UVA Football Week 13 Injury Report: Kam Robinson, James Jackson, Corey Thomas

Matt Newton | Nov 19, 2024

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Virginia head coach Tony Elliott held his weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon and had a long list of updates to provide on injured Cavaliers ahead of the final home Virginia football game of the season against SMU on Saturday.

Starting with the defense, Elliott says sophomore linebacker Kam Robinson is "probable" for the game against SMU with a shoulder injury that has been plaguing Robinson all season. Robinson missed one game earlier this year with a knee injury, but he has battled through multiple injuries this season, starting all but one game.

Fellow linebacker James Jackson is not listed on this week's Virginia depth chart and Elliott has ruled him out for the SMU game. Jackson missed three-straight games with a foot injury, returned for the Notre Dame game and played around 20 snaps before injuring himself again. Elliott says Jackson "gave us everything he had" but was dealing with quite a bit of pain in that foot. With Jackson out, expect Cincinnati transfer Dorian Jones and sophomore Landon Danley to play significant snaps alongside Kam Robinson and Trey McDonald at the linebacker position.

Elliott says Corey Thomas Jr. is expected to miss the SMU game after suffering a head injury against Notre Dame. Thomas had just moved over to the safety position after Antonio Clary went down for the season.

On the defensive line, Jahmeer Carter and Terrell Jones have both been practicing and are expected to be available against SMU after both players were banged up in the Notre Dame game. Carter has started every game this season, while Terrell Jones has played in every game and logged one start in week 11 against Pitt.

Moving over to the offense, starting right tackle Blake Steen went down with an injury in the Notre Dame game, but Tony Elliott says he'll be back in practice on Wednesday and is expected to be able to play on Saturday against SMU.

Sophomore running back Donte Hawthorne suffered a head injury in the second half of the Notre Dame game and has been ruled out for the SMU game.

Elliott also reported that sophomore wide receiver Jaden Gibson suffered a hamstring injury in practice on Tuesday and is unsure of Gibson's status for the SMU game.

Finally, Elliott provided an update on junior wide receiver Trell Harris, who has been out since week 3 with a knee injury. In mid-October, it was announced that Harris was having surgery to remove a minor bone fragment in his knee. Elliott says Harris has been doing a lot of running and conditioning on the side and is expected to return to practice on Wednesday, but he won't yet be available for Saturday's game against SMU. That could potentially set Harris up for a return for the regular season finale against Virginia Tech. That would be his fourth appearance of the season, so Harris would be able to play in that game and still redshirt the season and save the year of eligibility.

Virginia (5-5, 3-3 ACC) is set to host No. 13 SMU (9-1, 6-0 ACC) on Senior Day and the final home game of the season on Saturday, November 23rd in Charlottesville. Kickoff between the Cavaliers and Mustangs is set for 12pm ET at Scott Stadium and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

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