8, showed some promise as a backup last season.
The interior pass rush matters just as much. If Virginia can’t generate pressure from the middle, coordinator John Rudzinski may have to lean more heavily on blitzes, and that can leave the defense vulnerable to screens.
Run defense was a major reason the Cavaliers were so effective in 2025. Opponents managed only 3.4 yards per carry, which often put them behind the chains.
Replacing that kind of presence inside is not simple, especially after Tony Elliott thought he had found his next run-stuffer in Zion Wilson, a 318-pound all-Conference USA selection at East Carolina. Wilson was declared ineligible by the NCAA and later signed with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.
That opens the door for returning starter Jason Hammond, Anthony Britton and others to take on bigger roles. Britton was productive as a backup last season, finishing with 30 tackles, three quarterback pressures and two forced fumbles, and he may be asked to do more now. Sophomore Sichan John will also be in the mix along with transfers Jonathan Allen of UAB, Justin Townsend of Columbia and Kervins Choute of UConn.
With the pace of the offenses Virginia will see this fall, Rudzinski needs a deep rotation, not just a few standouts. Fresh legs will matter in the heat early in the season and again late in games. At least a few of these linemen will have to deliver.
In Other News...
Virginia's New Rotation Reveals One Ryan Odom Question Fans Will Feel
Ryan Odoms first Virginia rotation is starting to take shape, and the early read says the Cavaliers are trying to replace a lot of lost production without leaning too hard on any one newcomer. The staff has spent the offseason sorting out who can handle real minutes, who can help stabilize the offense and which returning pieces can grow into larger jobs as the 2026 season approaches. In that mix, Chance Mallory and Thijs De Ridder stand out as the most important names to watch because their roles feel central to how far this team can go.
The bigger question is how Odom balances certainty with experimentation once the season actually starts. Virginia has enough candidates to fill out a rotation, from bench wings to a few developmental options, but the lineup still feels like a work in progress rather than a finished product. Odom has talked through player roles and growth as projections, not guarantees, and that leaves one familiar coaching challenge hanging over the roster: how much of the plan is already set, and how much still depends on someone emerging in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]