Position Group Preview: Cornerbacks

With the football season opener right around the corner, we’re continuing our Position Group Preview series with the Cornerbacks, where competition for starting spots is wide open heading into camp.

2024 Performance

Virginia went portal heavy last year to fill slots in the secondary, something they ended up repeating this year. Last year, the Hoos started Robert Morris transfer Jam Jackson at one corner spot, and Eastern Michigan transfer Kempton Shine at the other. Penn transfer Kendren Smith rotated in quite a bit as well, and Akron transfer Corey Thomas was UVa’s go-to option at the nickel or fifth defensive back.

Jackson finished the season with 58 tackles, which placed him tied for third on the team. Jackson finished the season with a pair of sacks as well, both coming at Pittsburgh, but didn’t register an interception. Shine didn’t have an interception either, but did record 7 PBU’s and 37 total tackles. Thomas finished the season with two interceptions and Smith had another, the only picks recorded by UVa’s cornerbacks last season.

The Projected Starters: TBD

Projecting UVa’s cornerback starters at this point seems like a fool’s errand. UVa added a ton of talent via the portal and have a couple of returnees that could also factor in, but health is a concern with those two. 

UVa’s two potential incumbent starters are both injured and could miss significant time this fall. Jackson started all 12 games for UVa last year, and was named the team’s defensive rookie of the year. However, in spring ball, Jackson suffered an injury that could keep him out for the season. Dre Walker also had a shot to earn more playing time this fall, after battling injuries his first two years on Grounds. Unfortunately bad luck struck again earlier this summer, and Walker is expected to miss time with another injury (first reported by the Daily Progress’ Greg Madia). 

As for the newcomers, UVa has quite a few, most of whom were not around for spring practices. One player who was at Virginia through the spring semester was Morgan State transfer Ja’Son Prevard, who was one of the more sought-after FCS defensive backs in the transfer portal, and flashed in April’s spring game. His experience in UVa’s system having been on Grounds several months may give him a leg up over the newer arrivals competing for playing time. 

UVa added a bunch of defensive backs in the spring portal window, including some that will be designated as cornerbacks, and others that can either play safety or nickel. Just to keep things organized, we’ve moved Georgia State transfer Ja’Maric Morris and New Mexico State transfer DaMarcus Crosby to the safety group for our previews, as they played safety at their last stop, but could still end up at cornerback at Virginia, to be sure.

Virginia landed Emmanuel Karnley, who had an impressive freshman season at Arizona, before transferring to Miami in the winter, and leaving the Hurricanes after spring ball. Of the defensive back additions, Karnley may have the highest upside, given how many years he has to play and how hot a commodity he was in the winter portal window. 

UVa added Cincinnati transfer Jordan Robinson early in the portal window. Robinson played with the Bearcats after spending time at Kentucky, and is another big, long cornerback that should compete for playing time. The Hoos also picked up Tennessee transfer Christian Charles, who played quite a bit for the Volunteers as a second-stringer on defense and a key special teams contributor. Charles could also play safety or nickel. The same goes for Army transfer Donavon Platt, who was one of the Black Knights’ key defenders last season, helping Army to a 10-win season and conference title. Virginia’s final portal addition was Utah transfer Kenan Johnson, who should be one of the oldest players in college football. Johnson previously played several years at Georgia Tech, and received a hardship waiver after getting hurt early in the 2024 season with the Utes.

Any of these players could end up being a starter for Virginia, and with so many unknowns going into camp, it’s really hard to say who will emerge from the group. It’s not a bad thing to have so many options, it’s just harder for us to make predictions at this time.

The Depth Options: Kevon Gray, CJ Spence, Josiah Persinger, Lukas Sanker

Virginia also has some younger players that simply might have to wait their turn given all the veteran additions, but are an intriguing group nonetheless. Kevon Gray returns for his sophomore season with UVa, after playing in one game last season. He did make it memorable, however, recovering a fumble in Virginia’s November loss at Notre Dame. 

UVa also added a trio of freshmen who could end up being impact players down the road. Chesapeake native CJ Spence finished his career at Kempsville High School, and was one of the top-25 prospects in the Commonwealth last year. Spence could have been slotted at receiver too, but will start his career in the secondary. UVa’s staff flipped Roanoke native Josiah Persinger from JMU late in the recruiting cycle. Persinger was a three-star prospect and a late riser in the 2025 recruiting cycle. Finally, UVa added legacy Lukas Sanker, the younger brother of former Wahoo Jonas Sanker, late in the recruiting process. The younger Sanker was initially committed to play at Princeton, but flipped to the hometown Hoos and should end up somewhere in the secondary. 

The Breakout Candidate(s): Ja’Son Prevard, Donavon Platt

We’re giving ourselves two choices here, given how many options there are and how difficult it is to pick out a breakout performer. We’re sticking with Prevard despite all of the additions, given how he looked in the spring. Coming out of the spring game, we would have pencilled in the former Morgan State Bear as a starter, and while he’ll now have to battle it out with more competition, we still like his chance to play. 

We’re also going to throw Platt in the mix as a potential breakout performer. Of all the spring portal additions, Platt was one of the most intriguing, given his sophomore ascension on a good Army defense, and the fact that the has two years left to play with the Hoos. He’s not as big as some of the other cornerbacks that UVa added, but he was a solid performer with the Black Knights, and given the demands he faced during his time there, should be ready to come in and work for a starting job. 

The Big Question: Who starts, and how much rotating will there be?

We wish UVa’s defensive coaching staff luck as they try to find snaps for all of the cornerbacks who will compete for a starting spot. The competition in camp should be fierce at the position, and the battle for snaps may last into the season before UVa settles on a few starters with depth options behind them. This is still a much better situation than UVa has been in previously, when they had to go with whoever the defacto starters were, often with little experience or depth behind them. Now, the problem will be finding a way to pick the best guys in a crowded field, and keep everyone engaged as depth will certainly be needed at some point.