When the Virginia football team takes the field on Saturday afternoon against NC State, it’s still unclear whether linebacker Kam Robinson will be ready to play. Tony Elliott said earlier this week that it would be a game-time decision and Robinson is listed as questionable on the ACC’s initial Availability Report for the Week 0 game.
At least one person is sitting around waiting for that final decision. Fellow UVA linebacker Landon Danley says he’ll be ready either way. Mike Adams, the Cavaliers linebackers coach, wants all of his players to prepare like a starter and that’s a mindset that’s pushed for everyone on the defense.
“Just keeping that mindset, keeping our head down and putting the work in, and just staying humble,” Danley said in a preseason interview. “I think that’s the best thing I can do. I’m going to do whatever helps the team win best.”
It’s a role that Danley has handled before. Last season, Robinson missed the first three games of the season while recovering from a collarbone injury. Later in November, he suffered a torn ACL against Duke in the regular season meeting between the teams. It’s the recovery process from the ensuing knee surgery that has Robinson as a question mark now nine months later. He’s been cleared to return to contact in practice, but the team remains cautious with managing his return.
Danley handled his first major role within the Virginia defense mostly well, though there were ups and downs as one would expect. He finished with 49 tackles to rank fifth on the defense with 1 quarterback hurry, that one being a highly visible one in the loss to NC State a year ago.
The 6’2” did have some big production in games where he got more snaps with Robinson out of the lineup. In the season opener against Coastal Carolina, he made 7 tackles. Against Missouri in the Gator Bowl, he hit double digits for the first time with 10. In six games with Robinson sidelined, Danley averaged 5.3 tackles per game vs. just 2.4 tackles per game in his other seven games of the season.
Danley said the experience gave him confidence as the 2026 campaign approaches.
“Definitely, a little more confident and just coming in looking at all the details, the little things,” Danley said. “Like I said, just more confident wise to not worry about what I’m supposed to do or where I’m supposed to align at, but just being able to go play ball so definitely built a lot from coming in last year.”
Besides, Danley said he believes the Hoos have up to three full rotations of linebackers capable of playing and bringing versatility this season.
Beyond himself and Robinson, Virginia also brings back Maddox Marcellus after he also posted 49 tackles with 1.5 sacks, an interception, a quarterback hurry, and a pass breakup last fall. Behind that trio, Caleb Hardy has multiple years of in-game experience. Hardy and Myles Brown worked with the first team defense throughout the spring. Justin Rowe is a second year that’s ready to work his way into more opportunities as well.
If Robinson is out, Danley and Marcellus will be the first two in action at the linebacker spots. And their reps last year gives UVA the ability to plug them into either spot.
“Coach Adams does a great job of mixing us around. Like you said, I guess me, Kam, and Maddox Marcellus, we’ve all done Mike-Will so either one, we go in and we just play ball,” Danley said.
The Young One
When scanning the Virginia defensive line and Bandit group on the depth chart, it’s easy to find one thing that’s different from everything else. Fisher Camac (5th), Nnanna Anyanwu (7th), Billy Koudelka (3rd), Anthony Britton (4th), Jason Hammond (4th), Darrion Henry-Young (7th), Kervins Choute (7th), Matthew Fobbs-White (4th), Devon Baxter (3rd), and Jewett Hayes (3rd) make up players with a bigger number in the year column.
The exception: Sichan John. The Georgia native is the only underclassmen listed among the group as he enters his second year with the program. Not that he plays like the young one when he’s on the field.
“No, he really doesn’t. He looks like he fits in exactly where he fits in,” Anyanwu said. “Nothing about Sichan is anything [young looking], he’s a dog.”
John came to Virginia as a 3-star recruit after playing his final two prep seasons Hebron Christian Academy in Georgia. He helped his team win the GHSA Private State Football Championship for the first time in program his tory as a senior. That same year he was named the Region 8-AA Defensive Player of the Year.
Last fall as a true freshman at UVA, John appeared in five games as he got acclimated to power conference football. He had 4 tackles. He’s now No. 2 on the depth chart at nose tackle behind Anthony Britton and in line for significant reps on the interior.
The repeated description one hears from teammates and coaches? John is crazy strong.
“Yeah boy, that’s what he is! He’s strong. He’s super strong,” Anyanwu said. “He’s an amazing kid. He has an amazing motor. He loves the game. He plays hard every day, he practices hard. He’s a good dude.”
On Beau Pribula
Virginia tight end Dakota Twitty flashed a wide grin when asked about Beau Pribula ahead of the season opener. The Missouri transfer was named the starting quarterback for the Hoos this summer and Twitty said he can’t wait for everyone to see what he’s got. Pribula posted 1,941 yards passing at Missouri with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in 2025 and completed 182 of 270 attempts (67.4%) to rank third in the SEC. He rushed for 297 yards and 6 touchdowns as well. Prior to that at Penn State, he rushed for 10 touchdowns with appearances in 24 games.
Here’s Twitty’s take courtesy of the Corner Media Company.
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