Virginia wrapped up fall camp on Monday afternoon with less than two weeks away from the season opener against No. 12 Tennessee in Nashville. The Wahoos are getting into game shape and learning their schemes, while their coaches are tasked with finding a starting 11 on both sides of the ball and options behind each player.

Depth charts are flexible, change daily with injuries and competition, and are not really to be trusted given the volatility in each program.

Even so, no matter what a depth chart will come together as the staff picks which guys will run out on the field first against the Vols next Saturday morning.

Starting with the offense today, we’re taking an educated guess on such a depth chart, working through who starts at each position, who backs them up, and where there may be some positional versatility.

Tony Muskett

Anthony Colandrea

Grady Brosterhaus

Tony Elliott ended any suspense in his media availability on Monday, officially announcing Muskett as the team’s QB1 heading into next weekend’s opener. That decision was no surprise, though Elliott made it clear last week that Colandrea was having a solid fall camp and playing well after doing the same thing in spring practice. Muskett was brought in to be the starter and UVa’s 2023 season will likely go as he goes.

It feels like the Cavaliers would be comfortable putting Colandrea in a game if they need to, and considering how violent a game football is he’s almost surely going to see game action at some point. But it is worth noting that the depth at quarterback is relatively non-existent after those two, as they are the only two scholarship QBs left on the roster after Delaney Crawford moved to receiver last week.

Perris Jones

Mike Hollins OR Kobe Pace

Cody Brown OR Amaad Foston OR Jack Griese

We’ll give the edge to Jones in the running back room, though this is obviously going to be a by-committee approach. Last week, OC Des Kitchings was asked about the RBs and he said that Jones was consistent. And while Jones might not be an every-down back that goes for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns, “consistent” will get a running back on the field and keep them there. For now, we expect he will continue to get plenty of opportunities whether he takes the first carry or not.

Hollins and Pace should get plenty of work, too. Pace had a productive career at Clemson while fighting for playing time but Cavalier fans haven’t had an opportunity to see him much thus far. He was banged up in the Spring Game and has missed some time in fall camp, but he was out there on Monday afternoon. Hollins, meanwhile, is a known commodity and should be able to help the team, and given what he’s gone through in the offseason everyone will be rooting for him to take his game to the next level this fall.

We’ll see what sort of contributions Brown and Foston give as well. The latter missed all of last season with an injury while Brown has battled several injuries up since getting to Charlottesville, but perhaps he can make an impact if he’s healthy next month and beyond. We’ve also listed Griese here because the walk-on has earned it. He was the star of the Spring Game and scored a long touchdown in the first scrimmage of fall camp, too.

Malachi Fields

J.R. Wilson

Demick Starling

Jaden Gibson

TyLyric Coleman

Nobody is really talking about Virginia’s WR room, but this group has a chance to turn some heads and exceed expectations. If they’re going to surprise some folks outside the program, it’ll likely be on the backs of the first three players listed as starters here, Fields, Wilson and Starling.

Fields is coming off an injury and seems primed for a breakout season. Wilson showed flashes late in 2022 and in the spring, and should be able to line up across from Fields, which gives Muskett two big targets that can go across the middle or win 50/50 jump balls. Starling is a speed merchant who can really line up all over the field and will be counted on to create some big plays either pre or post catch.

Behind them, we’ve listed the freshman Gibson here as an outside receiver, but the Georgia native could line up in the slot plenty, too. Really, it feels like the trio of Fields, Wilson, and Starling will get most of the reps on the outside. Gibson should be a factor after enrolling early and showing flashes in spring practice and fall camp. We’ve also listed his classmate Coleman here too; he’s a longshot to have a big impact this season but it feels like he’d be next man up if someone went down, at the moment. Sophomore Dak Twitty missed his freshman year due to a knee injury, and has missed most of fall camp too, so we’ll see if he can get back healthy for the season.

Malik Washington

Suderian Harrison

Ethan Davies

In the slot, UVa is expecting Washington to be a plug-and-play addition from the transfer portal. Washington is the elder statesman of the receiver room and had a productive career at Northwestern before joining the program in January. He should be a top target for Muskett and should be the odds-on-favorite to lead the Cavaliers in receptions.

We mentioned that Gibson could play in the slot but Cavalier fans should keep an eye on another freshman receiver too in Harrison. He is a dynamic athlete who has flashed during fall camp and could factor in both on offense and special teams as a returner. It’s also worth keeping an eye on Davies, a walk-on who has seen the field plenty and has a connection with Muskett, who was his high-school teammate.

Grant Misch OR Sackett Wood

Karson Gay OR Josh Rawlings

TeKai Kirby

UVa was fortunate to get both Misch and Wood to return this season, and like last year both should play quite a bit. Misch and Wood are two of the older players on the offense, and while the tight end position hasn’t been as productive as it is for other programs, both are capable of making key catches and contributing as blockers, too.

Behind those two, UVa has some younger guys who are waiting for their opportunity. Both Rawlings and Gay could factor in, particularly in the passing game, as both are big targets. Kirby is probably more of an option down the road rather than in 2023, but he’s next man up after Jack Witmer switched to tackle.

Left Tackle

McKale Boley

Blake Steen

Left Guard

Noah Josey

Snoop Leota-Amaama

Center

Ty Furnish

Noah Hartsoe

Right Guard

Brian Stevens

Jestus Johnson

Right Tackle

Ugonna Nnanna

Jimmy Christ

We’ll handle the offensive line as one big group. There are a lot of factors at play here. For one, UVa has a few guys working back from injuries in camp, including a pair of key tackles in Boley and Christ. Boley seems likely to start at left tackle if healthy, and Elliott seemed optimistic that he’ll be back soon. Christ should return to practice soon too, according to UVa’s head coach, but he’s missed significant camp time, so it may take him a while to get back in game shape. Elliott also dropped a nugget on Monday that Nnanna, the Houston transfer, is likely to play tackle out of the gate, and if Boley is healthy, that would be the right tackle spot. Nnanna can also play guard, and played left guard earlier in camp, so perhaps if Christ can push for playing time, Nnanna could slide inside. We’ll list Boley and Nnanna as UVa’s two starting tackles on our projections with Christ and redshirt freshman Steen behind them. Steen seems like a “most improved” winner for fall camp, given the amount of times he’s been mentioned as a potential contributor. We didn’t list tackles Witmer or Charlie Patterson here, but both of those guys could play too if injuries dictate.

On the inside, things are a little more shored up it seems. Furnish will clearly be the starting center barring injury. Johnson backed him up last year and could be called upon again, but Hartsoe was mentioned as a backup center earlier in camp, and Johnson has been seen working at guard. Speaking of guards, it seemed a week or so ago that two of Nnanna, Josey and Stevens would start at guard, but now with Nnanna kicking out to tackle for the time being, Josey and Stevens should be the obvious choices to take the guard spots. The guard depth isn’t as good as it seems to be at tackle, so perhaps if a guard goes down or struggles, Nnanna moves inside, and someone like Steen, Witmer or Patterson gets in at tackle.