Position Group Preview: Linebackers

With the football season opener less than 50 days away now, we’re continuing our Position Group Preview series with one of UVa’s most-experienced positions on the 2025 roster, the linebackers.

2024 Performance

Virginia’s linebacker group battled through injuries last season, but had a productive year as a group. Kam Robinson finished second on the team in tackles with 64, and was probably UVa’s second-best defender overall, behind Jonas Sanker. Robinson was banged up throughout the season but only missed one game; he finished the 2024 season with 6 TFLs and 5 sacks, and recorded an interception in UVa’s loss at Clemson. James Jackson played in all 12 games, and finished third on the team in tackles with 58. Jackson didn’t make disruptive plays in the backfield, but recorded six PBU’s, which is quite impressive for a linebacker. Trey McDonald wasn’t even a starter, but still played quite a bit, and finished with 58 tackles as well. He also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss, and had an interception in the loss at Notre Dame.

The Projected Starters: Kam Robinson, James Jackson

Robinson is a pretty obvious starter at this point. His athleticism allows defensive coordinator John Rudzinski to use him in a variety of ways, getting after the quarterback, or dropping into coverage. There were surely options for Robinson to move on via the portal in the offseason, so keeping him in Charlottesville was a bit of an underrated coup for the staff, while so much attention goes to transfer additions, rather than retention. 

We’re penciling in Jackson as a starter too, but his spot is probably more up in the air at this point. Jackson has dealt with some injury knocks, and was in and out during the spring. He has been a productive player under this staff throughout his career, and his experience probably gives him a leg up in any fall camp competition. 

UVa has shown a willingness to rotate a few linebackers throughout a game, so regardless of who shows up on top of the depth chart, more than two guys will play.

It’s a bit of a cop out not to single out a starter, but it’s really tough to know which of these three could emerge as the top dog, but it seems like they’ll all get opportunities and carries. 

The Depth Options: Trey McDonald, Maddox Marcellus, Stevie Bracey, Landon Danley, Myles Brown, Justin Rowe, Isaiah Reece

This is where it gets interesting. UVa’s projected group of backup linebackers would probably be serviceable starters, if called into action for one reason or another, and there’s a good amount of upside in this group.

We’ll start with McDonald, who has been solid when forced into action as a backup. McDonald has also shown out in spring games and other opportunities he’s been afforded, and earned a good number of snaps last year. McDonald is a pretty experienced player at this point, and finished the 2024 season strong, with an 11-tackle game at Clemson and 7 stops in the finale at Virginia Tech.

UVa only added one transfer to the linebacker room, but it’s an intriguing addition. Virginia signed Maddox Marcellus in December, after he spent a couple of very productive years at FCS-level Eastern Kentucky. Marcellus, originally from the Miami area, comes to UVa with two years remaining. In 2024, he was an all-conference selection at EKU, and recorded 97 tackles with an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. And when you watch the clips, it’s clear why UVa and a bunch of other FBS programs wanted Marcellus. He can fly around and will be one of the most-athletic linebackers on the roster in camp. It’s not impossible, if he can demonstrate P4-level ability in camp, that he ends up taking on a very significant role. 

Virginia also returns a few more linebackers from the 2024 team. Landon Danley earned some reserve snaps last year in his first year of game action, and could be in line for a larger role this year. Myles Brown played in three games last year as a true freshman, playing in November after UVa had successfully preserved his redshirt. Brown is a very athletic linebacker with a high ceiling, but will have to find a role in a pretty old linebacker room. Stevie Bracey returns as well, after missing all of last season with an injury. Bracey played some in 2022 and 2023, and actually worked at long snapper in the spring. 

UVa added two linebackers in the 2025 recruiting class, as well. Isaiah Reece signed with UVa out of Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, where he was the North East Prep League Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. UVa also added Justin Rowe, a Canadian who played at Asheville School in North Carolina. Rowe was initially listed as a DB as a recruit, but UVa has slotted him at linebacker on their initial roster.

The Breakout Candidate: Maddox Marcellus

We’re going with Marcellus, who would be a new name for Cavalier fans, and would certainly be an under-the-radar player with a higher ceiling, given where he’s coming from. Marcellus might not end up starting, but his film looks like he could be a player that has a high impact even in a more limited number of snaps. If Marcellus ends up being a ‘hit’ for UVa out of the portal, coupling with what they already have in Robinson, UVa could have a very athletic linebacker duo that could create a lot of havoc for opponents, and perhaps take some pressure off of UVa’s pass rush that is in much need of improvement. 

We’d also like to put in a plug for Danley here as well. He might simply be behind too many veterans to earn a large number of defensive snaps, but he does seem like a player to watch at linebacker going forward.

The Big Question: Will Kam Robinson raise his game to yet another level?

As a true freshman, UVa fans saw Robinson, who was the most hyped member of that recruiting class, flash his potential. Robinson made a number of highlight reel plays as he started to play more throughout that season, and even ended up scoring a touchdown against Louisville. As a sophomore, Robinson became a mainstay in the Cavalier defense, and he quickly became one of the team’s most-dynamic players. So now, in his third year, what can Robinson do to raise his game? He has demonstrated an ability to make plays on the football and in the backfield, two characteristics that should help him become an NFL player at some point. Perhaps the next step in his evolution is to become more of a vocal leader. UVa already has experienced players on the defense and at linebacker, but Robinson is going to be one of the faces of the Cavalier defense if he stays healthy, and it will be exciting to see what he’s capable of this fall.