UVa opens fall camp today ahead of a pivotal 2025 season
Virginia opens fall camp this afternoon at the Hardie Center, and the road to their August 30th season opener against Coastal Carolina begins.
The Hoos will take the practice field this afternoon with a new-look roster featuring more than 50 new players. The Hoos brought in two new quarterbacks, some key skill talent for them to get the ball to, and seven offensive linemen to block for them. On the defensive side of the ball, UVa added a ton of experience and talent to the defensive line as they attempt to get after opposing quarterbacks, and a fleet of defensive backs to lock down opposing wide receivers.
Not everything is different, however. Tony Elliott pointed out at ACC Kickoff last week that UVa is one of just six P4 programs nationally to return their entire staff. This is the first fall camp in the Elliott era where the entire staff is back from the year prior, though there’s been very little turnover on the staff since he arrived, especially given the lack of success on the field to date.
This fall camp features plenty of intrigue and competition to follow along with. We know that UVa plans to start North Texas transfer Chandler Morris at quarterback, an announcement that came a few weeks ago with little fanfare and was of no surprise to most. But for the remainder of the roster, the depth chart for the opener against Coastal Carolina is far from settled. Virginia’s 2025 roster features a ton of depth at key positions and of the 22 starters UVa will name ahead of the opener, we could only confidently name a handful. That’s a good problem to have, however, as competition should be good for the team’s makeup heading into the season, and depth is always a factor with the amount of injuries a team sustains throughout a season.
While the focus right now is on the team getting camp started and seeing which newcomers and returnees win their respective position battles, the focus will turn to wins and losses in just a few weeks’ time. And, at least as of now, it looks like UVa will have every opportunity to go out and have success. The Hoos have seven home games for the first time since 2019, and have four games at Scott Stadium in the first five weeks of the season. The schedule itself seems relatively manageable too, as UVa avoids two of the top contenders in the ACC (Clemson, Miami) and has three winnable non-conference home games, as well as a road trip to NC State.
Virginia’s roster building throughout the offseason was intentional and successful. UVa also did a good job retaining most of the players that the staff wanted to retain after the season, and the result is a deeper, more talented, more experienced roster in what can only be described as a must-win season.
Elliott and his staff should be thrilled with the investment the athletic department and donors have made to give the program a chance to improve after three straight losing seasons. And while many have been patient during a longer rebuild, it’s time to deliver results. The staff is now in their second year in a state-of-the-art facility, and now have the players they need to compete. Simply put, there aren’t many excuses to fall back on; it’s time to deliver.
There’s a ton of reason for hope and optimism as camp opens, with the 2025 season just a month away now. The big question is will it be a turning point for Elliott’s program, or final confirmation that change is on the horizon?
