Virginia Football: Freshmen Making Strong First Impressions at Fall Camp

Tony Elliott says several players in the freshmen class are turning heads in their first fall camp with the UVA football team

Successful college football teams are built on talent and experience, with upperclassmen and veterans often leading the charge. But there is immense value found in having younger players contributing in their first seasons playing at the collegiate level. The experience those players get in their freshmen seasons usually pays dividends for both themselves and for their teams later in their careers. 

In 2022, Virginia got impactful contributions from a few true freshmen like McKale Boley, Xavier Brown, Will Bettridge, and JR Wilson. Each of those players will now look to fill key roles for UVA in their sophomore seasons this fall. 

So, who will be the key freshmen to emerge for the Cavaliers in 2023? According to Tony Elliott, there are a number of promising candidates standing out from the 2023 recruiting class so far in fall camp. 

The easiest answer is quarterback Anthony Colandrea. The first-year signal-caller from St. Petersburg, Florida is already in line to be the backup to Tony Muskett and is also getting some first team reps at quarterback this week at fall camp. As an early enrollee who joined the program in January, Colandrea turned heads during spring ball and has put himself in a good spot to be No. 2 on the depth chart at the most important position on the field. Muskett will be the starter, but Colandrea could see real game action this season, either in garbage time at the end of games or in the event that Muskett goes down with an injury. 

Fellow January enrollee Jaden Gibson is also in good position to work his way up the depth chart at wide receiver after a great spring. Getting a head start on learning the offense and building chemistry with the Cavalier quarterbacks has paid off for Gibson, who set the Georgia high school football records for receiving yards and touchdown receptions and who has been very impressive in his first eight months at UVA, according to the coaching staff. 

But in addition to Colandrea and Gibson, who had the significant advantage of arriving at Virginia a semester early, Tony Elliott says that there are a number of players in the freshmen class who are making strong first impressions. 

"Guys that immediately catch your attention will be Kam Robinson. I think we all knew the caliber of player that he was coming in the door," Elliott said. "Keandre Walker, Suderian Harrison, TyLyric Coleman has shown some progress. Cole Surber is a guy up front and that's probably one of the tougher positions because so much is happening, but he showed some flashes. Jason Hammond is another one that's shown some flashes. Mekhi Buchanan has shown some flashes. Devin Clark - all of those safeties - are violent, aggressive so far in practice. There have been several guys that have jumped."

The first name Elliott praised should come as no surprise. A four-star linebacker from Tappahannock, Virginia, Kam Robinson was the highest-rated recruit in UVA's 2023 recruiting class as well as the No. 10 overall recruit in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the No. 24-ranked linebacker in the country. In his press conference after practice on Monday, Elliott said that Robinson can absolutely compete athletically with UVA's veteran linebackers like Josh Ahern and James Jackson, but how much time Robinson sees on the field will depend on if he can get up to speed on Virginia's defensive scheme. 

"Athletically, there's no question. I think everybody on our practice field has seen it and knows it," Elliott said of Robinson. "It's going to be a function of - can he pick up the scheme? Because at that position, you gotta make so many calls, so many checks. You gotta have the ability to read the triangle... How far can we get him to the point where he can function on his own because at that position, it's tough to have your Mike backer being told what to do. He's gotta tell everybody else what to do."

Another defensive standout from the freshmen class is Keandre Walker, a cornerback from Denver, North Carolina. Walker excelled on both sides of the ball in his senior season at East Lincoln High School - recording 47 catches for 859 yards and nine touchdowns as well as 39 tackles and four interceptions - and he has continued that momentum into his first fall camp at the college level. Walker made one of the better plays of camp so far on Friday, running step for step with expected starting wide receiver JR Wilson on a route and then jumping the pass to record an interception. 

𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩-𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧'𝙨 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙨: 🚨PICK ALERT🚨 @DreWalker02
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Elliott mentioned that wide receivers Suderian Harrison and TyLyric Coleman have made some progress. Both receivers were electric playmakers in high school and the Cavaliers are clearly eager to explore opportunities to get the ball in their hands, as both Harrison and Coleman have been working out as punt returners as well. 

Freshman offensive lineman Cole Surber got a reference from Elliott, which is especially impressive considering how steep the curve is for offensive linemen to transition from high school to college. A 6'4", 300-pound guard from Bristow, Virginia, Surber was the first verbal commit in UVA's 2023 recruiting class, the first class to be entirely recruited by Tony Elliott's coaching staff. Surber also honored his commitment despite Virginia going through a coaching change at offensive line, with Terry Heffernan replacing Garett Tujague. McKale Boley got significant playing time as a true freshman in 2022, mostly out of necessity, and Cole Surber could be setting himself up to do the same if he continues to develop in fall camp. 

Virginia's defensive line is expected to be the biggest strength of the team in 2023, but two Cavalier freshmen have managed to stand out in that group. Defensive end Mekhi Buchanan and defensive tackle Jason Hammond both put up massive numbers in high school and are looking to supply UVA's defensive line with even more depth behind guys like Chico Bennett, Aaron Faumui, Olasunkonmi Agunloye, Jahmeer Carter, and Kam Butler. 

Finally, Elliott gave a nod to Devin Clark and the other "violent, aggressive" defensive backs in this freshmen class. Bringing in big and physical DBs was clearly a point of emphasis for the Cavaliers in this recruiting class, with the 6'2" safety Clark being joined by 6'3" safety Caleb Hardy, 6'2" athlete Landon Danley, 6'1" cornerback Trent Baker-Booker, and 6'1" cornerback Keandre Walker. UVA's defensive back unit is strong - with transfers like Malcolm Greene, Tayvonn Kyle, and Sam Westfall bolstering the cornerback position and returning veterans like Antonio Clary, Coen King, and Jonas Sanker leading the safeties. But don't be surprised if a few of these talented freshmen push those other players on the depth chart as John Rudzinski looks to field a formidable Cavalier defense for the second year in a row. 

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