Position Group Preview: Offensive Line

With the football season opener right around the corner, we’re continuing our Position Group Preview series with the offensive line, a new-look group boosted by a ton of transfer additions.

2024 Performance

There was optimism going into the 2024 season that the offensive line could be improved, which would lead to better production on offense overall. And while strides were certainly made, particularly earlier in the season, there was still a lot to work on going into last offseason. 

UVa’s 2024 line featured a group of returnees from the 2023 season, and more depth than they’d had in years past. Virginia ran the ball better, averaging  3.7 yards per attempt, a number that would have been well over 4.0 yards per carry if negative sack yards were removed. UVa’s line ended up being one of the worst in the nation in protecting the quarterback, allowing 47 sacks for 303 negative yards; only Florida State, Cal and Oklahoma surrendered more sacks. 

The 2024 performance of the line led to major personnel changes in the offseason. UVa added seven transfer linemen via the transfer portal to pair with a few key returnees, as the offensive line looks to take more-experienced and productive personnel and bring them together to form a more-effective group up front.

The Projected Starters: McKale Boley, Noah Josey, Brady Wilson, Kevin Wigenton, Tyshawn Wyatt, Makilan Thomas, Wallace Unamba

This is purely a projection at this point, as offensive line competition should be fierce at four of the five starting spots. UVa did take a hit in the spring when projected starter Monroe Mills suffered a season-ending injury, but the roster has a ton of new faces that should allow the group to overcome an injury or two much more easily than in past seasons. 

McKale Boley has quickly gone from a young up-and-comer to one of the elder statesmen of the offensive line room. Now a senior, Boley is back for year four at UVa, and should compete to start at left tackle. Last year, Boley missed part of camp and the beginning of the season with an injury, but returned and started the final eight games of the season at left tackle. His spot in the starting lineup isn’t a given, but Boley knows the offense and expectations, and has played pretty well when healthy. He’ll have as good a shot as any to start at left tackle. 

We’re penciling in Noah Josey as a starter at guard, though of course, like everyone else, he’ll have to re-earn his place. Josey’s decision to come back despite UVa’s portal aggressiveness, was a win for the staff. Josey has a ton of playing experience and has been one of UVa’s more reliable offensive linemen over the past several seasons. 

Kevin Wigenton is another name to watch at guard. UVa’s staff seems pretty high on Wigenton after the former Illinois lineman spent the spring in Charlottesville. Wigenton has excellent size at 6-foot-5, 335 pounds and has P4 experience from his two stops in the Big Ten (Michigan State prior to Illinois). 

Right tackle might be the toughest spot to peg right now, because of how fierce the competition should be. UVa added Makilan Thomas, an all Sun Belt performer from his time at Arkansas State. Thomas is an experienced and productive tackle who may be the odds-on-favorite to start at right tackle, if we’re judging purely based on past production. He’ll have to battle it out with Kentucky transfer Wallace Unamba, another spring portal addition who played at New Mexico last year, spent the spring with Kentucky and ended up at UVa. Unamba had an impressive season with the Lobos, and should compete for playing time. JMU transfer Tyshawn Wyatt is a name to watch as well. Wyatt’s ability to play both guard and tackle should help him improve his odds to start, and the fact that he was with UVa in the spring helps. We have no idea what combination of Wigenton-Thomas-Wyatt-Unamba will start, and of course someone from the depth group could end up outplaying all of them, but we’re betting on two of that group starting and the other two becoming important rotational pieces. 

One player we feel very good about starting is center Brady Wilson, and Terry Heffernan said so himself when we met with the coaching staff last week. Wilson was one of the nation’s top centers at UAB and according to Heffernan, earned a starting spot in the spring. A cerebral veteran anchoring the offensive line should be a boost for the Hoos, and the chemistry between Wilson and new QB Chandler Morris will be key.

The Depth Options: David Wohlabaugh, Ethan Sipe, Drake Metcalf, Grant Ellinger, Jack Witmer, Dane Wleklinski, Ben York, Jon Adair, Grayson Reid, Noah Hartsoe, Jim Harris

Don’t discount the depth group, either. UVa added transfer David Wohlabaugh from Syracuse, after he spent a couple of years there as a rotational piece. Wohlabaugh has two years of eligibility left and if he can’t earn a starting spot this year, perhaps he’d be in line for one next season. Drake Metcalf was expected to be an impact transfer on the offensive line last season, but suffered an injury in spring practice and missed the entire season; he should factor into the competition at guard, and could emerge as the backup to Wilson at center. The same can be said for Ethan Sipe, a Dartmouth transfer who battled injuries last season, and Grant Ellinger, a younger interior lineman that the staff was high on last year. Jack Witmer started at left tackle in place of Boley when injured last season, and played surprisingly well given his lack of experience; he’s another player who should battle to at least be a second-team tackle. UVa also has a group of younger offensive linemen that are continuing to develop, including Ben York, who has the physical traits to be a dominant lineman down the road.

The Breakout Candidate: Brady Wilson

We’re going with Wilson, who seems like the safest bet. It wouldn’t be a true “breakout” as Wilson is a known commodity from his success at UAB, but he could end up being one of the stars of this very big transfer class. UVa fans saw first hand how important the center position can be last year, when Brian Stevens was injured and UVa had other depth issues that led to a guard having to play out of position at center. That didn’t work out too well for the Hoos, in a blowout loss to UNC.

Wilson should be able to bring consistency to UVa’s offensive line, and could prove to be one of the top additions on UVa’s new-look offense.

The Big Question: Will the new group be able to allow for more success on the ground?

Virginia’s run game improved last year, but was far from dominant. And there are certainly levels that this group could attain that UVa hasn’t been able to find in the last few years when it comes to run blocking. UVa brought in a pair of transfer running backs and return Xavier Brown, so if the blocking is there, UVa could end up being a pretty balanced offense despite adding a quarterback that likes to sling it around. If UVa can find a group of five offensive linemen (and backups they trust when injuries inevitably hit) that can open up holes on the ground, UVa is well positioned to take advantage with Brown, Harrison Waylee and J’Mari Taylor in the backfield.