The Virginia football team brought in 44 new players between the transfer portal and high school recruiting this offseason. While personnel changes are part of the yearly equation in modern college athletics, when there’s that much volume in roster turnover, it’s natural for someone to fly under the radar.

In the early days of preseason practice, that player may be Devon Baxter for the UVA defense. Baxter joined the Cavaliers after two years at Michigan where he did not see game action. He battled injuries while with the Wolverines and remained limited this spring at Virginia while continuing to rehab his shoulder.

Still, the Hoos liked his upside and that came long before he was in the transfer portal. “We went after him pretty hard coming out of high school,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. They recruited Baxter heavily out of Gwynn Park High School in Maryland where he had 55 tackles with 13 sacks as a senior. He finished as a 4-star recruit in the 247Sports, which also rated him as the No. 16 edge rusher nationally.

UVA began preseason practice last Wednesday and will begin its in full pads preparation on Tuesday this week. Baxter is getting a look at the Bandit hybrid position (defensive end/linebacker) for the defense. Mitchell Melton, a Big Ten transfer from Ohio State, played at that spot last fall and finished with 45 tackles.

Through this fall’s first practices and early installation work, Baxter has caught the eye of Elliott. That’s true in part because he didn’t participate fully in the spring like some transfers, but also because the 6’6”, 244-pound junior has the build to stand out on the edges of the defense.

“The length, you can’t coach that. The athleticism, you can’t coach that,” Elliott said. “What you don’t know and you hope is just the football mentality and he’s got that - he learns very quickly. So each day you’re seeing him get better what we’re asking him to do. I’m really excited about his upside, probably the guy that’s caught my attention the most the first five days of practice.”

2022 Eligbility

The latest court ruling surrounding college athletics sent waves across the landscape last week. U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney issued a preliminary injunction to allow athletes that began college in 2022 a fifth year of competition (applied only to student-athletes that finished their fourth year of eligibility in 2025-2026). This followed a new NCAA rule that implemented a age-based five-year model (“five in five”) this spring.

That, of course, sent fans into roster management mode. In terms of football at Virginia, that included two players that played defensive tackle at times for the Hoos last fall during their 11-win season. Jacob Holmes and Cazeem Moore, who began their careers in 2022 at Fresno State and Elon respectively, both seem to fit within the injunction’s scope as players who began in 2022 and have only played four seasons. Defensive tackle is one position on the roster where the Cavaliers will be relying on some players with less experience for depth.

Coach Elliott said that UVA and the players (or their representatives) have had contact - “there’s been communication, but still in terms of the direction, we’re still just waiting on things to get ironed out.” He noted the administration - including football General Manager Justin Speros - are still researching the ramifications of the ruling. Here is a clip of Coach Elliott speaking with the media.

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Extra Points

  • Virginia offensive lineman Noah Josey has been named to the 2026 Outland Trophy watch list. The award is given annually to the nation’s top interior lineman.
  • UVA linebacker Kam Robinson has been named o the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list. The award is given to the top defensive player in college football each year.
  • Daniel Sparks, who had been mentioned as a possible long-distance field goal option, currently is not focused on that early in camp but is concentrating on his primary duty as punter.
  • The College Football Coaches Preseason Poll was released Tuesday. Virginia landed in the receiving votes list in what would be the 32nd spot. Ohio State was ranked No. 1 and Miami was the top ACC team at No. 7.
  • The 2026 Meet The Team event is scheduled for this Sunday, Aug. 9, at the George Welsh Indoor Practice Facility from 4-6 p.m.
  • UVA announced the theme dates for the 2026 season back in May, but the NC State game moving from Brazil to Charlottesville changed one week. The Paint the Town Orange game (wear orange) had been scheduled for the Norfolk State game, but has since switched to the Saturday, August 29 game with the Wolfpack. The Paint the Town Orange pep rally will take place on Friday, August 28 at the Ting Pavilion on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall beginning at 8 p.m.
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