Which position battles will define Virginia’s season?

Virginia’s coaches have raved about competitive depth on the 2026 roster — claiming that they have never had more of it in the Tony Elliott era. This is a Cavaliers team with experience, production and upside to boot.

However, the regular season will be the real test. Virginia is going to need high-quality production from its new transfer additions. Here are the three position battles that could come to define the Cavaliers in their 2026 campaign. 

No. 2 tight end

Tony Elliott has called the tight end position “the glue of the offense.” He is not wrong. Often overlooked, a quality second tight end unlocks 12-personnel looks — which open up Virginia’s offense. 

When the Cavaliers had both Dakota Twitty and Sage Ennis healthy, they scored 30-plus points in every game last year (six games). But after Twitty went down, Virginia hit 30 points just twice in its final eight games. 

With an effective two-TE set, the run game is enhanced by having a bigger blocker as opposed to another wide receiver. A run-focused attack then opens up the play action game, giving quarterbacks more time and allowing receivers to gain more separation downfield. 

A second tight end also gives the quarterback a safety valve in the flat and/or down the middle of the field. John Rogers, Connor Cox and others will be competing to earn that No. 2 tight end spot — it is essentially a starting role for this team, and certainly as important as one.

Wide receivers

In 2025, the Cavaliers only had three wide receivers surpass the marks of 25 receptions and 250 receiving yards. On the touchdown front, Virginia had just one wideout produce more than two receiving touchdowns.

The Cavaliers’ triple crown winner of receiving was Trell Harris — who is now an Oklahoma Sooner. Overall, Virginia lost six of its top seven leaders in total receptions from last season. 

The Cavaliers are going to need new additions and returning players to replicate last season’s success, and probably outperform it as well if they want to improve as a team. In particular, can Kam Courtney and/or Solomon Beebe kickstart the return game and dominate in the slot? Who steps up to be the new WR1? Can Virginia get more consistent production from its other starting receivers?

Several Cavaliers will get involved regardless of who starts — but there will be a battle to see who can emerge as the go-to options for Beau Pribula.

BANDIT and No. 2 defensive end 

Virginia recorded 31 sacks last year, which was part of a five-way tie for fourth in the ACC. However, the Cavaliers played at least one more game than the other teams in that tie. In terms of sacks per game, Virginia would have ranked in the middle of the ACC. 

Those 31 sacks were a massive improvement from years past (19 in 2024, 11 in 2023), but certainly fewer than expected for a team that won 11 games. So — now that players who accounted for 19 of those 31 sacks are gone, there are some major vacancies. In particular, the Mitchell Melton role (BANDIT) and Daniel Rickert role (third down pass rush) are crucial position battles to watch. 

At the moment, Matthew Fobbs-White could be the Melton successor, but he did not record a sack and recorded one tackle for loss last year with Baylor. He performed well with Tulane in 2024 (7.5 TFL, four sacks and a forced fumble), but success is not guaranteed.

There are also questions regarding the Rickert role. A frontrunner could be Yale transfer Ezekiel Larry (led the Ivy League with 10.5 sacks, First Team All-Ivy), but he will be adjusting to a new level of Power Four competition. The same goes for Columbia transfer Justin Townsend, and other veteran transfer acquisitions.