Virginia Football Projected Depth Chart 2.0: Fall Camp Week 1 Update

Matt Newton | Aug 5, 2024

Blake Steen cracks the starting five in the 2.0 edition of our Virginia Football projected depth chart, updated following the first week of fall camp. / Virginia Athletics

With the first week of fall camp in the books, it's time to revisit our projected Virginia football depth chart we released earlier this summer and make a few changes based on what we've learned so far through these first few practices. There won't be many significant changes in version 2.0, especially on the defensive side of the ball since we haven't had a chance to speak with defensive coordinator John Rudzinski yet, but there are a couple of noteworthy adjustments.

Again, this is just an educated guess at what UVA's depth chart could look like and does not at all reflect the opinions of the coaching staff, who will make these decisions over the course of fall camp. We'll check back in a couple of times during fall camp with further revised editions of the depth chart in anticipation for the release of the official week 1 depth chart for the Richmond game at the end of August.

With that said, here is our Virginia Football Projected Depth Chart 2.0:

Offense

Position	Starter	Backup
QB	Tony Muskett	Anthony Colandrea
RB	Kobe Pace	Xavier Brown
WR	Chris Tyree	Suderian Harrison
WR	Malachi Fields	Andre Greene Jr.
WR	JR Wilson	Trell Harris
TE	Sackett Wood	Tyler Neville
LT	McKale Boley	Houston Curry
LG	Noah Josey	Ugonna Nnanna
C	Brian Stevens	Ethan Sipe
RG	Ty Furnish	Charlie Patterson
RT	Blake Steen	Jimmy Christ

Notes:
- With graduate tight end Sackett Wood Jr. returning for a fifth season, we now have him listed as TE1 with Harvard transfer Tyler Neville behind him. Wood's experience in the system having started eight games last season gives him the edge on Neville, who was perhaps the Ivy League's top tight end the last two seasons. Not pictured on the depth chart is Clemson transfer Sage Ennis, who will likely serve primarily as a run-blocker.
- One big change on the offensive line is that we are now projecting Ty Furnish to start at right guard. He started the 2023 season at center, but struggled in that spot so he moved to right guard. Furnish was in and out of the lineup all last season, but UVA offensive coordinator Des Kitchings says he's been impressed with the progress Furnish has made heading into this season.
- After starting the last five games of the 2023 season at right tackle, we're projecting Blake Steen to be a full-time starter at that spot now.
- Noah Hartsoe was expected to serve as the backup center before his injury and Kitchings says there are a few different players cross-training at center now to fill that spot, including freshman Grant Ellinger, but right now we're giving the nod to Dartmouth transfer Ethan Sipe.
- Charlie Patterson is apparently having a strong start to camp and we've got him slotting in as a possible backup to Furnish at right guard.
- No changes at quarterback, running back, or wide receiver.

Virginia Football Fall Camp Notebook: Takeaways From Week 1

Defense

Position	Starter	Backup
DE	Kam Butler	Ben Smiley
NT	Jahmeer Carter	Jason Hammond
DT	Bryce Carter	Michael Diatta
Bandit DE	Chico Bennett	Terrell Jones
WILL LB	James Jackson	Trey McDonald
MIKE LB	Kam Robinson	Dorian Jones
SPUR	Corey Thomas	Jam Jackson
Left CB	Dre Walker	Kendren Smith
Right CB	Malcolm Greene	Elijah Gaines
FS	Jonas Sanker	Caleb Hardy
SS	Antonio Clary	Kempton Shine

Notes:
- With Stevie Bracey out for the season with an injury, we're putting Cincinnati transfer Dorian Jones as the backup to Kam Robinson at MIKE linebacker.
- A possible option to replace the injured Mekhi Buchanan as the backup to Chico Bennett at Bandit defensive end is Terrell Jones, who comes out of high school as a tackle but could have the versatility to play that spot.
- There could be more changes coming to our projections on the defensive side of the depth chart after we speak with defensive coordinator John Rudzinski this week.

Special Teams

Position	Starter	Backup
P	Daniel Sparks	Elijah Slibeck
KO	Daniel Sparks	Vadin Bruot
PK	Will Bettridge	Vadin Bruot
PR	Ethan Davies	Suderian Harrison
KOR	Chris Tyree	Kobe Pace
LS	Payton Bunch	Luke Byrne

Notes
- With Matt Ganyard's departure, it seems All-ACC punter Daniel Sparks is going to be handling kickoff duties for Virginia in addition to his punting responsibilities.
- This would only be the case if his load at running back isn't too heavy, but Kobe Pace is an option as a kickoff returner, a spot where we're currently expecting Notre Dame transfer Chris Tyree to start.
- Stevie Bracey was going to be an option at long-snapper, but with his injury, the starting spot is pretty much guaranteed to go to Coastal Carolina transfer Payton Bunch with Luke Byrne serving as the backup.

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