Virginia Football: Projecting UVA's Depth Chart Ahead of Fall Camp

Matt Newton | Jul 22, 2024

Kobe Pace will likely be Virginia's starting running back this season, but what will the rest of UVA's running back depth chart look like? / Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

We're less than six weeks away from the start of the 2024 college football season and Virginia football will officially begin fall camp in a little over a week. As the excitement for a new season builds, it's time to take a stab at projecting what the two-deep depth chart might look like for the Cavaliers when they open the season on August 31st against Richmond.

As a disclaimer, this is, of course, just an educated guess at what UVA's depth chart could be 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 throughout fall camp with revised editions of this depth chart to reflect observations made from the open practices, including injuries and players who have impressed the Virginia coaching staff.

With that said, here is our pre-fall camp Virginia Football Depth Chart. Continue reading for some notes and analysis on the depth chart at the bottom of the article.

Virginia Football Projected Depth Chart - Pre Fall Camp

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	Sage Ennis	Tyler Neville
LT	McKale Boley	Houston Curry
LG	Noah Josey	Ugonna Nnanna
C	Brian Stevens	Ty Furnish
RG	Blake Steen	Noah Hartsoe
RT	Ethan Sipe	Jimmy Christ

Defense

Position	Starter	Backup
DE	Kam Butler	Ben Smiley
NT	Jahmeer Carter	Jason Hammond
DT	Bryce Carter	Michael Diatta
Bandit DE	Chico Bennett	Mekhi Buchanan
WILL LB	James Jackson	Trey McDonald
MIKE LB	Kam Robinson	Stevie Bracey
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

Special Teams

Position	Starter	Backup
P	Daniel Sparks	Elijah Slibeck
PK/KO	Will Bettridge	Vadin Bruot
PR	Ethan Davies	Suderian Harrison
KOR	Chris Tyree	Suderian Harrison

Notes and analysis:

For the inevitable controversy that might be caused from listing Tony Muskett over Anthony Colandrea at quarterback, it should be noted that we have Muskett and Colandrea as 1a and 1b, with no real starter being named because Tony Elliott has said exactly that: the starting quarterback job is one that will be won in fall camp and not before. Without any inside information, we have Muskett a nose ahead of Colandrea because when he has been healthy, Muskett has started over Colandrea without exception. Naturally, UVA's quarterback battle will be the top storyline to watch in fall camp.

Related: Any Significance to Tony Muskett Attending ACC Media Days?

Virginia has a ton of depth at wide receiver. We're confident that Malachi Fields, Chris Tyree, JR Wilson, and Andre Greene Jr. will be at or near the top of the depth chart, but the backup spots are much less solidified with all of the transfers and promising rising sophomores populating what is a very deep and talented wide receiver room. Ethan Davies, Jaden Gibson, and TyLyric Coleman could be very impactful for the Cavaliers this season, but they don't make this version of the depth chart at this time.

Likewise, UVA has a ton of depth at defensive back, with several players who didn't make our depth chart, but who could play significant snaps like Micah Gaffney and Aidan Ryan. We're fairly confident that Jonas Sanker and Akron transfer Corey Thomas Jr. will start at safety and SPUR, respectively, but there could be a lot of shifting at the other secondary positions both in fall camp and during the season. We're interested to see what kind of a sophomore leap Dre Walker makes after a fabulous freshman year and also intrigued to see what level of play UVA gets out of the veteran Antonio Clary after missing all of last season with an injury.

Read more: Virginia Football: Five Players Returning From Injury to Watch in 2024

As a note on the offensive line, with UCF transfer Drake Metcalf expecting to miss a lot of time with an Achilles injury, late transfer addition Ethan Sipe (Dartmouth) could slide into the starting lineup at right tackle. We wanted to have 10 different players listed on the two-deep at offensive line to reflect the different linemen who could make up UVA's rotation, but the reality is that there will be players who could play multiple positions. We have Ty Furnish listed as the backup center, but he could also figure into the depth chart at either guard position. There is a high level of confidence that Brian Stevens will start at center, Noah Josey at left guard, and McKale Boley at left tackle.

More Virginia Football News

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