Virginia’s path back to the ACC title conversation will run through its stars, and the Cavaliers appear to have a handful who can tilt games if they deliver what the staff expects. Quarterback play, a disruptive defense and a rebuilt line could all shape the season, and five names stand out as possible difference-makers.
At the top of the list is quarterback Pribula, a player Virginia was fortunate to land after several other potential landing spots unraveled before he chose Charlottesville, according to a recent ESPN article. His college numbers don’t jump off the page, but Virginia’s coaches and players have been sold on the arm strength, mobility, football IQ and leadership that come with him. Those traits should give offensive coordinator Des Kitchings room to open things up, and the Cavaliers will need that kind of flexibility if they want to get back to Charlotte and chase their first-ever outright ACC championship.
On the other side of the ball, Robinson is the kind of player who can change a game in a snap. The comparison to All-America end Chris Long says plenty about the level of impact Virginia believes he can bring when healthy.
Robinson has five career college interceptions, and three of them have gone for touchdowns. He has also scored on a blocked punt return and delivered the decisive points in last year’s win over Washington State with a tackle for a safety.
The big question is his health. A torn ACL cut short his 2025 season, and while he rehabbed relentlessly, Tony Elliott said he is hopeful Robinson will be ready for NC State in the Aug. 29 opener.
Even so, nobody knows exactly where he’ll be physically. He may never be at 100 percent this season, but Virginia doesn’t need perfection to feel his presence.
The Cavaliers were second in the ACC in points allowed at 19.6 last season even without him for six games, and they could be even better with him on the field.
Virginia also has high hopes for Thomas, who finally gets his shot after an injury kept him out in 2025 following his transfer from Arkansas State. The Cavaliers waited on him, and now they’re hoping the payoff is real.
He’s lined up at right guard after playing tackle for the Red Wolves, and The Athletic placed him No. 45 on its annual College Football Freaks List. At 6-foot-3 and 317 pounds, Thomas brings eye-popping numbers: a 480-pound bench press, a 600-pound squat, a 30-inch vertical jump and a 4.38 shuttle time that is faster than any offensive lineman at the NFL Combine in at least three years.
Put Thomas into an all-grad student offensive line with McKale Boley, Noah Josey, Drake Metcalf and Monroe Mills, and Virginia has a chance to be dangerous in the run game while also giving Pribula time to work.
Hillman gives the Cavaliers another physical piece on defense, and this one comes with a homecoming angle. The Chesapeake, Va., native transferred back after a coaching change at Michigan.
In 2025, he started 12 games and made 49 tackles for the Wolverines, one year after being a backup on the national championship team. Beyond the numbers, he brings athleticism and leadership to the back end of a defense that already looks strong.
Alongside Ethan Minter, he should help clean up mistakes made in front of him.
John Rudzinski was blunt in his praise for Hillman: "His physicality [is elite]," Rudzinski said. "And then his range, his ability to get from sideline to sideline.
And he's done a bunch of that in fall camp. I mean, he's one of those safeties that those receivers and tight ends are like, all right, where is he?
They want to know because he's going to come down and he's going to make sure he puts his face mask on you, square and legally."
Baxter is the biggest projection of the group, but maybe also the most intriguing. He hasn’t played in a college game, missing two seasons at Michigan and sitting out spring practice with a shoulder injury.
Still, Virginia saw enough to believe in the upside. He was a four-star recruit out of Gwynn Park High School in Maryland, and at 6-foot-6 and 244 pounds, he has the kind of frame that turns heads.
There are plenty of candidates fighting for edge-rushing snaps, with Fisher Camac already securing one of the starting spots. But Baxter may have the highest ceiling of the bunch.
Elliott said recently, "We didn't know much about him on the field this spring just because he was down coming off the shoulder injury," Elliott said recently. "But he flashes.
He can get to the quarterback. He's tough.
He's physical. He plays with a high motor.
Those are the things that I like about him."
"And he's still got a ton of upside because his body is still not fully developed and he can get really, really big and maintain his quickness and athletic ability. So I think he's got a chance to be a really, really good player long term."
In Other News...
Virginia Now Faces A Troubling RB Situation Off The Field
Virginias backfield picture took an unwelcome turn this week when Solomon Beebe, one of the Cavaliers running backs, became the subject of an off-field legal matter that reached beyond football. The incidents at the center of the case reportedly occurred in August, and the university has stayed quiet while the process plays out, declining to comment because of the ongoing legal proceedings.
For now, head coach Tony Elliott said Beebe is still part of the running back rotation and the return game, which leaves Virginia in the delicate position of balancing football plans with a situation that is far from resolved. The Cavaliers will keep moving forward on the field, but this is the kind of storyline that can linger around a team until there is more clarity. [Read more 🡒]
Gelnovatch's Take On Virginia's Frustrating Opener Will Spark Debate
No. 11 Virginias mens soccer season opener had the kind of early-season edge that can tell you plenty about a team, even in defeat. At Klckner Stadium, UCLA came away with a 2-1 win after striking first and then answering Virginias push, while Marco Dos Santos supplied the Cavaliers lone goal in a match that tested the home side from the start.
George Gelnovatch had plenty to sort through afterward, from the way Virginia handled the pressure to what the performance might mean heading into the next game. The result left the Cavaliers with an immediate reminder that rankings do not guarantee comfort, and it also set up a lively conversation around how much stock to put in an opener that featured stretches of control, but not enough finishing to turn it into a different kind of night. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Faces A New ACC Test Against A Revived Florida State
Florida States basketball program looks nothing like the group Virginia has seen in recent years. Under first-year coach Luke Loucks, the Seminoles have brought a sharper edge and a more aggressive style for the 2025-26 season, enough to make them a far more difficult ACC assignment than their recent history might suggest. The discussion around this matchup has centered on how individual pieces fit, where Florida State can pressure teams and where Virginias structure still gives it a clear path to control the game.
Even with the Seminoles improvement, the Cavaliers still appear to have an edge in how the frontcourt battle should unfold. Virginias experience and versatility are the kind of traits that can blunt a bigger but less settled opponent, and that makes the center matchup one of the key layers in this ACC test. Florida State has clearly raised its ceiling under Loucks, but the question hanging over this one is whether that jump is enough to make it a real threat against a Virginia team built to handle exactly this sort of challenge. [Read more 🡒]