Last August, when UVa released their initial depth chart for the season, one of the surprises on the two deep came on defense. Virginia listed walk-on freshman Billy Koudelka as a potential starter on the defensive line, in place of veteran Ben Smiley, an expected starter.

This season, it wouldn’t come as a big surprise to see Koudelka on the first team defense when the first depth chart is released. Koudelka was one of the stars of the spring game earlier this month, getting after the Blue Team quarterbacks throughout the afternoon, and consistently creating havoc in the backfield. While the spring game rules don’t allow quarterbacks to be taken down to the ground as they would be in a game, Koudelka certainly got to the quarterback enough in the spring game to be credited with what would’ve been legitimate sacks in a real game.

“He came up to me afterward because he was hollering every time he got close, that it was a sack,” Tony Elliott said of Koudelka’s chaos creation in the spring game.

“I think it’s a little weird because they say if he’s out of the pocket you touch him with two hands and if he’s in the pocket, stay away from him,” Koudelka said of adjusting to not hitting a QB live in the spring game, just as they do in practice.

Ultimately the box score credited Koudelka with four sacks on the day as he kept Blue QB Danny Kaelin on the run quite a bit in the first half. While he was fighting to get credit for those sacks, he was plenty pleased with his production in the game .

“I’ll take four.”

Elliott and the UVa staff have been pleased with Koudelka’s progress in the spring, and it seems that what he pulled off in Scott Stadium in front of fans is similar to what the staff saw in behind-closed-doors practices.

“He’s been productive. Obviously a lot to learn. Everyone sees the splash plays, but also he’s grown in the ability to set the edge in the run game when we need him to, to be an every down player,” Elliott said. “We’re excited about his growth and his potential.”

Koudelka appeared on the depth chart in August, but saw most of his snaps late in the season. Koudelka had his best performance against SMU, generating his first career sack as well as a forced fumble. Koudelka came to UVa a raw prospect who was more known as an excellent lacrosse player in high school, but he quickly caught the eye of the coaching staff, and improved throughout his freshman season, enough to earn playing time by November.

“That’s why we invested in him last year, and you saw him play towards the end of the season, because he was coming on,” Elliott explained. “So he continued to progress this spring and we’re excited about his upside.”

Like many players, the jump from year one to year two could be significant for Koudelka, who has been working on both football technique and strength. Koudelka credited coaches Chris Slade, Kevin Downing, Kam Butler and Mike Moore for influencing his skill and technique as a pass rusher, and he has also put in the work in the weight room to make himself strong enough to beat ACC pass blockers.

“Everything since I’ve gotten here has been a question of strength or technique. And I think I really hit the weight room hard this offseason,” Koudelka said following the spring game. “I’m going to have a little bit of a break coming up here where I have to take full advantage of the weight room and the great staff we have there. Technique wise I think I have made a lot of improvements throughout the spring, but I think I have a lot more room to grow to perfect my craft.”

Koudelka’s improvement would be welcome news to UVa’s staff, who have desperately attempted to rebuild UVa’s pass rush in the offseason. Virginia’s defense was near the bottom nationally in sacks created over the past two seasons, a trend that needs to turn around in 2025 if the program is going to take a step forward. Virginia’s staff was aggressive in adding pass rushers in the transfer portal, and believe they have a more talented and deeper group on the edge this year. Koudelka agrees, and believes that a strong pass rush group can only help him get better.

“I think we’ve brought guys of great caliber in. And I think that it’s a motivation for other guys,” Koudelka said of UVa’s pass rush additions. “You always want to have competitive depth in two senses. One, it’s going to make people compete against each other, and in another sense, it’s going to allow people to absorb from other people who many have other perspectives and other skills”

“I remember when we signed all of those guys, I watched their tapes and thought ‘we’ve got some good guys coming in,’” Kouldelk continued. “I’ve used the resources around me, being them, to just learn a little bit more. I think the traits that Fisher (Camac) has, the length he has, for example.”

Elliott highlighted a possible Camac/Koudelka combination, and talked about the problems their length could cause for opposing offenses. Being disruptive at the line of scrimmage and attempting to bat down balls has been a focus for the 6-foot-8 Koudelka this spring.

“When you have arms that long, you’re just trying to get your hands up when you see the sticks. One of the things we’ve been harping on the last few weeks is processing the call,” the Lynchburg native said. “When you see those sticks, when it’s third and short, you’re going to get a low throw, getting hands up has been an emphasis all spring.”

While Koudelka has shown flashes of potential, the work continues for the rising sophomore. Heading into his second collegiate season, Kouldelka is still working on his body to give himself an edge in a crowded field of pass rushers, as they battle for snaps this fall.

“I would like to gain a little more weight and would like to get a little quicker,” Koudelka said of his offseason plans.